Big Trail Adventures
Landscape on the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth

Self-guided · South West · England

South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth

Your walk from Falmouth to Plymouth

Falmouth to Plymouth around the Lizard and Rame Head — past Britain's most southerly point, through the fishing villages of the Cornish south coast, and across the Tamar into Devon.

Build your tripSee your route
Distance
134 km
Ascent
2,529 m
Stages
3 – 8 days
Grade
Moderate

This is the gentlest stretch of the whole path — 134 kilometres along Cornwall's sheltered south coast, through a string of fishing villages that rarely feel more than an hour apart, before crossing the Tamar into Plymouth. The cliffs are lower here and the walking kinder, which makes it a good choice if you want the coast-path experience without the north coast's relentless climbing.

It's also one of the prettiest — Portloe, Fowey, Polperro and Looe all have the kind of harbour views that stop conversation.

Trail Essentials

Start
Falmouth
Cornwall
End
Plymouth
Devon
Distance
134 km
83 miles
Total Ascent
2,529 m
8,297 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Hilliness
Rolling to hilly
Time to Complete
Explorer
7 days
~19 km/day
Hiker
6 days
~22 km/day
Fastpacker
5 days
~27 km/day
Trail Runner
3 days
~45 km/day
When to Walk
Best Good Avoid
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC

Falmouth to Plymouth — the stage in numbers.

Here's how this section looks for most walkers. Everything here is a starting point — the planner below rebuilds it around your own pace and dates.

Distance
134 km / 83 miles
Total ascent
2,529 m
Start
Falmouth
Finish
Plymouth
Days walking
3–8 days
Difficulty
Moderate
Best months
May–Aug
Part of
South West Coast Path

A typical 6-day schedule

Walked at our hiker pace, this is where most of our customers finish each day. Take more days and we'll split the longer stages; take fewer and we'll lengthen them by using the stops in between. We know every option along the route, so your days end up the right length whatever pace you choose.

Suggested day-by-day itinerary for the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth
DayStageDistanceAscentWalking
1Falmouth toPortloe27.7 km383 m8½ hrs
2Portloe toMevagissey19.7 km402 m6½ hrs
3Mevagissey toPar17.1 km350 m5½ hrs
4Par toPolperro23.9 km504 m8 hrs
5Polperro toPortwrinkle21.0 km494 m7 hrs
6Portwrinkle toPlymouth24.6 km396 m7½ hrs

How the trail unfolds.

Your trail divides naturally into three parts — not by day, but by what each stretch of coast was made for. The Roseland was left alone, the clay coast worked for its living, and the last cliffs carried smugglers before they carry you into Plymouth.

01

Falmouth to Gorran Haven

The Roseland

Two ferries in, then the coast quiets: green headlands, working coves, and villages that never grew past them.

You start on water. The St Mawes ferry crosses Carrick Roads, then a smaller boat puts you ashore at Place — a trailhead you reach without touching a road. Past St Anthony Head, where an 1835 lighthouse still marks the harbour entrance, the Roseland settles into its rhythm: the long sands at Carne and Pendower, the climb over Nare Head, the drop into Portloe, still fishing from its slot of a cove.

Beyond Caerhays Castle, John Nash's castellated pile above Porthluney Cove, you climb over Dodman Point — at 114 metres, the highest headland on Cornwall's south coast, marked by a granite cross — and drop to Gorran Haven.

02

Gorran Haven to Fowey

The Clay Coast

Pilchards, china clay and tall ships — this is the coast that worked for its living, and still half does.

This is the coast that earned its keep. Mevagissey's double harbour once landed pilchards by the shoal; now its boats go out for crab and lobster. Pentewan's harbour once shipped a third of Cornwall's china clay; today it sits cut off from the sea entirely. Charlestown kept its Georgian harbour so intact that film crews treat it as a standing set, tall ships at the quay.

You round Gribbin Head beneath the red-and-white daymark Trinity House raised in 1832, then drop into Fowey, where Daphne du Maurier wrote her first novel across the water at Ferryside.

03

Fowey to Plymouth

To Plymouth Sound

The hardest walking of the section, old smuggling coves, and at the end a ferry into England's great naval city.

The gloves come off beyond the Polruan ferry. You climb above the shingle sweep of Lantic Bay, drop through Polperro, folded into its ravine of a harbour, and follow the quay through Looe, with its curved stone banjo pier. Then Rame Head, where a small chapel to St Michael — licensed for Mass in 1397 — stands alone above the sea.

