Salcombe to Prawle Point Walk

5.2 miles (8.3 km)

This 5.2 mile walk takes you from Salcombe to Prawle Point on the Devon Coast. The walk starts at the North Sands car park, guiding you alongside the historic remains of Salcombe Castle, or Fort Charles, a rocky fortress famous for being the final Royalist site to surrender in the English Civil War.... You then stroll along the coastal road into Salcombe's center to catch the passenger ferry across the lively harbour over to East Portlemouth. On the opposite shore, the trail climbs southward along the ridge and skirts the sharp, craggy edges of Biddlehead Point, providing spectacular views of the estuary mouth and the shifting sandbars below.
The route then hugs the jagged cliffs of Rickham Common, a wild National Trust expanse rich with cattle and rare birds. Turning eastward, you trek across the breezy heights of Portlemouth Down as the Atlantic waves break against the rocks far beneath you. This path opens up to wide-reaching views of the English Channel before arriving at the hidden cove and lookout at Gara Rock, a former coastguard outpost once used to intercept smugglers.
Pushing further east from Gara Rock, the trail becomes even more rugged as it winds toward the narrow, rocky finger of Gammon Head. This dramatic vantage point offers a panoramic look at the sheer cliffs and the secluded beach of Maceley Cove nestled just below. The walk eventually reaches its climax at Prawle Point, the southernmost tip of Devon, where you can explore the Coastwatch station and the ancient raised beaches that define this wild, wind-beaten coastline.