Walk 2012 - Wembury Bay & St Peter's Church from Noss Mayo

      
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Few walkers have the time or the opportunity to walk the length of the South West Coast Path, yet thousands of people walk stretches of it every day. All too often these short walks are rather unsatisfying as they involve a return by the same route. The way to get the best out of such walks is to get out the OS map and look for a headland or estuary which will give a satisfying circular or triangular walk. This circular walk, less than ten miles from Plymouth, is one of the best, taking in a stretch of one of England's prettiest rivers, dramatic coastal scenery, a ruined church dating back 1000 years and finishing at a pub!

Turn south off the A379 (Plymouth to Yealmpton road) on to the B3186. Proceed to Noss Mayo via the hamlet of Bridgend. The car park (Grid ref. SX547476) lies at the head of a small creek next to the Ship Inn and the Library (which is marked on the OS map). Be careful to park at the upper end of the car park as the lower end is covered at Spring Tides!

Take the lane which goes above the pub and the village houses are soon left behind as the lane passes though the oak woods on the eastern bank of the River Yealm (pronounced Yam by the locals). Just after the foot ferry crossing point (Open May to September) the lane becomes a track and climbs through the woods towards the old coastguard station and cottages above Cellar beach. As the cottages are reached a superb view over Wembury Bay towards the Mew Stone and Cornwall is revealed.

After the coastguard cottages the route circles the east side of Wembury Bay partly though woods until the open coast is reached. The coastal path now turns eastwards along the the old "Carriage Drive" created by Revelstoke estate so that lady guests could admire the views without having to walk. The only building on this stretch is Warren Cottage named after the rabbit warren created between the sea and the drive to provide fresh meat for Revelstoke and the surrounding farms. (Just past Warren Cottage it is possible to shorten the walk by striking inland and taking the Devon lanes back to Noss Mayo cutting the walk by perhaps 2 miles).

2 miles of open level walking beyond Warren Cottage brings you to the woods surrounding Revelstoke Caravan Park. Sticking to the main path is the shorter option but taking a smaller path to the right towards the sea will take you into the caravan park and the chance to see the ruined church of "St Peter the Poor Fisherman" which is open to the public and parts of which are Anglo Saxon with later additions in the 14th Cent. From the exit of the caravan park follow country lanes for 1.5 miles back to Noss Mayo, the car park and the pub. The shortest route is well signposted but take an OS map in case you want to explore.

Suggested Maps

It is recommended you take a map with you when following a walk route. The preferred scale is 1:25000 used by the Explorer series.

	OS Explorer	1:25,000	Sheet OL20
	OS Landranger	1:50,000	Sheet 202

Note : If two maps are listed at the same scale then either (a) both are required for full coverage of the route or (b) the route is covered on both maps.

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NOTE - all distances are "as the crow flies"