The Cycle Path - part of NCN route 27
The old railway line, which closed as a passenger route in 1962, had been used as a recreational path by Plymouth residents for many years, although much of it was still privately owned.

In the early 1980s John Grimshaw, founder of Sustrans, completed a survey of about 1000kms of disused trackbed in England & Wales. Incorporating the work of a local group called Cyclebag, his report outlined the works required to build a cyclepath up the lower Plym Valley.

Subsequently Sustrans was born and in 1997 published The Devon Millenium Cycle Route report. With lottery funding the report's proposals became a reality, opening officially as Route 27 of the NCN in June 1999, now promoted as the 'Devon Coast to Coast Route'. The first 5000+ miles of the NCN were opened in 2000.

(If you have more details of the history as a cycle route and the engineering works that were required let me know)

The River Valley - from source to the sea

The source of the Plym is at Plymhead, on the high open moorland of Dartmoor, 450m above sea level and some 6Km SSE of Princetown.

After the first kilometre the stream progressively cuts into the landscape of peat and weathered granite. It is this stretch from Higher Hartor to Cadover Bridge which has the greatest concentration of evidence of early settlement, notably burial mounds and Bronze Age (2000-500BC) hut circles.

'Streaming' for tin began in the 12th century and much of the disturbed appearance of the Moor's surface in this area is due to this process.

9 km from its source the Plym is joined by the Blacka Brook. From this point to Cadover Bridge it meanders through an almost flat area of alluvium and rock debris, the legacy of centuries of tin mining and china clay working.

The names 'warren' and 'burrows' date from the time when this stretch of the valley was used for commercial rabbit farming. Rabbits were introduced into Britain in the 12th C. and Trowlesworthy Warren dates from 1272.

After Cadover Bridge, which lies on the National Park boundary and marks the northern limit of china clay working, the river regains velocity as it cascades over huge granite boulders in Dewerstone Woods, passing Dewerstone Rocks, a popular climbing spot.

At Shaugh Bridge the R. Meavy joins the Plym from the north.(photo) Meavy Head is on the W. edge of Princetown and the river's route has included a spell in Burrator Reservoir.

South of Shaugh Bridge the river enters the largely forested stretch of Bickleigh Vale, flowing to the south below the former railway line (now cycle path) on the to historic Plym Bridge.

The Plym was tidal up to a point near Plym Bridge(photo) up to the 15th C. when the sediment from tin streaming high up on Dartmoor silted up the river. The tidal reach is now just above Marsh Mills.

Here the river is joined by the Tory Brook, which in flood carries a large sediment load of China Clay from Lee Moor. The wide and shallow section adjacent to Saltram Park is known as The Laira. As well as a haven for wading birds, the estuary is used for rowing, windsurfing and water skiing.

Below the Laira road bridge and disused railway bridge the shores of the drowned estuary known as the Cattewater are used for commercial and leisure marine industries. An oil tanker terminal, Marine Commando base complete with hovercraft and rigid raiders and major new yacht marinas and watersports centres line the shores.

The River Plym finally enters Plymouth Sound and the open sea at Mount Batten, some 30km from its Dartmoor source.

Forestry

Much of the lower part of the Plym Valley cycle path is through woodland. From the Plymouth end the first small areas of forest, the Shearwood, Woodford and Boringdon Park woods are mixed forests. After plym Bridge the largely deciduous continuous 1.5km stretch on the west bank of the river includes Mainstone, Bickleigh and Colwill Woods.

Cann Woods(photo) is situated on the other side of the river and is managed by Forest Enterprise, part of the Forestry Commission with the aim of being a productive woodland that is also managed for informal recreation. Acquired in 1949 from Lord Morley the area covers 231 hectares of beech and commercially cropped conifers - Japanese Larch, Lawson Cypress, Douglas Fir.

From Shaugh Bridge where the Plym meets the Meavy older deciduous woodland covers the steep sided valleys of both rivers.

Plym Valley Railway
www.plymrail.co.uk

The Plym Valley Railway Association was inaugurated in 1980 by a group of railway enthusiasts with the intention of running steam trains from between Marsh Mills and Bickleigh.

The major step forward came in 1991 when 240 tons of track, sleepers and points was transported from the disused MoD Bull Point branch line on the R.Tamar in Devonport. A number of locos and carriages have been extensively restored since then and a few hundred metres of track laid.

The current objective is to open the line as far as Plym Bridge. This could be achieved without impinging on the cycle path, but would require it to cross the railway line at a point just south of Plym Bridge.

The HQ of the Plym Valley Railway is at the south end of the cycle route opposite the Coypool Park and Ride Car Park. The shop and cafe are open most Sundays from 11am


China Clay drying plant

China clay is now conveyed in a slurry by pipeline from Lee Moor and dried at the plant just behind the Plym Valley Railway HQ. On a clear,still day you may see a vertical plume of steam from the chimney.
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