Plymouth to St Austell – Coastal Road Trip

Day 44 – Plymouth to St Austell

On day forty-four, after visiting Plymouth, we are heading into Cornwall. So join us on our journey along the beautiful southwest coast…

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Polperro Harbour, Seagull, Starfish — A hungry seagull (aren’t they always?) at Polperro.

Plymouth

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Sutton Harbour, Boats — Fishing boats being prepared for the day at Plymouth’s Sutton Harbour.

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Hoe Promenade, Lighthouse, Royal Citadel, — Smeaton’s Tower and the Royal Citadel along Plymouth Hoe.

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Hoe Promenade, Lighthouse, Smeaton's Tower — Smeaton’s Tower was originally built as the lighthouse at Eddystone Rock off Rame Head (we will visit later today). It was then moved to Plymouth Hoe as a memorial to John Smeaton, its engineer.

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Royal William Yard, New Cooperage — We were really impressed by Plymouth’s Royal William Yard. Originally built for the Royal Navy but now redeveloped with shops, restaurants, offices and a harbour. Very nicely done.

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Royal William Yard, New Cooperage, Cow, Bull, Dog — Sculptures on the lawn in front of the New Cooperage.

Coastal Road Trip, Plymouth, Royal William Yard, Ships Biscuit, Recipe, Monument — A recipe for Ships Biscuit curiously carved into a stone at the entrance to the Royal William Yard.

Tor Point

Coastal Road Trip, Ferry, Devonport - Tor Point, Plymouth, Cars — On the ferry heading from Devonport to Tor Point. Travelling west to Cornwall on the ferry was free (you only pay sailing east). We like a bargain! 😉

St John

Coastal Road Trip, St John's Lake, Ford, Sign, Road — More watery roads along the Cornish coast.

Coastal Road Trip, St John, View, Whitsand Bay, Field — Bright green fields above St John, looking down towards Whitsand Bay.

Cremyll

Coastal Road Trip, Cremyll, Welcome to Cornwall, Sign, Julian, Jarno — Although we entered Cornwall by ferry at Tor Point, there was also a passenger ferry landing at Cremyll.

Coastal Road Trip, Cremyll, View to Royal William Yard, River Tamer — Looking back across the River Tamar to the Royal William Yard.

Coastal Road Trip, Cremyll, Ferry Clock — The clock at Cremyll’s ferry landing.

Coastal Road Trip, Mount Edgcumbe, House, Park, Cremyll, River Tamar — The grand Mount Edgcumbe House overlooking Cremyll and the River Tamar.

Cawsand

Coastal Road Trip, Cawsand, Kingsand, Garrett Street, Narrow street, Van blocking road — Driving through Kingsand to Cawsand we got stuck behind a delivery truck. With no way to pass, you just have to be patient. We used the opportunity to nosey in the windows of the cute coastal cottages.

Coastal Road Trip, Cawsand, Beach, Bay, Boat — Cawsand Beach and Bay. Just out of the picture there was a couple preparing for a morning swim around the bay. Rather them than us.

Coastal Road Trip, Cawsand, Ferry Sign, Painted Tiles, Waiting Shelter — Painted tiles decorating the waiting shelter of the seasonal Cawsand Ferry.

Rame Head

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, St Michael's Chapel, Jarno — The clouds started to clear as we arrived at Rame Head, so we had a little hike up to St Michael’s Chapel on the headland.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, View to Penlee, Heybrook Bay, The Great Mew Stone, Wembury Bay — There were amazing panoramic views along the coast, looking as far east as the Great Mew Stone in Wembury Bay.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, National Coastwatch Institution, Heritage Coast — Looking back down the headland to the National Coastwatch Institution buliding by the car park.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, Whitsand Bay, Fort — Whitsand Bay and Tregantle Fort above the cliffs to the northwest.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, Horse — There were plenty of Dartmoor ponies precariously grazing around the headland cliffs.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, Rocks, Waves — Choppy waters at the foot of the cliffs.

Whitsand Bay

Coastal Road Trip, Whitsand Bay, Military Road, Treninnow Cliff, Freathy — We then continued along the coastal road past Treninnow Cliff and Freathy.

Coastal Road Trip, Rame Head, Whitsand Bay, Military Road, Treninnow Cliff, Freathy — Rame Head silhouetted against the bright sunlight across Whitsand Bay.

Coastal Road Trip, Tregantle Fort, Military Road, Freathy — The 1865 Tregantle Fort along Military Road. Still open and working. As we drove past we could see training in progress.

