Mount Edgcumbe and the Rame Peninsula

My walking buddy Val and I decided to fit in one last long walk while the children were still in school. She suggested that we go to Mount Edgcumbe and the Rame Peninsula for a six mile circular walk. Rame Peninsula is just to the west of Plymouth, and the walk had spectacular views of the Plymouth area. Val and her family have walked here many times over the years, so she had a lot of information about the area to share with me. Here is the map of our route.

Mount Edgcumbe was the home of the Earls of Edgcumbe.  They were the same family who owned Cotehele as their “summer home.”  Their estate is expansive, varied and beautifully maintained.  Now a “country park,” it contains their large brick manor house, formal gardens, unique statuary, miles of trails, and even a former deer park where the Earls did their hunting.  We walked the perimeter of this estate on our walk.  Here is Val (posing under duress) in front of the Italian formal garden. 

The estate has a long shoreline and was vulnerable to attack by sea. Consequently, the family constructed a battery on its most exposed corner. 

The views of Plymouth Sound from the path were gorgeous. The island in the distance in the picture below is Drake’s Island, which lies just off of The Hoe in Plymouth.

Here is our first view of the sound-side villages of Kingsand and Cawsand.

Some of the sections of trail reminded me of the carriage trails at the Cone Manor on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here is a tree that captured our imaginations. We saw both a bird’s head and a face in its trunk.

We took some time to walk through Kingsand and Cawsand. They are both picturesque and colorful, with narrow winding streets and 7 pubs between the two villages! Here is the Kingsand waterfront.

We stopped for a cup of tea and a sweet treat in Cawsand (pronounced 'Cow-sand') before moving on. Here’s a view of Cawsand from the edge of the village.

We then walked inland across the peninsula. A beautiful pink flower that moved in the wind like a field of grain was blooming on the side of the path and in the hedges. Val did a little research later and found out that its common name is fireweed, which comes from its ability to grow on old bomb sites after the last war.    

As we crested the hill going across the peninsula, we had a nice view of Plymouth Sound and its breakwater. Plymouth Sound is a major natural harbor and port for Britain, now and historically. Over the centuries it has been the site of Drake’s attack on the Spanish Armada, the Pilgrims’ departure for America, Charles Darwin’s voyage on The Beagle, and much more. 

Val and I finished up our walk with plenty of time to spare—no last minute dashes to school to pick up the children this time!  We both agreed that it had been an excellent day.