Walking Tours England Cornwall and Dartmoor - Itinerary
We have personally designed these walking tours to include the very best places in Cornwall and Dartmoor that you could choose to visit, all in one hassle free package and to bring you experiences second to none that are not readily available through independent travelling in England. Our small groups of 6–12 people allow us to keep our tours feature packed, personalised and flexible. The walks vary but on an average day you can expect to hike 5-8 miles, obviously taking in the many highlights en route. On most days there are alternative options should you wish to shorten your walk or you may prefer to stay back and relax. The accommodation is very much a highlight of these tours. We felt it was imperative to find something of outstanding quality that truly summed up the essence of England's history and its landscape but allowed for every possible comfort. To this end, we are immensely honoured to be working with Caerhays Castle Estate and Hotel Endsleigh who have joined us in creating these unique tours. And finally to the food. We celebrate all things special that Cornish food and drink has to offer - with the help of our chefs, sommeliers and eateries along the way, we will provide you with some of the very best eating and drinking experiences possible which we hope will create many special memories of your holiday with us, alongside the rich tapestry of everything else these walking tours provide.
Day 1 - Arrival Truro
Truro is the start of our journey together and has fast direct rail connections to London - our meeting point is Truro Railway Station at 16:30. If time permits you might like to arrive in Truro early to visit the magnificent gothic style Truro Cathedral, The Royal Cornwall Museum or enjoy some shopping in Lemon Street Market – home to the Lander Gallery of Cornish fine art. We travel to Caerhays Castle Estate and approach along the castle driveway passing the castle and through the gardens with internationally important collections of magnolia, camellias and rhododendrons before arriving at The Vean, an elegant Georgian country house that will be our home for the next four nights. The Housekeeper and staff will greet us and settle us in to our rooms whilst our chef prepares a delicious 3 course dinner for us to enjoy together in the grand dining room but not before pre-dinner drinks and an informal welcoming party with us, your tour hosts Michael & Alison. Welcome to England.
Day 2 - The Roseland Peninsula and St Mawes
After breakfast we travel to the small fishing village of Porthscatho to join the South West Coast Path along the seaward side of the Roseland Peninsula. We walk the 6 miles past isolated sandy beaches around St Anthony Head, whose light house marks the entrance to Cornwall’s largest natural harbour of Falmouth, arriving at the Neo-Gothic Place House on the banks of the Percuil River. Here we can visit the 13th century St Anthony in Roseland church, restored by the Churches Conservation Trust, before taking a ferry across to St Mawes. There are a selection of harbour side cafes and pubs for lunch in St Mawes, after which we continue our walk a further 3 miles past the St Mawes Castle, built by Henry VIII to protect the harbour, along the banks of the Carrick Roads to St Just-in-Roseland Church in its creek side location surrounded by sub-tropical plants in this beautifully sheltered spot. Optionally you might choose to independently remain at St Mawes Castle to explore inside returning to browse the galleries along the Harbour. We travel back to Caerhays Castle Estate for a private tour of the English Heritage Grade 1 listed Castle built in 1807 by the renowned English architect John Nash for the Trevanion family who owned the Estate since 1370. Returning to The Vean to relax before another sumptuous dinner of local produce.
Day 3 - The Far West Tin Mines and Rugged Coast
Driving to the very western lands of England we arrive at the windswept
Atlantic Coast at Pendeen where people struggled daily
to mine precious elements from deep underground, with seams
stretching right out under the ocean. We walk 5 miles along the breathtakingly
rugged coastline to view the abandoned Botallack Mine in
its precipitous position on the cliff then on to Cape Cornwall,
a very important promontory indicated by many Bronze Age
finds, which was believed to be the UK’s most westerly point until
it is was accurately assessed following the first Ordinance Survey
in the 1800s. After heading inland we arrive at the robust mining
village of St Just where we can visit a village pub to sample the
Cornish Ales and enjoy a traditional miner’s lunch
of a Cornish Pasty. Alternatively you may choose to shorten
the walk to 2 miles by returning to Pendeen to tour the Levant Mine
before transport to St Just for lunch. From St Just we travel to the southerly
facing sandy cove of Porthcurno, made unusually famous
in 1870 as it was the termination point for an early submarine telegraph
cable stretching all the way to India. As we walk out to the cliff
we pass the amazing setting for the Minack Theatre, an
open air amphitheatre carved into the cliff as waves crash far below. Our
2 mile walk takes us west and then inland to St Levan Church where the pre-Christian
holy St Levan’s Stone stands along with two early
Celtic crosses. Optionally walk a half mile and
remain to tour the Minack Theatre and Gardens returning
to Porthcurno to visit the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.
