Devon

Wembury maritime walk

This coastal route from Wembury Beach to Wembury Point and back again offers wonderful sea views – and a guide to the varied ships and boats you can expect to see along the way.

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Total steps: 5

Start point

Wembury Beach National Trust car park, grid ref SX515485

Step 1

From the car park, walk down the slipway towards Wembury Beach, passing the Old Mill Café on your left. Take the coast path on the right, running behind the beach, and follow it westward along the cliffs.

Merchant ships

You can spot a variety of merchant ships along this stretch of coastline. Further out towards the horizon you may see large vessels: tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and car transporters. Inshore, smaller ships might be carrying fertiliser, cement or aggregates. Product tankers bring petrol to Plymouth – cheaper than the equivalent road tankers, they keep local prices down. Cruise ships also sometimes call here and ferries run regularly across the channel.

Step 2

After about 20 minutes, turn right along the narrow path signposted to Spring Road. At the next fork, take the left-hand path, climbing through hawthorn, blackthorn and elder scrub.

Step 3

Here, the path emerges onto Marine Drive, the access road to the former HMS Cambridge. The site has been narrowed and returned to grassland. Turn left along the drive towards the sea. After the gate, continue to Wembury Point itself with a view of Plymouth Sound (for a shorter walk go down the path on the left towards the foreshore).

Step 4

Pass through the five-bar gate and follow the track towards Heybrook Bay. Turn sharp left, following the way-marker onto the coast path.

Wembury Point

From Wembury Point, you can spot a range of shipping vessels coming in and out of the port at Plymouth, just around the bay. While renowned as a naval port, Plymouth handles more commercial cargo than any other channel port west of Southampton while fishing boats land a greater weight of fish here than anywhere in England. Look out too for tugs, buoy maintenance vessels, dredgers, survey vessels, jack-up barges or even a lifeboat out on a rescue call.

Step 5

Follow the coast path to reach a short detour to the beach and its 19th-century boathouse. Then continue back along the path to your starting point at Wembury.

End point

Wembury Beach National Trust car park, grid ref SX515485

Trail map

Ordnance Survey map route for Wembury Beach to Heybrook Bay walk, Devon — Maritime walk from Wembury Beach to Wembury Point | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey

Cliff and sea views towards Heybrook Bay from Wembury Point, Devon

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Wembury Beach, Wembury, Devon, PL9 0HP

01752346585

wembury@nationaltrust.org.uk

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Wembury maritime walk

Total steps: 5