Plymouth: Stonehouse to Laira Bridge

This blog relates to Thursday. 

Another night of persistent rain, it was so noisy on the roof of the motorhome i lay awake for a few hours listening to a downloaded radio drama of 'I, Claudius': its very good. It continued to rain heavy into the morning. 

Rather than sit around in the motorhome for another day, and knowing the path would be muddy, slippery, with wet overgrown foliage (wet vegetation soaks the legs), we decided to head to Plymouth and spend the day completing the urban part of the coast path. Better to be wet and cold near a coffee shop than in the middle of no where. 

Having left the motorhome in the Park and Ride by Plymouth Argyle, we headed to Admiral's Hard the location where the ferry from Cremyll arrives. The ferry across the river Tamar marks the point where we say goodbye to Cornwall and hello to Devon (South) again. 

Of course by the time we arrived at the start of todays walk, we were ready for lunch which we found in a greasy cafe by the ferry: very nice. 

The start of todays walk took is through Royal William Yard (constructed in 1825): old warehouses now converted into apartments, lots of eateries, cobbled streets etc... really nice area to hang out. Its obvious there is a lot of regeneration happening in Plymouth, especially around the estuary and marina. 

Along the route Plymouth celebrates its relationship with the sea by carving's code words from the Nautical Telegraph Code Book in the pavement and walls. Durnford Street (nice Georgian houses) the pavement is also studdied with Sherlock Holmes quotes: Arthur Conan Doyle worked as a doctor at No1 (the house is no longer there). 

Along the way were a number of interesting facts such a the gold bullion that used to be openly piled up on the quayside overnight waiting to be loaded onto a ship, gaurded by  one policeman! That man that swallowed a blob of molten metal (see photo), and the renovated lido. 

The path also steered us through some unremarkable locations: smelly industrial parts of Plymouth, but we made it to Laira Bridge. This means that if some time in the future i come back and re-start the walk in an attempt to walk from Plymouth to Poole, i can bypass the centre of Plymouth. 

Fitbit records: 25,022 steps, 11 miles and 70 flight of stairs. 

Official path miles: about 7/8 miles. 

The weather forecast for the next few days isn't great: more heavy rain overnight and in the morning. However i'm aiming to complete the route between Talland Bay to Cremyll (the ferry point to Plymouth and across the Tamar), which is about 25 miles. Twenty five miles may not sound far but on these paths and combined with the weather i'll break this distance down to 3 stages instead of two. Once this is completed, i'm going to call it a day. New painful parts of my feet are developing everyday: repetative strain, and i'm feeling weary. 

Photo's: 

 


  
  


 

Comments

  1. Anonymous30 June 2017 at 16:54

    Hi On your way to Plymouth did you go anywhere near Seaton, that was the place where we stayed in a holiday camp and we met Bill Owens daughter he was in Last Of The Summer Wine before he died You were six months old and she wanted to adopt you she really fell in love with you.
    In the war Plymouth was badley bombed nearly as much as London and when I went down there with the school we went to a church which had so much damage but I do believe it was built up again. The weekend is supposed to be a lot better and warmer.
    Lots of love Mum XXX

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah30 June 2017 at 20:30

    Ooh I like the look of the lido! Good luck with the last three stages xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1 July 2017 at 12:07

    Hi Jules I don't know if you remember but not too far past Plymouth there is Bigbury and Burgh Island if I can remember rightly you were with us when we went there and went over to the island.
    When the tide is out you can walk over or drive if the tide is in they run a big thing on large wheels.
    MumXXX

    ReplyDelete

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