The finish is pure theatre. Through Cawsand and Kingsand, smuggling villages once split between two counties, you enter the deer park at Mount Edgcumbe, and the Cremyll ferry — a crossing worked since around 1204 — lands you beneath the Hoe, where Drake reputedly finished his bowls before the Armada.

Build your trip

Customise your South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth.

Pick your pace, party size and dates. The itinerary, distances, nightly stops and the price all update live — no commitment until you're happy.

  • Days sized to your walking speed
  • Each night ends at a stop with accommodation
  • Pricing reflects party size and seasonality
  • Save and share the itinerary with your group
Hiker · 4.0 km/h
2 walkers
Falmouth to Plymouth
Days
6
Distance
134 km
Walking
44 hrs

Your day-by-day itinerary updates live in the Your itinerary section below.

Trip total
£1,956
£978 per person · 6 nights · party of 2
See my trip
Your live itinerary

Build your itinerary above.

This is the itinerary you're building. Change the pace, party size or start date in the planner above and every stage, distance and date updates here.

This route. These nights.
One clear price.

You are booking the itinerary above: your walking days, your overnight stays and the support that carries you between them.

Your South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth adventure
Configure your trip in the builder above and it will appear here.
Per Person
—
Trip Total
—
Deposit Today
—

Organising this trail for friends? Build a group trip with individual payments

  • Full refund if unhappy with any changes
  • Confirmation within a few days
  • ABTOT financially protected
Not quite ready?
Prefer to talk? 0131 560 2740 hello@bigtrailadventures.com

We'll start planning your trip right away. Not happy with anything? We'll adjust it or refund you — no questions asked.

ABTOT Member 5690

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Big Trail Adventures (member 5690). Protection is provided for non-flight packages. Full details in our booking conditions.

And that price covers far more than the places you sleep.

Your South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth is planned from first step to final check-in. The stays, luggage, navigation, local knowledge and a real team behind you are all part of the same trip.

What's included?

Self-guided, but properly supported. You turn up, you walk, you eat well, you sleep well. We handle the logistics.

  • Custom itinerary planned around your pace

  • Comfortable accommodation booked for you

  • Daily luggage transfer where available

  • GPX + day-by-day route notes

  • Big Trail Adventures app for door-to-door navigation

  • On-trail route support

Not included

  • Travel to Falmouth and from Plymouth
  • Lunches and evening meals (we'll recommend the best places)
  • Travel insurance

Your Trail Book.
The trip in your pocket.

This is not a generic guidebook. We build a private Trail Companion for your dates, your direction, your overnight stops and every day of your South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth.

01

Trail Book

08:12
A day in the Trail Companion: Hendaye to Ibardin with distance, ascent, estimated time, route map and elevation profile

Wake up knowing the whole day

Your exact South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth itinerary — from the place you sleep to the next front door, with the turns people miss and the stops worth making.

02

Trail Book

13:36
Live navigation in the Trail Companion, showing the route on the map with distance remaining and the elevation still to climb

See the trail respond to your pace

Follow your stage offline, see what remains and get a live estimate based on the pace you are actually walking. Your GPX is already cut into each day, ready for Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Apple Watch, Komoot or OS Maps.

03

Trail Book

14:32
The private share link, showing walking progress on the map for friends and family at home

Let home follow the adventure

Family and friends see where you are and when you last updated — no app, no account.

Explore the Trail Book

Where you'll stay

Where you'll sleep

This stage is generous with good beds — harbour hotels in Fowey, cottage B&Bs in Polperro and Portloe, and a proper city stay to finish in Plymouth. We book close to the path each night so evenings are short walks, not taxi rides.

  • Harbour-side hotels and cottages in Fowey, Polperro and Looe
  • A comfortable finish in Plymouth with full city facilities
  • Rest-day options along a gentler, lower-mileage stretch
  • Good seafood in almost every fishing village en route

Every trip is planned around your dates and party, so we can't promise you a specific inn — but we can promise the kind of welcome that makes a walking holiday feel like a proper holiday.

Self-guided, fully supported

A self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth, explained.

Self-guided means the walking is yours and the logistics are ours. You set off on the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth when you want, walk at whatever pace suits you, and stop where you like — there is no group to keep up with and no leader setting the schedule. Everything that makes an independent long-distance walk hard work to organise is handled before you arrive.

There are no fixed departure dates. Choose your own start day, tell us how many nights you want, and the planner rebuilds the 134 km route around it.

