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Landscape
Celtic Cornwall
Ancient Sites
Where to Go
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Portwrinkle to Whitsand Battery & Freathy - 4.5 milesOS Explorer 108: grid reference SX355538 to SX410513 View Map Walk Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Park your car at either of the car parks at Portwrinkle. Walk east out of the village up the hill towards Crafthole. Opposite the 'Whitsand Bay Hotel Golf Club' look for a wooden fingerpost marked 'Tregantle Fort 2 miles'. Leave the road and cross the stile before climbing a few steps to meet the clifftops. Head uphill climbing more steps where you can pause to admire the view west over Portwrinkle. A good guidebook to the area is South East Cornwall by Car by Peter Titchmarsh. The path begins to level out as you pass a seat. Now about 10 mins into your walk you should meet the Golf Course (at Hole 4). The route is well signed here with frequent waymarkers. Follow the path as it veers seaward at Hole 5 before leaving the course via a gate. Enter the NT property of Trethill Cliffs. Walk through another gate then drop down a shallow valley looking below to see the beach at Old House Cove.
Climb once more passing two marker poles as you reach yet another gate. Follow the field boundary ahead then left as it nears the road. Leave Trethill via a gate where you turn sharp right to take a stone stile following the signed route east along a grassy path. Be thankful for the hedge to your left keeping the busy summer traffic at a safe distance. The area to your right is the Ministry Of Defence property of Tregantle Fort containing rifle ranges and such like and should NOT be entered! Frequent signs warn of the dangers here. Crest the rise and stay on the path as you near a major road junction. Leave the path at its end by steps following the signed route. Look left shortly near the top of another rise to see the Royal Albert Railway Bridge - built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1859, and the Tamar Road Bridge - opened in the early 1960's, in the distance.
Cross the road with care, walking up to a large car park. Cross the road once more where signed Whitsand Bay, Freathy and Tregonhawke. It is now about a half mile walk down the road southeast into Freathy. By a lay-by, look seaward to see a marker post which you follow away from the road. The small headland below right is Sharrow Point. Drop down the steps if you want to look at the beach here. Make your way back up the steps to the road by a large car park and continue with care on the road east into Freathy village. The chalets soon begin to thin out a little as you leave Freathy and enter the area known as Withnoe. After another 10 minutes or so of level road walking you pass above a large rock set at right angles to the coast. This is Chamber Rock, and the beach here is Tregonhawke Beach. A War Memorial is seen between the jumble of chalets on the seaward side before a short climb leads up to the entrance of the Whitsand Bay Holiday Park with its Post Box and Cliff Top Cafe. The coastpath now leads off right leaving the road and is indicated by the customary waymark post and arrow.
Previous walk: Seaton to Portwrinkle |
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