Falmouth to Plymouth
HIGHLIGHTS
Majestic headlands and the gentle coastline of the south coast give this walk it's character, along with the many harbours that allow sailing and fishing on this coast to flourish.
- Dodman Point and Rame Head
- The Beautiful Sailing villages of St Mawes ad Fowey
- Charlestown Harbour with its old tall ships
- The sandy beaches of the Roseland Peninsula
PHOTOS
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Bed and Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Luggage Transfer (1 Bag per person)
- Maps and Guide Book
- Itinerary
ASK A QUESTION
KEY INFORMATION
Starting point: Falmouth
Finishing point: Plymouth
Avg. daily distance: 11
Total distance: 65
Terrain: Moderate
Walking grade: Medium
WHEN TO WALK
ROUTE MAP
This walking holiday starts from St Mawes. The walk from Falmouth to St Mawes is actually a ferry ride so since we are based in St Mawes we like to start the first night of your holiday if possible at our luxury bed and breakfast in St Mawes.
The walk takes in many varied coastal ports, St Mawes, Portscatho, Portloe, Mevagissey, Charlestown, Fowey, Polperro, Looe and Plymouth all with their own distinctive character. Many ports now survive on leisure boating but the fishing industry still survives and in Falmouth, Fowey and Plymouth large commercial shipping still thrives. Charlestown is a tiny harbour that still contains square rigged sailing boats.
Day 1: Travel to St Mawes where your first night's accommodation has been booked.
Day 2: St Mawes to Portloe. 13.7 miles /
Day 3: Portloe to Mevagissey. 12.3 miles /
Day 4: Mevagissey to Charlestown. 7.2 miles /
Day 5: Charlestown to Fowey. 10.3 miles /
Day 6: Fowey to Polperro. 7.1 miles /
Day 7: Polperro to Portwrinkle. 12.3 miles /
Day 8: Portwrinkle to Plymouth
Day 1: Travel to St Mawes where your first night's accommodation has been booked.
Day 2: St Mawes to Portloe. 13.7 miles /
Take the Place ferry from St Mawes harbour across the harbout then walk around St Anthony Head, past the Lighthouse and our favourite beach (Porthbeor) before going through Portscatho. Just a a few hundred metres further along is the award winning beach cafe "The Hidden Hut". A great place to stop for lunch. Further on if the tide is right you can walk along Pendower beach before going around Nare Head with its great view of Gull Rock. Further on suddenly the tiny harbour of Portloe will appear.
Day 3: Portloe to Mevagissey. 12.3 miles /
The day takes you past Porthlune Cove with Caerhays castle behind. The gardens in the grounds of the castle are a traditional Cornish spring garden and open from mid February through to early June. Onwards it is up and down a few steep climbs before rounding Dodman Point a notable landmark for sailors along the south Cornwall coast. There is little village of Gorran Haven to pass through before arriving in the narrow streets of Mevagissey where the fishing boats moor up right in the heart of the town.
Day 4: Mevagissey to Charlestown. 7.2 miles /
The path takes you around the great arc of St Austell Bay before arriving at the perfectly preserved old port of Charlestown. You will find old wooden square riggers moored up in the harbour and a Shipwreck and Heritage Centre that is well worth a visit.
Day 5: Charlestown to Fowey. 10.3 miles /
The path has a takes a slightly urban route through Par before passing through Polkerris and then on to Gribbin Head and the Fowey daymark ( a red and white striped tower that helps boats navigate into Fowey). The Fowey estuary is always full of visiting yachts and the town itself bustles with activity throughout the summer season. The Fowey Festival of Words and Music (previously the Daphne du Maurier Literature festival) is held here each May.
Day 6: Fowey to Polperro. 7.1 miles /
The day starts with a short ferry ride to Polruan on the other side of the river. Although the distance is short this is a strenuous walk with a lot of ups and downs as the path makes its way to Polperro, however you are well rewarded with magnificent sea views.
Day 7: Polperro to Portwrinkle. 12.3 miles /
Looe, a town divided by a river is a good place for a refreshment stop and a little bit of exploring before continuing on the coast. If the tide is right this section contains some very pleasant beach walking as an alternative to the coastal path.
Day 8: Portwrinkle to Plymouth
Spectacular views as the path rounds Rame Head before descending into Cawsand, a grat place for refreshment at one of its many pubs. The walk finishes with a different character as it passes through the woods of Mount Edgcumbe Country park. The Cremyll ferry then delivers you to Plymouth.
WALKING DIFFICULTY: This is a coastal walk, for the most part along quite high cliffs with quite a lot of ups and downs. It will not be beyond the average walker but distance covered per hour will be low.
ACCOMMODATION: Our standard itinerary provides accommodation in either 3 or 4 star bed and breakfasts or small hotels or inns. When quoting for a holiday a draft itinerary is provided showing typical accommodation used on the route. A full cooked breakfast is included.
ADDITIONAL NIGHTS:
Mevagissey is ideally placed for a visit to the outstanding Lost Gardens of Heligan. Charlestown is about 4 miles from the world famous “Eden Project” and has a fabulous harbour sheltering several tall ships. Fowey is has a lively harbour and lots of interesting shops and restaurants.
NAVIGATION: Navigation is generally straight forward, follow the acorn signs and keep the sea on your right!
BAGGAGE TRANSFERS: All our prices include transfering one bag per person (max weight 20kg) between your overnight stops.