On our journey home we will pass Penzance and stop at Marazion
to view the amazingly picturesque island of St Michaels Mount
set in the bay. After dinner at the Vean we can join the Tower Captain
at St Michael’s church in the Caerhays Castle Estate for a bell
ringing demonstration of the six peal of church bells, three of
which are the medieval originals.
Day 4 - The Lizard and Helford River
The Lizard is the most southerly point of England and
its hazardous waters are marked by a stout lighthouse which
has warned ships of the danger since it was built in 1619.
We can tour the Lizard Lighthouse and Lighthouse Heritage Centre
before taking the coast path along the western side of this peninsula for
a 2 mile walk around Lizard Point to Kynance Cove where
we can lunch at the idyllic little Kynance Cove Café.
You may choose to remain at the Lizard to visit the craft
shops in the village rejoining the group for lunch. After lunch
we drive to the tranquil shelter of Helford village where
thatched cottages nestle together. A 3 mile walk along the Helford River
takes us to Frenchman’s Creek, made famous by Daphne
Du Maurier’s novel of the same name, returning through ancient
woodlands back to the village. We retire to the Vean and a chance
to relax, or perhaps take a stroll down the Castle drive to Porthluney
Beach before dinner.
Independent days whilst staying at The Vean
You might like to simply remain at The Vean during the day to relax with a massage in your room, visit the Caerhays Castle Gardens or swim in the sea at the sandy beach. You could also book to try clay pigeon shooting, take a sea fishing trip or visit the nearby Lost Gardens of Heligan or The Eden Project.
Day 5 - Gribben Head and Daphne Du Maurier’s Fowey
All packed up we say goodbye to the Caerhays Castle Estate to continue
our Cornish adventure further north. We travel towards
Fowey (pronounced foy as joy) and begin our walk today
at the entrance to Menabilly the great Elizabethan house
restored by Du Maurier during the 26 years she resided
there. We walk past the gate house out to the South West Coast Path that
takes us 5 miles around Gribben Head with its strikingly
tall navigation tower, round to the Fowey Estuary passing
St Catherine’s Castle to arrive at the charming bustling
streets of Fowey. We will lunch in Fowey where there are pubs, cafes and
restaurants, local hand dived scallops are a treat worth
seeking out. In the afternoon we take the ferry across the Fowey River to
Bodinnick which offers a great view of the aptly named
house ‘Ferryside’ where Du Maurier first settled in Cornwall
and wrote a great many works. We walk up the village high above the river
which gives us amazing views over the estuary and out
to sea, following the path to the sleepy Pont Quay,
where time seems to have stood still only marked by the coming and going
of the tides. We climb up the banks to arrive high in the fishing village
of Polruan where we descend to the quayside to cross the
river once more back to Fowey. Fowey has many craft shops,
galleries and a small museum so you may wish to remain
in Fowey during the afternoon. We travel on to our next accommodation, Hotel
Endsleigh an English Heritage Grade 1 listed hunting lodge
built for the 6th Duke and Duchess of Bedford that
overlooks the River Tamar. We settle in before coming together
for an introduction to the history of Endsleigh and its
‘Red Book’ which details the great landscape designer
Repton’s work here. Dinner follows.
Day 6 - Dartmoor, Princetown, Fox Tor Mire and Chagford
Our first destination on Dartmoor is Princetown where
the famous Victorian prison dominates the village and gives
a foreboding atmosphere to the place. Here we visit the High Moorland
Centre to learn some of the history of Dartmoor
before travelling to and exploring Fox Tor Mire, the swamps
better known as Grimpen Mire in ‘The Hounds of the Baskervilles’.
