Saltram and Bovisand

On 20th February we went to see the spring flowers in Saltram Gardens.  Most of the snowdrops were past their best, but the crocuses made a lovely display.




























As there were black clouds gathering we did not want to walk around Saltram Park, so instead drove on to Bovisand where we sheltered in the cafe until the rain had past.  We had heard that the recent storms had washed the sand away from Sandy Palour so when the rain stopped I walked down the steps to see for myself.  I hardly recognised the beach where I had spent may happy hours building sandcastles and dams to try to stop the water coming in.  Now it is a rocky beach, with only one small patch of sand.  Where will all the sunbathers lie you?  I came away feeling quite sad.

At the bottom of the steps where you walk across rocks I noticed that the rocks were showing interesting copper colours.  Also there were a number of cracks in the rocks and some had already been damaged.  I had never seen this before.

Plym Bridge in Winter

There has been a lot of rain recently and so we thought we would see how the River Plym was flowing at Plym Bridge.  We parked on the Estover side of the river and started by looking at the river by the bridge.  Although it was flowing fast, we were surprised that it was not that deep under the bridge.

We started to walk up the river and although the ground was flooded in places the river had not broken its banks.  There was a lot of water flowing into the river from the surrounding ground, making waterfalls.

At times there was white water as the river flowed over boulders, completely submerging them, but it was nothing special until we came until the weir, just past Cann viaduct.  The water flowing over this gave a  spectacular sight.

Being winter there was not much to see in the way of flora or fauna, but we did notice some catkins by the Cann Viaduct - the first signs of spring.

The Barbican to Mount Batten

On a couple of occasions we have walked on the South West Coast Path from Turnchapel to Mount Batten and we frequently walk around Plymouth Hoe to the Barbican.  However, we have never walked from the Barbican to Turnchapel.  As our car was being serviced at a garage on Billacombe Road, we thought we would remedy this today.

We started walking from the end of the Laira Bridge towards Mount Batten.  To begin with it was not the most pleasant walk, but we soon came to Oreston and there was a lovely view of yachts on the River Plym.

Mount Batten as  really close across the water, but we had to walk 2 miles  round the edge of the river.

We continued walking around Hooe Lake and across the causeway at the bottom of Radford Park.  the castle astride the path looked out of place.

We continued walking up through woodland and then down the other side till we came to Turnchapel.   It was a good path all the way and well marked.  Although we had walked from Turnchapel to Mount Batten before we continued our walk to Mount Batten before catching the bus back to the Laira Bridge.

From Laira Bridge we started walking towards the Barbican.  As with the first part of this mornings walk this section of the South West Coast Path is not very pleasant as you walk past industrial units, with just glimpses of the river Plym between them.  However, after a while we were opposite Mount Batten and it was interesting to see this from the other side of the river.

St Christopher on wall at side of South West Coast Path

Before long we were walking into the Barbican.  This was not one of the most picturesque parts of the South West Coast Pat, but there was still some beautiful scenery and I was glad I had done it.

Cann Wood

We have now lived in Plymouth for two and a half years.  During this time we have found many lovely places to walk, some close by and some further afield.  We often go to Plym Bridge and have seen a footpath up to Cann Woods but we have never explored this woods.  Today was a hot day and we only had a morning free to walk so we thought this would be a good place to go as it is only just outside Plymouth.

We chose to follow the walk which the Forestry Commission have marked out with blue posts, which was 2.75 miles.  It did not take us all the way down to the River Plym, but as that was in a valley it meant we did not have a steep climb up.  The walked was well marked which was as well as there were lots of paths criss-crossing the woods.  Whenever we came to a junction there was a post and then one a little way inside the correct path to reassure us we were on the right way.

There were lovely views at various parts of the walk, across the Plym valley to Estover, out to the moors, to the china clay workings etc. There were not many flowers to be seen except for foxgloves.

Foxgloves among new trees planted, with view of Dartmoor

Unfortunately the walk was not in as much in shade as we had hoped.  Some of the paths were amongst trees but most were in the open.  Normally this would not be a problem but today we would have appreciated a cooler walk.

This is definitely somewhere we will return to, next time we must follow the path to Plymbridge Woods and there is also the hill fort to view.

Plym Bridge Peregrine Falcons

The beauty of living in Plymouth is that there are so many beautiful places close by that we can easily visit.  Yesterday we only had a couple of free hours but that was time to go for a walk in Plym Bridge Woods.

From the car park by the bridge we walked along the cycle path until we reached the Cann viaduct where a National Trust worker was on hand with telescopes to enable us to see the peregrine falcon nesting in Cann Quarry.  The female bird was sitting on the nest, so we were not able to see the two chicks.

We then walked down the steps at the side of the viaduct and to see the weir.

We then walked back to Plym Bridge along the side of the canal.  This path is closer to the River Plym and it was good to take this path after not being able to use it before this year as it has been so wet and muddy.

When we reached Plym Bridge we crossed the river and walked up the other river bank for a while until we had to return home.

Plymouth Wheel

For a couple of years there has been a big wheel on Plymouth Hoe giving views from on high of Plymouth.  So far we have never been on this, but a offer of Groupon giving two of us a ride for £6 seemed too good a bargain to miss.  It was a 58% reduction in the normal price!

It was good that we could have a capsule to ourselves and we were soon riding up into the air.  Once at the top we stayed still for 5 minutes then did 4 revolutions.  There was an excellent commentary pointing out landmarks and giving some of the history of Plymouth.

It was good to have done this, but I don't think I would do it again.

Smeaton's Tower on Plymouth Hoe

Across River Plym to Dartmoor

River Tamar estuary, Mt Edgecumbe in background

Inside citadel with River Plym

Mount Batten

Tinside swimming pool

Drakes Island

Drakes Island and Mount Edgecumbe