Travel information:
TRAVEL BY RAIL:
Arriving: London mainline trains go from Paddington to St Austell, then it is about a 35 min taxi ride to St Mawes. In summer it is possible to continue on the train to Truro and then catch the Ferry to St Mawes (see www.falriver.co.uk)
Returning: From Plymouth there trains are direct to London Paddington (about 3 hr 30mins)
TRAVEL BY CAR:
Arriving take the M5 from Bristol, then the A30 from Exeter, and then drop south through St Austell to St Mawes. Long term parking is available at our base in St Mawes.
Returning: Take the train from Plymouth to St Austell (45 min taxi to St Mawes) or Truro then the ferry see above..
TRAVEL BY AIR:
Arriving, Newquay Airport has regular flights from London Gatwick. It is about a 45 minute taxi ride from the airport to St Mawes.
Returning: Plymouth airport closed in 2012, so Exeter airport is the nearest. Take a train from Plymouth to Exeter, there are regular bus services from Exeter St Davids Station to the airport.
AVAILABILITY:
This walk can only be done between Easter and the end of October, this is due to reliance on ferries that only run between this two dates.
PRICES:
7 Day Walking Itinerary (8 nights accommodation) from £760 per person. The price assumes 2 people walking together and sharing a room.
Single supplement (for person walking on their own) £40 per night
Extra nights from £60 per person
Penzance to Falmouth
George Steers - May 2015
We are back home in Seattle, now, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for arranging our trip to Cornwall. I particularly appreciate your making the last minute arrangements for our son, Andrew (who, if I hadn’t told you before is 46 years old - more on that in a minute.) It was a glorious adventure. The range of weather we enjoyed made the trip even more interesting and exciting.
On the leg around the tip of the Lizard, we made it almost to the lighthouse before we decided the wind was getting just too dangerous, so we headed in to Lizard itself, had lunch in the pub and got “Lizard Taxi” to take us to Cadgwith. The accommodations were delightful from start to finish - we each had our favorite - and we fell in love with the pub life. I can’t remember know which house it was, but one of our hosts was under the impression that “our son” meant someone considerably younger.
They thoughtfully provided a child’s bunk bed (Andrew is 6’2”) and stuffed animals. He was fine with that, it just added to our appreciation of the warmth of our hosts. Again, thank you for your help. We loved every minute of it.
St Mawes to Charlestown
Pat Tennis - September 2014
Hello Tim and Amelia, Thanks very much for a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed it very much.
For your information, the little snafu at Portloe went fine. The proprietor from Jago Cottage picked us up and took us to Broom Parc, which turned out to be quite satisfactory. I would recommend it for future stays. We didn't stay in the large house, but in the small 1-room summer cottage.
In addition, there were no places to eat in Portloe (everything was totally booked), and the proprietor from Broom Parc was kind enough to make us a light dinner. In the future I might recommend that hungry hikers book restaurants ahead.Thanks to Amelia for the suggestion to have a meal at Nare's Hotel. We stopped there for cream tea, and they were kind enough to provide us a ride to Portloe when we requested a taxi.Also, Honeycombe House in Mevagissey was quite wonderful...the view was fantastic!
Overall, the walk was more strenuous than anticipated, but we managed it fine with a few select shortcuts (we skipped Dodman's Head and Nare's Head).
thanks again to you both! Kind regards, Pat Tennis
St Mawes to Plymouth
Roman - August 2012
Hi Tim,
just wanted to inform you that we all safely back in Switzerland. All of us enjoyed our hiking trip at the south west coast in Cornwall and it was a great experience for us. Thanks a lot for the organization.
Roman - Switzerland
Helford to Portwrinkle
Jinny and Marianne Kucera - September 2015
Dear Tim,
Thank you so much for organising such a wonderful holiday. Marianne and I could not fault the accommodation, breakfasts, route planning and taxi service. Everything worked out according to plan. We had the most fantastic weather. It only rained overnight at Looe and by 9 am the sun was already shining. We will not hesitate to recommend your service to others who might tackle the path.
With best wishes, Jinny and Marianne Kucera
The Saints Way and Fowey to Plymouth
Mike Lee - April 2015
Hello Tim,
now back from a very sunny and warm Cornwall. Just a short note to say thanks for the trip, which we both enjoyed.
Super walking, we particularly enjoyed day three, Fowey to Looe and thanks for the B&Bs etc where we stayed, happy with all of them.
Also the pack of info you sent was very helpful, I liked the waterproof map of the path and the pack for the Saints Way was very informative.
St Mawes to Plymouth
Roman Borer (Switzerland) - Aug 2012
Hi Tim
just wanted to inform you that we all safely back in Switzerland
All of us enjoyed our hiking trip at the south west coast in Cornwall and it was a great experience for us.
Thanks a lot for the organization
have a nice time
Penzance to Mevagissey Walk
Karen Van Der Merwe - July 2023
Hi Tim, I am finally back home and wanted to say thanks again for an amazing walk!
We loved it.
The mix up of walking lengths, grade of accommodation, and the extra day in Falmouth were great!
We obviously loved The Harbour Inn, The Lugger and being able to do our washing at the Budock ! We were so bleak though that we missed the Sea Shanty singers in Cadgwith, apparently they are amazing,
We also got to swim loads at all the lovely coves.
I’ve attached some pics
All the best
Karen