Salcombe to Gara Rock Walk

3.1 miles (5 km)

This scenic journey begins at the North Sands car park, where the trail leads you past the atmospheric ruins of Salcombe Castle, also known as Fort Charles, which stands on a rocky outcrop as the last Royalist stronghold to fall during the English Civil War.
From here, you follow the coastal road into the heart of Salcombe to board the small passenger ferry that shuttles across the bustling harbour to East Portlemouth. Once on the eastern bank, the walk turns south along the ridgeline, passing the dramatic jagged rocks of Biddlehead Point, where the estuary meets the open sea and the views back toward the town and the sandbars of the bar are particularly striking.
The path continues along the rugged cliff edge, traversing the wild, gorse-covered slopes of Rickham Common, a National Trust area famed for its diverse birdlife and grazing livestock.... As you round the headland and turn east, you follow the high, windswept path across Portlemouth Down, where the Atlantic swells crash against the cliffs far below.
This final stretch offers expansive vistas of the English Channel before the trail leads you directly to the secluded beach and the popular lookout point at Gara Rock, an area originally established as a coastguard station to watch for smugglers and ships in distress.