Plymouth - Home Park - Central Park - Victoria Park - Stonehouse Creek - Mutton Cove - Mount Wise Park - Devonport Park - Mount Pleasant Redoubt - Life Centre

Plymouth rightly describes itself as an Ocean City and it is internationally recognised for the beauty of Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth Sound and its foreshore. This walk visits none of those areas! However it visits places that are, in my opinion, of equal beauty and areas that afford better all round views.

Plymouth was once three distinct towns, Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport. This walk starts in Plymouth, skirts Stonehouse passes through parts of Devonport. En route you will enjoy some of the most impressive viewing points anywhere in urban modern Plymouth. It starts and end at the northern end of Central Park, by Home Park, the ground of Plymouth Argyle. Central Park is the largest public park in the City. It is Initially easy walking right through the park before descending to Pennycomequick, very close to sea level, albeit almost 2 km or more away from the sea.

Plymouth is a hilly city but once the hills were punctuated by many tidal creeks. Over the last 200 years almost all of these creeks were infilled as the urban area spread. Most Plymothians know that when walking along low, flat ground in Plymouth, they must be walking along what was once a tidal inlet. The walk traverses one such creek from just below Plymouth Railway station 1.5 km through excellent greenspace parkland to reach Stonehouse Bridge and what now remains of the tidal Stonehouse creek. The walk continues along the north side of the mouth of the Tamar, known as the Hamoaze, until reaching Mutton Cove. This is a small old harbour, adjacent to the original Dockyard, the latter marked by a statue of King William IV, known to Plymothians as King Billy, shown in the photograph accompanying this walk description.

Immediately overlooking Mutton Cove harbour is Mount Wise Park with two very impressive monuments, one is a an old fort with a very tall and imposing mast and further across a wonderfully designed monument to Scott of the Antarctic, who was born in Plymouth. Leaving Mount Wise Park, the walk heads more inland, passing through old Devonport with its very strong military links to reach Devonport Park, a beautifully renovated and improved park. A circular path around the park offers magnificent views across to Torpoint and East Cornwall. There follows more height gain to reach another old defensive fort in a small park, called Blockhouse Park above Stoke. This is a local high point, albeit only 65m above sea level. It offers 360 degree views, right across Plymouth with the backdrops of Plymouth Sound, East Cornwall, the Tamar and estuaries both Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor.

From here there is an easy partly off road path back into Central Park where it passes by a very popular skatepark and the Life Centre, an activities centre with wonderful indoor swimming pool and diving facilities second to none.

There are so many photo opportunities in this 10.5 km walk that it will probably take you rather longer than the time a 10/11 km walk might take. It is my favourite urban walk in my home town and there are plenty of good walks to be had, within the City boundaries, believe me!!

England - South West England - Devon - Town or city

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Walk id: 8951

Walk grade

Moderate Walk

Length

6.6 Miles

Height gain

200 Metres

Duration

2 Hours 59 Mins

Average rating

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