- Difficulty
- Challenging
Easy to strenuous
- Start
- Wembury Beach Car Park - PL9 0HP
- Finish
- Bigbury on Sea
- Length
- 10.3 miles (16.6 km)
- Summary
After the ferry crossing over the Yealm, the Path passes out of Noss Mayo the ancient oaks of the Brakehill Plantation and along the wide, sweeping track known as Lord Revelstoke’s Drive, built in the 1880s to provide an impressive carriageway for his visitors. On clear days you can see the Eddystone Lighthouse which is 14 miles away.
This undeveloped stretch of coast is recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the South Devon Heritage Coast. The path provides a mixture of easy, high open walking and some fairly strenuous climbs up and down steep slopes and steps to reach beautiful coves.
The difficult walking is certainly worth the effort as the views are truly spectacular, and thought to be some of the best on the entire Coast Path. You need to plan this day in advance as you have two river crossings; the River Yealm crossed by a seasonal ferry and the River Erme which normally can be easily forded one hour either side of low tide.
- Public Transport
Plymouth has a mainline train station and a large bus station serving much of Devon and Cornwall including Noss Mayo at the start of the walk. Buses to and from Bigbury-on-Sea run very infrequently (in Winter only on Fridays). For timetable information, zoom in on the interactive map and click on the bus stops, visit Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33.
On this section, you have 3 rivers to cross; the River Yealm (ferry), River Erme (ford at low tide) and River Avon (ferry). You can find details of these on our estuaries and ferries page, and timetable information is also posted at Wembury Beach car park, and at each river crossing.
- Nearest car park
Wembury (Postcode for Sat Navs: PL9 0HP), above Blackstone Point and Stoke Point, above Stoke Beach, Mothecombe, Ringmore, Challaborough and Bigbury-on-Sea.
- Nearest toilets
Wembury and Bigbury-on-Sea. You may find facilities inland in Noss Mayo and Ringmore.
- Nearest refreshments
It is important to stock up on facilities at the beginning of the day as you will not be able to buy refreshments without travelling inland to Kingston or Ringmore, or visiting the seasonal cafe up the hill from Mothecombe Beach. At the end of the day you will find a a shop and excellent beach cafe around Bigbury on Sea or for a treat you may like a meal at the world famous Burgh Island Hotel.
