A two counties walk

We have been incredibly lucky of late with the weather on the day of our walks.  Today was no exception: another perfect day for going out and enjoying the Cornish coast.

It was a walk a little out of the ordinary for our group. We started in Devon, took a ferry across the Tamar into Cornwall, where we did a 9 miler around the Rame Peninsular.  Briefly, our itinerary was:

*  Start at the Devil's Point car park in Stonehouse, Plymouth.
*  Breakfast at Elvira's Cafe - the best bacon bap I've had for ages.
*  Cremyll to Mount Edgecombe pedestrian ferry across the Tamar.
*  Walk along the coast through Mount Edgecombe park and along cliffs to Kingsand.
*  Refreshments overlooking Plymouth Sound.
*  A steep (and I do mean steep) climb out of Kingsand up to Maker Church.
*  Down the other side of the peninsular to Empacombe Quay.
*  Back to ferry and across to Devon.

Quite an energetic walk with a couple of challenging steep bits to negotiate.  But with such weather and views, what a day to be out and about.  Perhaps the following photographs will give a little taster?

What a place to start a walk! Drake's Island in Plymouth Sound surrounded by sun-sparkling sea.

 

Elvira's Cafe - highly recommended for breakfast. A double whammy - amazingly good and amazingly cheap.

 

Our transport across the Tamar - the Cremyll to Edgecombe ferry.  There's been one plying this route for at least a thousand years. Not this boat, of course, it's not as old as that.

 

The view looking back and down on the twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. Now both in Cornwall but were separated for centuries by the county boundary which can still be seen cutting across the main road.  It's a heat haze, not mist, clouding the shot.

 

I like this clock on the Cornish side of the ferry.  It reads: 'Dost thou love life? Then do no squander time. Time and tide tarry for none'.  It is dated 1885.

 

Some fascinating shapes and shades on this branch of a sloe tree. Lichens and liverworts amongst the flower buds. A good indicator of the purity of the air in this part of the world.

Apparently this pair of swans have been nesting on the side of the road by Elvira's for several years. Their nest is protected by a temporary fence. As the notice says, they are sitting on three eggs.