Day 193 - Cawsand and Kingsand

Twin villages of Cawsand (left) and Kingsand (right)

Plymouth harbour lies at the mouth of the Tamar River and is surrounded on both sides by prominent headlands: Wembury Point to the east and Rame Head to the west. The body of water is known as the Plymouth Sound. We have booked a holiday cottage in the seaside village of Cawsand on the Rame Head.  Actually, Cawsand is located in one small embayment and  has a twin village, Kingsand, that lies on another small embayment.

Their history is an interesting one. Originally, the border between Cornwall (Cawsand) and Devon (Kingsand) ran between them. Naturally, their origins are related to fishing, but they also became famous as smuggling ports. Today, the tunnels that were dug into the rocks surrounding the villages have been sealed for safety reasons, but it is still possible to come across old storage cellars for the daily catches.

King George V Clocktower

We're staying in Seamew Cottage, which happens to be just two doors down from the remnant of what was the Ship Inn, a local pub and inn. It had a fire a number of years ago and now only the stone front remains. It's famous for having been a place that Horatio Nelson visited. In the Battle of Trafalgar where Nelson, although victorious over the French Navy, was mortally wounded, one of his midshipman who was from here shot and killed the French sailor who had shot Nelson. Today there is an initiative by the residents to raise funds re-build the Ship Inn as a residence with four apartments.

Don't get your feet wet!

Cawsand Fort

There are a couple of notable landmarks: the first is a clocktower that was built to celebrate the coronation of King George V in 1910. It sits on the beach in Kingsand. The second is Cawsand Fort, which lies above the village. It is now residential apartments, but it was first built in response to a near invasion at this spot by the Spanish in 1596. Soon after, fortifications were begun. but it was not until 1860 that the present structure was built and then abandoned in 1926, which is why it was eventually turned into residences.

The two villages have a number of pubs, a local store, a bakery-cafe, gift shops , post office and a fish and chip/ice cream/cornish pasty shop. To get here we could have taken either the bus from Plymouth (a 90-minute trip) or by a small ferry (30 minutes). We chose the ferry and it made for a delightful trip to our new home for the next three weeks.

Ale of the Day: Atlantic Ale, Sharp Brewery, Rock, Cornwall