Portwrinkle

Coastal Road Trip, Whitsand Bay, Military Road, Freathy — Looking down the wrinkly coast to Portwrinkle 😉

Coastal Road Trip, Portwrinkle, Beach, Whitsand Bay, Rame Head — Portwrinkle Beach with Rame Head still visible in the distance.

Coastal Road Trip, Portwrinkle, Boats, Whitsand Bay, Rame Head — Small boats neatly stored on end by the water’s edge at Portwrinkle.

Downderry

Coastal Road Trip, B3247, Road to Downderry — Driving through a patchwork of fields along the B3247 to Downderry.

Coastal Road Trip, Abandoned Farm, B3247, Road to Downderry — All along this coastal journey we’ve passed so many abandoned farm houses and barns… so they haven’t all been converted yet!

Seaton

Coastal Road Trip, Seaton, Beach, Rame Head — Amazingly Rame Head and St Michael’s Chapel were still visible in the distance from Seaton Beach.

Looe

Coastal Road Trip, Looe, West Looe, Seagull, East Looe River — We stopped at bustling East Looe for our first Cornish pasty. As we looked across the East Looe River to West Looe, the seagulls were keeping a beady eye on us (or rather our pasties).

Coastal Road Trip, Looe, Looe Bay, Breakwater — Looking down the breakwater to the calm sea in Looe Bay.

Coastal Road Trip, Looe, Looe Bay, Wooden Pegs, Breakwater — The breakwater walls were full of wooden wedges. Very curious. Maybe to help hold the wall together?

Coastal Road Trip, East Looe, Telescope, Beach — A telescope by the sandy East Looe Beach.

Polperro

Coastal Road Trip, Polperro Harbour, Fishing Boats, Cottages — Our next stop was at Polperro. The village was admittedly very quaint, but felt very surreal, like a ghost town. Most of the shops and cafes were closed and there was hardly anyone around, unlike our previous stop at Looe. Clearly a tourist village now, which is a real shame as out-of-season there seemed to be no locals to keep the place alive, so it somehow lacked soul. We also had to pay the highest parking charge of our entire British coastal road trip here too! Maybe that’s why it was so quiet. We only stayed 45 minutes but had to pay £4.50 to park, which was the minimum charge (3 hours).

Coastal Road Trip, Polperro Harbour, Seagull, Starfish — At least the seagulls seemed happy with the range of seafood.

Coastal Road Trip, Polperro, House on the props — The locally famous ‘House on the Props’, precariously hanging over the stream.

Lansallos

Coastal Road Trip, Lansallos, Lansallos, Church — Winding our way through more narrow country lanes we passed the small hamlet of Lansallos, and Saint Ildierna Church.

Lantivet

Coastal Road Trip, Lantivet, Narrow Lane, Cornwall — The lanes got narrower and narrower as we passed Lantivet. Grass growing down the middle of the road is never a comforting sight. Fortunately it was so quiet, so we didn’t have to make any difficult reversing-all-the-way-back-down-the-country-lane manoeuvers!

Lantic

Coastal Road Trip, Lantic Bay, Cornwall, National Trust — Passing the secluded National Trust Lantic Bay.

Polruan

Coastal Road Trip, Polruan, View to Gribbin Head — Gribbin Head in the distance from the headland at Polruan.

Fowey

Coastal Road Trip, Fowey, River Fowey, Parish Church, view from Polruan — From Polruan we looked across to Fowey and its Parish Church.

Coastal Road Trip, Bodinnich Ferry, Landing, Fowey, River Fowey — We then took the Bodinnich Ferry crossing over the River Fowey. Taking the ferry saved us a 15 mile detour (and a precious 35 minutes of daylight) inland via Lostwithiel.

Coastal Road Trip, Bodinnich Landing, Ferry, River, Fowey, Crossing, Cornwall — Looking back to Bodinnich Landing as we crossed to Fowey.

Coastal Road Trip, Fowey, North Street, Narrow Street, Pinky Murphy's Cafe — We squeezed our way through Fowey’s narrow streets (fortunately one way).

Charlestown

Coastal Road Trip, Charlestown, Tall Ships, Square Sail, Harbour — Picturesque Charlestown, our final stop of the day before heading to St Austell for the night.

Coastal Road Trip, Charlestown, Tall Ships, Square Sail, Harbour — Square rigger tall ships reflecting in the small Georgian harbour. The attractive harbour was originally built for coal imports and copper exports. More recently the harbour has been used for period film and TV productions.

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