Childe’s tomb sits high above as a reminder of how treacherous
travel across the moors could be – whilst caught in a storm
Childe’s horse became lame, he was forced to slaughter the beast and
climbed inside its carcass to shelter from the elements
and it was like this that days later he was found, as he too had succumbed
to the moor. We travel across the moor to the sheltered eastern
village of Chagford where we explore St Michaels Church
where the grave of ‘The Real Lorna Doone’ lies.
The village has a warm charm and makes a great place to
enjoy lunch perhaps in the 13th century Three Crowns Hotel or
Whidden’s Tea Rooms. After lunch we drive to Chagford
Common and walk out for 4 miles onto the moor past Bronze Age
hut ruins over peaks of weathered stones and to Dartmoor’s
own Stonehenge, Scorhill Circle, before following a babbling watercourse
off the moor to the famous Gidleigh Park Hotel where we
can enjoy a cream tea and the gardens. Alternatively
you may wish to go directly to Gidleigh Park Hotel and take longer to enjoy
the gardens and cream tea. We return to Hotel Endsleigh to unwind,
perhaps walk through the arboretum to the River Tamar or
a game of Croquet on the lawn before enjoying another superb
dinner at the hotel.
Day 7- Padstow and The Camel Estuary
The sandy bay of Trevone lies on the Atlantic Coast and
it is from here we walk the 6 miles of stunning jagged coastline around
into the Camel Estuary where Padstow nestles,
enveloped by the land protecting it from the westerly weather. En-route
we may stop to chat with the volunteers at the lookout point or examine
the myriad of wild flowers and edible seashore plants that
this unique river valley hosts. On reaching Padstow we can choose where
to lunch, perhaps a Cornish pasty, alfresco sitting on
the harbour wall or indulge in probably the best fish
and chips at celebrity chef Rick Stein’s
eatery. After lunch we take the ferry across the River Camel to
Rock, famous for its latter-day patronage by the late Princess
of Wales, and here we walk 1 mile along the fine golden sand up
into huge hills of dunes to find the grave of famous poet
laureate Sir John Betjeman at the Church of St
Enodoc. From here the views are sublime and as we return to Rock
over the dunes we may discover yet more interesting flora
that this habitat holds. Returning to Padstow by ferry we journey back to
Endsleigh skirting the top of Bodmin Moor en-route where
the peaks of Rough Tor and Brown Willy
dominate the landscape. You may prefer to spend the afternoon
at Padstow to soak up the special buzz of harbourside life
or take the opportunity for some serious shopping that
Padstow can offer.
Before dinner we shall be treated to a wine tasting featuring
some of the wines from Cornwall and Devon.
Day 8 - Rocky Valley, Tintagel and Cliff Top Slate Workings
Rocky Valley is a wonderful name for this unique gorge
cut through the layered rocks by the forcefully energetic stream
that once powered the ruined water mill, which we walk
through on our way out to the coast. The slate cliffs are populated by many
sea birds and the natural shelves make perfect nesting
places particularly on the isolated island stacks that
lie just a few hundred yards out to sea. On calm days the sea here is as
turquoise blue as any sea, caused by the sun light reflecting back
from the silver sand on the sea bed. After 3 miles we reach
Tintagel and from our northerly position we can get an
appreciation of the layout and extent of the castle ruins.
Here we shall stop for lunch at the castle café and have the chance
to tour the castle ruins and caves below. We continue on the South
West Coast Path for another 3 miles this afternoon calling in on
Tintagel Church, a squat Norman Tower looking out at the
ocean. Along towards Trebarwith we discover the now abandoned
slate workings where for hundreds of years men and women toiled to quarry
slate from the cliffs battered by Atlantic gales and high seas.
Arriving at Trebarwith we can rest at the Port William Pub
before we set off back to Hotel Endsleigh for our Farewell Dinner.
Independent days whilst staying at Hotel Endsleigh
Endsleigh boasts its own stretch of the River Tamar and here you can spend the day fly fishing with help from the in-house Ghillie. The library may attract your attention or perhaps a personal tour of the gardens by the Head Gardener. Further afield you can take a canoe trip along the river or visit the market town of Tavistock which has a vibrant indoor pannier market.
Day 9 - Departure Bodmin
We depart after breakfast taking transport to Bodmin
Parkway Railway Station where fast direct trains run to
London.
The walking tour concludes and we hope you take with you memories
forever and friends for life.
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