Tamerton Foliot to Lopwell - the Tamar Discovery Trail

Having driven quite a long way yesterday we wanted to do a walk near to Plymouth.  We therefore thought we would do the first section of the Tamar Valley Discovery Walk that starts on the outskirts of Plymouth in Tamerton Foliot.  We had a copy of the Discovery Trail booklet which gave a map of the trail and a brief description of the route, but basically told us to follow the apple signs.  We were sure we could do that!

We drove to Tamerton Foliot and found a parking area on Horsham Lane and followed the Lane until we came to a well marked footpath.  This was like entering a green tunnel as the trees in the hedges on both sides had met at the top.  To begin with it was a gentle slope down, but at the bottom of the hill it was a bit steeper.  At the bottom of the hill there was a large pool of water that nearly made the path impassable.  I do not think this would be a good walk to do if there had been wet weather recently.

We knew we had to turn left at some point but did not see any apple signs so continued to walk on.  When we reached a T junction we went left and eventually we reached Blaxton Wood and found an apple sign.  We realised we had missed a left turn and come a long way around.  Walking through the wood was pleasant but it was low tide and the creek was just mud.  Soon we came to a viewpoint where we could see up and down the River Tavy, but again as it was low tide it was not very pretty.

There was some heather growing in the wood, but it was straggly and not very brightly coloured.

When we came out of the woods we followed the road upriver.  After a while we were signposted off to the river bank but the path looked very overgrown so we chose to stay on the road.  Soon we reached Lopwell Dam where we were able to have refreshments in the lovely cafe.

As we retraced our steps we could see the tide rushing up the river, but the water still did not fill the channel.

When we came to the end of Blaxton Wood we saw the apple sign directing us right (on the outward journey we had come from the left).  We followed these signs and cut 15 minutes off our walk back.

The walk down to Blaxton Wood from Tamerton Foliot was not worth repeating but I would  walk from Lopwell to Blaxton Wood another time, when the tide was in and the spring flowers out.