Last Updated on 8th October 2026
The Staddon Stroll is a circular 12.5-mile walk starting at Jennycliff and extending out to Warren Point at the mouth of the River Yealm. It comprises countryside lanes and footpaths, along with the SW Coast Path (King Charles III England Coast Path).
The walk is somewhat of a stroll; not too challenging, except for the last 3 miles, which have some pretty high step-runs.
The route explained here is in a clockwise direction; the inland lanes and footpaths first, to save the best bits of coast path and vistas to last. The route can also be shortened: parking at Bovisand (chargeable) will cut off a couple of miles. There are also a few shortcuts from the lanes to the coast path to avoid going all the way to Warren Point. Lots of choice.
Download the activity-traced GPX File for the Staddon Stroll to use in map tracking applications. See my article, Top Tips: Mapping & GPS for Hiking, for more information on GPS/GPX files.
Jennycliff Car Park
This car park is quite large and free of charge at the time of writing. There are toilets – I’ve seen better! There’s a cafe just down from the car park, but it may have restricted out-of-season opening times.
Jennycliff History
The name is likely a twist on Devonian or Celtic words and local dialect – Ginn-clif (The cliff with the gap/chasm) or Ghen-clif (The cliff with gorse). Much of the area is a site of Special Scientific Interest, built on limestone and slate geology aged over 350 million years.
Today, Jennycliff is popular with locals and visitors, with wide open space for dog walks and the sandy beach below for bathing and rummaging around the rockpools on either side.
When I was a kid, my parents spent a lot of time at Jennycliff. My Great Uncle Stan had a cafe on the beach that, all too often, got swept away with the bad storms. He loved to tease us kids. One of his tricks was to take one of the small soft-shell crabs from my bucket – my catch that I proudly showed him. Then he would appear to pop it in his mouth and eat it, displaying his empty hand and munching away. Just as I was at the point of bursting into tears, he would reach behind my ear and magically make it reappear—dear old Uncle Stan.
Let’s get started. Walk up the lane to Staddon Heights, marked by the tall communication masts that can be seen from miles around. As the lane levels, there is a golf club on the right with Staddon Heights farm and Staddon Fort on the left. There is much history of coastal defences in this area and along this walk. Some of the forts are still in use, maybe not for their original intended use, but being maintained all the same.
After about half a mile, take the left lane turn and see the start of the public footpath just a few metres further on the right. The path leads to Radford House and woods before heading SE to Staddiscombe.
Staddiscombe
Dating back to at least the Domesday survey of 1086, Staddiscombe is a historic Devonshire village. The surrounding land, estate and manor have changed hands many times over the years. Notable names are the Bretts, the Wise family and ERP Bastard Esq. Today, it is included in the parish of Plymstock and is seen as a quiet residential suburb.
Off the footpath and onto the street, heading NE through some houses. At the end, turn right. There are magnificent views over the wall. At the top, there is a grocery shop. Cross over the main road – watch out for the traffic – to pick up the footpath, heading SE.
The footpath continues SE. As it goes down the hill, there is a gate beside an electricity distribution pole. Go through the gate and look to the footpath post showing the direction around some gorse. It’s a bit confusing, as can be seen in my traced GPX file, because there are a couple of visible paths, and I followed the wrong one before realising. The correct path continues SE down and over a stream and up across a field.
Continue up to the gate, which becomes visible near the end of the path. It is signposted and now heads SSE across another field, marked as Hollacombe Hill on the OS map. It emerges onto Traine Road. Continue south to the left turn onto a narrow lane, which veers around to the right onto Knighton Road. Cross the road and continue SE on the footpath. After a few metres, it doglegs left, then right to continue SE through an allotment on the outskirts of Wembury.
The footpath leads out to an open field, following a high wall, which encloses Wembury House. Further along, it emerges onto a road and a lane. Walk through the gate signposted ‘No Parking’ by the National Trust. This is the final footpath descending in a SE direction to Warren Point.
Warren Point and the Yealm
Warren Point and Warren Cottages date back to the 1500s. Part of the Wembury House estate, a warrener was employed to keep rabbits for their meat and skins. High walls were built around the area to prevent them from jumping out and escaping from the warren.
The route doesn’t go all the way down to Warren Point, but there are superb views over and up the River Yealm. Our route picks up the SW Coast Path, more recently merged and renamed the King Charles III England Coastpath (that’s a mouthful!).
When I got to this point, I was long overdue for a coffee break. Typically, the bench at Warren Point was taken, as was the next one a little further up the coast path. So, further on again, I veered off south and down on the way to Season Point. I found a stile and rather than going over it, I made myself comfy, using it as a seat. The views from here are fantastic. On the opposite bank of the Yealm is Cellar Beach, then out to Wembury Bay and the Great Mews Stone to the west.
Walk back up the coast path, keeping the barbed wire fence to the left on this diversion track. It continues up and levels off. After a short while, the tower of Wembury Church comes into view.
Wembury
The name Wembury may derive from Wódnesbeorh (linked to the Saxon god Woden) or from St Werburgh Church, the proper name for Wembury Church, dedicated to an 8th-century Saxon saint. The church was built in the 14th century on top of foundations dating back to possibly the 9th century.
