Penlee Point
Penlee Point is one of the most beautiful walks in the country. It lies on the South West Coast Path and the views all around the headland are incredible.
Penn Legh is Cornish for stone-slab headland and the point is a coastal headland southeast of the village of Ram in Southeast Cornwall, UK. The point lies at the entrance to Plymouth Sound, with its imposing lighthouse.
Queen Adelaide’s Grotto
Above the point and little below the stunning Coastal Path is Queen Adelaide’s Grotto, built in 1827/1828 to commemorate the visit of King William IV and Queen Adelaide to Mount Edgcumbe. Penlee Battery is the former site of a fort, and is now a nature reserve.
Penlee Battery
A gun battery was constructed on Penlee Point in the late 1880s and used throughout both World Wars. It was initially armed with two 6 inch guns and a massive 13.5 inch gun which weighed 67 tons and took eighty horses two weeks to haul it up a specially constructed flight of steps. On its first firing, the recoil from the gun split its concrete bed. The battery was decommissioned in the 1950s and the buildings associated with it were demolished but there are still enough remains to appreciate the scale of the defences. Wait around until low tide to see a private hidden beach revealed. This is also where nature lovers can see the Green Darner Dragonfly – first seen in Britain here.
Rame Head
Penlee Point is part of a small Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the “Rame Head Heritage Coast” that also includes Cawsand Bay and the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Top Tip: make sure you stock up with plenty to eat before you go. Try some of the great places to eat in Cawsand. Try The Bay Bar and Restaurant on Cawsand Beach, or The Old Bakery. You can check out what’s open here.
Turn right out of Blue Monkey and keep walking and the road will take you all the way to Penlee Point.