WALKING AT COTEHELE Where to stay in the Tamar Valley

CALSTOCK

An important river port since Saxon times, the village of Calstock with its tall white houses clings to the steep Cornish bank of the Tamar fourteen miles upriver from Plymouth Sound.

The scene is dominated by the splendid viaduct of 1908 which carries the branch line from Plymouth to Gunnislake.

Calstock's zenith as a port came in the last century when it served an area of intense industrial and mining activity, of which many remains still exist and a rural parish renowned for its cultivation of fruit and flowers.

A mile downriver by footpath lies the enchanting mediaeval house and estate of Cotehele, owned by the National Trust since 1947, together with its river quay, watermill, estate workshops and glorious woodland walks.

Cotehele House (National Tust)

The Medieval manor house at Cotehele offers the visitor a unique mirror into the past. The buildings are as they were in the 16th century — Cotehele is one of the least altered medieval houses in Britain, with very little improvements or changes to the structure since the improvements by Sir Richard Edgecumbe and his son at the end of the 15th century.

The National Trust and National Maritime Museum have established a museum here to show the economical importance of the Tamar during this period. A restored Tamar sailing barge is moored alongside. A little further through woodland is the restored estate corn mill, which is now in working order.