Archaeologists have discovered Mesolithic flint implements and Roman coins in the area. Wembury Manor was part of Plympton Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s.
The Great Mewstone, although deserted now, was once a refuge for 18th-century smugglers, a prison, and a home to exiles. Today, it is a protected bird nature reserve. Conservation has been a key theme of this area since 1930, supported by the National Trust and local conservationists.
Keep the church to the right heading into Wembury. The path leads down and past the National Trust car park, emerging onto the beach lane. There is a delightful cafe tucked away in a rocky corner of the beach, but look out for opening times in the low season. This area is a magnet for visitors, and I can see why; it’s a beautiful area.
Continue west out from the beach. The path is signposted ‘Minehead 424 miles’, which is the start/end of the full SW Coast Path. That’s a good 3-week walk from here!
Benches, it seems, are like buses. None for ages, and then loads of them all at once around Wembury Point; and a couple of ornate ones too. It made me chuckle when, about half a mile further on from here, a couple asked if there were any benches to sit and have a spot of lunch.
There are a few shingle sand beaches in this area. Look out also for the unusual formation of the flat rock in some of the bays at lower tides.
Further on, there is a lovely old gate and fence across the coast path at Wembury Point. I’m not sure what its purpose is other than looking nice. This point is the closest to the Great Mews Stone.
Feeling hungry, a little further on along the coast path, I found a path down to a rock and sand cove. Be careful with walking boots on the smoother rocks near the bottom, which can be a bit slippery even when dry. Aside from the sand flies (there were rather a lot), this was a rather nice place for lunch. There were a lot of interesting things washed up on the shore – shame I didn’t have more time to investigate further.
Heybrook Bay
The coast path swings northwards and heads into Heybrook Bay. The cove below is rather rocky.
I’m not sure what to make of the village. While the approach looks much like many seaside villages, on closer inspection, it looks like a battle of those with the longest index finger, from humble, traditional-looking bungalows to huge, great monstrosities. The prize goes to the new thing being built nearest the cove.
It’s the result of parcels of land being split and sold off in the 1920s from what was the Langdon Estate. Back then, Heybrook comprised a few dwelling homes scattered around the Heybrook Bay Hotel, which is now the Eddystone Inn. Since then, building after building has been squished in, all trying to grab a view of the coast.
Continue along the coast path to see the outcrop of Renney Rocks, where the path veers northwards along Westlake Bay to Andurn Point. The day marker and, further in the distance, Fort Bovisand become the view ahead.
Bovisand
The path turns to the right and then left and out onto the holiday village at Bovisand. It’s a steep walk up the tarmac road as it wends its way around Crownhill Bay and along all the chalets. As a teenager, I camped around these parts in a tent with friends. It’s changed quite a bit from the green field we pitched in. The cafe is still there though (look up its opening times). I recall it was quite an effort to walk down from our tent to the cafe, and back, just for a Cornetto.
Car park – as mentioned at the start, there is a charged car park here (and another a little further on at Bovisand Bay). Reduce this route by two to three miles by walking up to Staddiscombe via the public footpaths or the road up through Down Thomas.
Continue north to get to Bovisand Bay and the lovely golden sands of the beach. Ahead are the Coastguard Cottages, home of my Great Uncle Stan many moons ago. To the left of them is Fort Bovisand, now the Bovisand Diving School.
The coast path goes up a flight of steps to the road, heading west. There is another interesting-looking cafe here, which was closing as I arrived. Walk past it and take what looks to be a driveway to the Coastguard Cottages. Don’t be put off by the ‘Private’ sign painted on the road – at that point, it is not! There is a public footpath marked by the post to the left. Walk towards the gate of the first cottage to see steps up to the coast path.
The path takes a rooftop view over the cottages as it leads out to Staddon Point, looking down over Bovisand Pier on Leekbed Bay. Where did they dream up these wonderful names?
Remember I mentioned the challenges of the last three miles? Well, I’ve mentioned the steps up from Bovisand Beach to the road. The path turns north, and after a short while, there is an enormous flight of steps. Just for good measure, there are more flights of steps that can’t be seen yet! However, the reward is the views, which are absolutely fantastic, taking in all of Plymouth Sound, Drake’s Island, Mount Edgecumbe and Cornwall in the distance.
Further on, there are wooden steps this time that go down and down. Yes, and back up again. The area is a woodland walk, known as Rams Cliff. I can see how the rams would like it here! The trees obstruct the views out to sea, but on a warm day, it’s nice to be cooled by the shade of the woods.
One more flight of steps up as we continue along Jennycliff Bay. The path emerges onto the open fields at Jennycliff, near the cafe and car park. Don’t forget to wipe your feet before leaving the path!
That’s the end of a good day’s walking. I started at 10am and finished at around 3.30pm, having stopped for a coffee and a lunch break, plus snapping photos along the way.
Get into Walking
There are many benefits to walking for both physical and mental health, as well as weight loss and control.
If you want to get into walking or hiking, read my article: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Walks.