You walk
134 km from Falmouth to Plymouth, South West England — alone, as a pair, or with your own group. No guide, no strangers.
We plan
A 3 – 8 day itinerary built around the pace you pick, with sensible daily distances and the ascent spread properly across the route.
We book
Walker-friendly B&Bs, inns and small hotels along the trail, reserved in your name with breakfast included.
We move your bag
Door-to-door luggage transfer between every stay, so you walk with a daypack.
You navigate
GPX files for every stage plus written route notes — the trail is waymarked, and we flag the few places people go wrong.
We stay reachable
One number for the whole trip, answered by someone who has walked the route.

Your trail, whether you come alone or bring everyone.

We remove the awkward parts at both ends: quiet reassurance for a solo walker, and no unpaid-invoice chasing for the friend who gets a group moving.

Going solo

Independent, not unsupported.

We lend solo walkers a satellite GPS tracker. It updates automatically, even away from phone signal, so you can walk freely while the people at home follow your progress.

  • Fixes your position from satellites, not phone masts
  • Posts automatically every 30 minutes — nothing to remember
  • Keeps working in the glens, on the cliffs and out of signal
Walking solo with us
15:00
The satellite GPS tracker page, showing the day's route and the walker's live position on the West Highland Way
A group trip page showing each walker's payment progress

Bringing friends

Lead the adventure. Don't become the treasurer.

Plan a private South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth with us and get one shared trip page. Every walker pays their own deposit by card and adds their own details—no bank transfers or payment spreadsheet.

How group trips work

Trail Companion and satellite tracking comparison

Shares your position over the mobile network. You update it when you want to. Needs a phone signal to send anything

Groups of six or more

Bringing a group? Everyone pays their own share.

Book the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth as a private group departure and we'll give you your own trip page. One organiser agrees the trip with us; every walker then pays their own deposit by card and fills in their own details. No collecting bank transfers, no spreadsheet of who's paid.

Start a group tripHow it worksEnquire for a group
A group trip page listing walkers and showing which deposits have been paid

Things walkers ask us.

How fit do I need to be?

On the Hiker pace this stage runs to 6 walking days averaging around 22 km a day with steady cliff undulations. You should be comfortable walking a full day with a daypack.

When should I walk it?

May through September is best. May–June is peak wildflower and seabird season. July and August are busy — book accommodation months ahead. September gives long light and quieter beaches.

Do you include luggage transfer?

Yes — bags up to 20 kg are moved between accommodations every walking day. A few remote overnights need a short taxi transfer, which we plan and book for you.

What kind of accommodation do you book?

Small family-run B&Bs, harbour inns and walker-friendly hotels — en-suite where the village allows, breakfast included, drying space for boots.

Is this a self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth walking holiday?

Yes. Every South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth trip we run is self-guided: you walk the route on your own, at your own pace, with no group and no guide. We do the planning and the logistics — an itinerary of 3 – 8 days built around the pace you choose, accommodation booked in your name along the 134 km route, your main bag moved between stays each day, GPX files and route notes for every stage, and a real person on the end of the phone while you're out there. You choose your own start date; there are no fixed departures.

What's the difference between a self-guided and a guided South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth trip?

On a guided trip you walk with a leader and a group to a fixed schedule. Self-guided means the day is yours: start when you like, stop for lunch where you like, walk fast or slowly, take a rest day. The route is waymarked and you navigate with the GPX and notes we provide. Everything that makes a trip complicated — accommodation, luggage transfer, the shape of each day — is arranged for you before you arrive.

Can I walk the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth without a guide?

Yes — the South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth is a signed long-distance route and thousands of people walk it independently every year. What most walkers want help with isn't navigation, it's the 134 km of accommodation, the bag transfers, and getting the daily distances right. That's exactly what we take off your hands, while you still walk it under your own steam.

Who books the accommodation and moves my luggage?

We do, both. We book walker-friendly B&Bs, inns and small hotels in your name at each overnight stop, with breakfast, and arrange door-to-door luggage transfer between them so you walk with a daypack. You'll get a full itinerary with every address, check-in detail and transfer time before you travel.

How many days do I need for a self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 4: Falmouth to Plymouth?

Most people take 3 – 8 days for the 134 km. Our planner lets you set your own pace and number of nights, so you can stretch the trip out with shorter days or compress it if you're used to back-to-back big days — the itinerary, accommodation stops and price all update as you change it.

Craig, founder of Big Trail Adventures

Not sure this stage is right for you?

Tell Craig your dates, party size and preferred pace. He'll come back with a route that fits — or suggest a neighbouring stage if this one's not the match.

Email Craig

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