13 people arrived at Cotehele Quay on Wednesday 27th Dec 00 to walk the route being reccied by Joan and Joy under the tutorship of Bob Perkins. It was perhaps the best and most sunny day since September 00, which says a lot about the weather we have experienced over the last few months.
Due to Foot and Mouth disease it was not until 21st October 2001 that Joan and Joy were able to put the walk on for the group. It was another brilliant day though, bright blue skies and temperatures up into the low twenties centigrade at times. It attracted about 35 of the group out for the 8 to 9 mile walk with a 4.5 mile cut off option for those who didn't want the full version.The saying 'it was worth waiting for' was certainly true on this occasion.
After a short briefing to the walk, we set off from the National Trust car park turning sharp right by the end of the CP and following a footpath which runs along above the River Tamar upstream towards Calstock.
The path rises up slowly passing a small chapel and shortly after giving from one point excellent views upstream towards Calstock..
The wide track then descended again to a point where the path went inland whilst another turned right again and headed back to the river. Take the path by some houses and back to the river again and follow the road back along and up into Calstock.
There were several lovely views of the river en route and of the lovely riverside houses and even a boatyard before pasing under the huge railway viaduct carrying the Plymouth to Gunnislake railway high above the small town.
Once into Calstock turn down to the river and there is a good point there for morning coffee plus a loo break.
Follow the path along the riverside path as it sweeps around in huge curve around the reclaimed land, by the football pitch and then out and round finally passing a Sewage works, best walked by quickly.
Shortly after take the path which rises up through the wood as it climbs up and away from the river to the level of the railway line.After a while the path levels out as it merges into another path.
Turn sharp left and follow the wider track back heading west until the train crossing sign is seen.
Turn sharp right across the railway line and follow the road which sweeps up and around a wood. From one point there are views looking down through the trees to Morwelham Quay below on the Devon side of the river.
Follow the road along for about a half mile and you pass the very old Calstock Church.
It is well worth a brief stop here to look inside. Ignore the road to the left heading back to Calstock
Continue West North West along the road for a further half a mile, until you meet another road which ascends from Calstock.
Turn sharp left onto that road and head back south east for a couple of hundred yards.
You will find a path off to the right, turn onto it and follow it until it crosses over what looks like an old now dismantled inclined tram line. When the walk was reccied you crossed it turned right then descended down onto steep line of the track, go under the bridge and descend on down until another bridge is seen.
The descent to the track has now been improved. Cross the old bridge, turn left and then right again down a newly constructed stepped descent onto the disused line.
The path descends steadily in a zig zag fashion towards Danescombe and down to the river level again at the point where you walked into Calstock via the old hotel.
It is easy to go slightly awry on this zig zagged descent so take a little care. Look for an old iron bridge as you make your way down, you have to take the route under this bridge and on down with a finally zig zag down to the riverside and a small pottery called Danescombe Pottery.This was out lunch break point and it is a cut off point since some who want a shorter walk can now retrace their steps along the path back to Cotehele Quay.
The main walk now is up the valley steadily climbing north west passing some old mine buildings, some now renovated.
After about 4 to 500 metres there is a path off to the left with a wooden bridge over a stream which climbs steeply up through the woods and heading west.
Take this path and climb up for about 200 metres. It flattens out and even descends slightly. It may seem longer because of the initial steepness.
You will see some steps off to the right, leading up to a stile and into a field.
Go up the steps, into the field and head diagonally north west across and up the field to a stile at the top corner. Keep to the edge of the next field on about 260 degrees and you will exit onto a road heading north south.
Go straight over the road and follow the road down on about 280 degrees passing by a road heading north and before long you will reach a farm called Newton Farm.
There is a plaque naming the farm, turn to the right and take the track up through hedges heading north west.
It is at this point that a certain degree of judgement must be used as the path seems to have been 'let go' over the years and is not shown on the map as a footpath of any sort. Bob is sure that it is still a footpath used by locals and of course the stiles indicate the likelihood of a footpath route there from Newton Farm to Metherell.
On the 1988 map of the area the path was still marked as such but on the later maps it is most definitely missing.
You will soon meet a dilapidated iron gate with a run down stile over it. Climb over the gate and into a field. Ahead of you in the distance you can clearly see the Kit Hill Chimney.
This is on a bearing of about 330 degrees but really it is a case of crossing the field towards another stile and then keeping to the left hand edge of the next and on the next stile.
Very soon you are leaving the field and onto an enclosed track running alongside a garden and behind an old barn.
You will leave the path by a bridge over a stream. Turn left and you will see a footpath sign indicating a track back to Norris Green, to the north east.
The village of Metherell is immediately ahead and soon you are entering the village.
As you walk into the village you bear left and a few yards on is The Carpenters Arms pub. On the lovely sunny day we sat outside, with the permission of the landlord and enjoyed a pint with our sandwiches. Despite a great desire to repeat the performance on the actual walk we fought off the tempatation and continued onwards.
Just outside the pub is on old well to look at.
After the well earned break we continued up the hill to a road junction where we turned left for the descent back to Cotehele Quay.
We walked down a road due south for 200 metres or thereabouts before taking a footpath over a stile and into a field system. 300 metres or so SSE you come to the start of a wood.
If you wish you can continue along the edge of the wood to the road 300 metres to the South.
We turned left over a stile and into the woods and took the higher path initially up and then descended down and down to a stream in the woods.
We then turned right and followed the line of the stream down through the woods until we came to a road.
We turned left and followed a narrow lane for a hundred yards or so and crossed another road to the gated entrance to a track which took us for the final section of the walk south east back to Cotehele Quay once again.
This last section passes some interesting points such as the weir with the ducted water flow to an old water mill.
Before long we were exiting the track through a gate and passing the road bridge we had driven over on our way to the Quay five hours earlier. We then were at the quay again for the final few yards along the river side and the quay to the large car park and our cars.
It had been a good recce of quite a difficult route. It is lucky in a way that the two leaders, Joan and Joy, don't place over reliance on such things as maps and prefer to memorise the route. It should be stressed however that both had detailed maps of the route for reference, just in case
On the recce We ended up, after thanking Bob for his efforts in showing us around with a quick sprint back to the Crooked Spaniard at Cargreen for a deserved final drink to round off this excellent holiday recce.
On the day of the walk all went smoothly, very smoothly indeed with Joan leading and Joy back marker. Everyone enjoyed the day out and on a day as fine as it was then it was an ideal day out for the group.