Pentillie Castle - Walking Tour

We rendezvous in Plymouth for a walking tour of this proud city. We will see the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers embarked for the US, and The Hoe, where Sir Francis Drake was playing bowls when the Spanish Armada was sighted. We transfer to Pentillie Castle, our home for the next six nights where, in the early evening, we meet for drinks on the terrace overlooking the river and its valley, before an Introductory Talk and Welcome Dinner.

Today’s highlight is a visit to Cotehele, a wonderful Tudor house with many stories and legends, festooned with tapestries and adorned with textiles, arms and armour, pewter, brass and old oak furniture; a magical experience as little has changed over the years. Outside, we wander through the formally planted terraces, the Valley Garden, which includes a medieval stewpond and dovecote. We may climb the 18th-century Prospect Tower folly, with fantastic views. Cotehele Quay is the home of the restored Tamar sailing barge 'Shamrock'. The Discovery Centre tells the story of the Tamar Valley. We return to Pentillie for Dinner.

Today, we depart by private ferry (tide and weather permitting) for a day on Rame Head. We will visit Mount Edgcumbe Counrty Park: an 865-acre coastal estate designed by Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele in 1547-53. Ancient and rare trees include a 400 year old lime, a splendid Lucombe oak, and many others set amidst classical garden buildings and even a folly! There are spectacular views across Plymouth Sound. After lunch at the Edgcumbe Arms, we walk along the coastal footpath to the ancient villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. This evening we dine out at a well-known, popular local hostelry.

After breakfast, we leave for a day on Dartmoor, the rugged and romantic home of the Hound of the Baskervilles; we may see the “drifts” when the famous Dartmoor ponies are rounded up for the annual sales. Here we explore ancient stone circles and old tin workings, and learn about the folklore, farming and unqiue way of life in this bleak landscape. Lunch will be in a traditional Dartmoor pub and, in the afternoon, there is chance to visit the historic town of Tavistock, the birthplace of Sir Francis Drake. The church of St Eustachius is well worth a visit and there will be a chance to stroll around the local market which sells good antiquarian books and prints as well as fresh, local produce. We meet again in the evening for dinner in Pentillie Castle.

We start the day with an exploration of Kit Hill with sensational views over the Tamar Valley, once a hive of mining activity. Later it became well-known for market gardening with apples, cherries, strawberries and fresh flowers sent by rail to Covent Garden in London. We walk along the Cornish side of the Tamar, crossing it by a bridge built in 1437, for lunch on the Devon side. In the afternoon we visit the country estate of the Duke of Bedford, with gardens and landscape designed by Sir Humphrey Repton. We will take afternoon tea here before returning to Pentillie for our evening meal.

We take the scenic train from Gunnislake, over the great viaduct above Calstock, down the peninsula to Bere Ferrers. We will walk along the Tavy estuary, where we may see avocet and curlew on the mudflats, to the 16th century Who’d Have Thought It Inn (voted one of the 50 best pubs in Britain). After lunch, we visit Buckland Abbey, home of Sir Francis Drake, the intrepid sailor who circumnavigated the globe in the 16th century with enormous faith and few maps. Once a Cistercian Monastery, the Abbey now tells the story of how two seafaring adventurers – Sir Richard Grenville and Drake himself – changed the shape of the house and the fate of the nation. We return to Pentillie Castle for our Farewell Dinner.

After Breakfast, we leave for Plymouth and our onward or homebound travels.