Rame's Coastal Charm

Previous 1 of 9 Next

Boots on? Let’s go!

1 Leave the vehicle entrance at the top of Cawsand car park. Turn left up the main road for 350m. Turn right into Forder Hill and immediately left onto a public footpath. Follow the well-beaten path uphill, bearing left and gently uphill to a lane. Turn right and continue uphill.

2 At the top of the hill, turn left onto a public footpath that runs parallel to the access drive to Polhawn Fort. Bear right and walk steeply downhill, turning left when you reach the Coast Path. A diversion down a steep footpath on your right leads to Polhawn Cove, its saw-toothed rocks and golden sands are particularly impressive at low tide. Follow the Coast Path past Polhawn Cottage and up some steps. Cross a drive and continue up more steps. Turn right and follow the Coast Path to Rame Head.

3 Divert right to enjoy the views and visit St Michael’s chapel. First recorded in 1397, it possibly stands on the site of an earlier, Celtic hermitage. Flint tools found around the headland show it was occupied during the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) period. Much later, during the Iron Age, a ditch and rampart was constructed across the narrow isthmus, which nearly separates Rame Head from the mainland to make the headland a cliff castle. Traces of this defence remain.

Plymouth records from 1486 show that a watchman was paid to maintain a beacon on Rame Head to warn sailors of the rocks. Two watchmen were paid to look out for the Spanish Armada in 1588. During the First World War, an anti-submarine gun and hydrophones to detect enemy submarines were mounted here. A mobile radar installation was placed on Rame Head during the Second World War.

Retrace your steps towards the Coast Path. A short diversion up the hill will bring you to the Coastwatch Station. The friendly staff welcome visitors here.

4 Rejoin the Coast Path and continue eastwards. You may wish to divert for ¼ mile (400m) to Rame Church when you reach a signed path junction. Unusually for Cornwall, Rame Church has a broached spire. Other interesting features include the floor memorials and carved bench ends. Rejoin the Coast Path and continue eastwards. When you reach a tarmac track making a horseshoe bend, take the right fork. Continue to Penlee Point, which has fine views of Plymouth Breakwater and Plymouth Sound.

5 From here, the Coast Path is waymarked, sometimes as a footpath and sometimes using sections of access drives. Follow it back to Cawsand Square. Either cross the square and continue up Garrett Street to explore picturesque Kingsand (turn right for the beach, or turn left in front of the Cross Keys Inn), or follow the narrow street back to the car park.

Until boundary changes in 1844, Kingsand was in Devon, as a marker opposite the Halfway House Inn shows. Although there was intense rivalry between Turk Town (Cawsand) and the North Rockers (Kingsand), smuggling formed a common bond between these twin villages during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Plymouth provided a large and thirsty market for contraband, despite the presence of His Majesty’s Navy – reputedly a good customer for duty free grog. This was supplied in astonishing volume by the Cawsand smugglers. In 1804 the unhappy Plymouth Collector of Customs estimated 17,000 casks of spirits were smuggled into Cawsand annually. Most of it was brandy from Britain’s arch enemy, France, the seemingly interminable wars notwithstanding. Cawsand supplied three masted luggers and the bigger smuggling cutters carried up to 800 eight-gallon spirit casks, plus tea and tobacco. By 1815, fifty smuggling craft were said to be in business at Cawsand. A similar number were still employed on French runs in the early 1840s at the close of the classic smuggling era. 

Points of Interest...

• Superb coastal views.

• Beaches at Cawsand and Polhawn Cove.

• Rame Head with its medieval chapel and Iron Age cliff castle.

• Cawsand, a smuggling village of charm and character.

• Medieval Rame church.

Information...

Terrain: Coast path, footpaths and quiet lanes, with some short, sharp ascents and descents, but nothing arduous.

Child/dog friendly: Suitable for older children and dogs on leads.

Start: Cawsand car park at grid ref: SX432503, or Rame Head car park at grid ref: SX421488.

Maps: Explorer 108, Landranger 201 or Harvey’s SWCP map 4.

Refreshments: Choice in Cawsand, including Cross Keys Inn, Cawsand Bay Hotel, Shop in the Square, or Moran’s Café.

Public Transport: Ferry to Plymouth: cawsandferry.co.uk, or limited bus services: travelinesw.com

Members Comments

There are no comments for this article.

Add a Comment

Please log in to post a comment.