Saltram House is a grand house just a few miles from Plymouth City Centre, with some superb art work, and plenty of parkland to roam around.
It is an easy, flat walk from the centre of Plymouth; not the most scenic, but quite interesting as it takes in industrial areas and the TR2 theatre, before heading along the Plym river. I’ve started the walk from the Barbican, so it can be combined with the ferry journey from Saltash detailed in a previous blog post about exploring the Royal William Yard and Cremyll by ferry.
From Plymouth train station walk through the centre of town, then head to the east to the Barbican to start this trip.
Start your walk by crossing the pedestrian bridge that leads past Plymouth Aquarium. From here follow the cycle route 27, firstly along the road, skirting Coxside, once the heart of Plymouth industry, but now home to a giant cinema multiplex and nightclub. Before you get to this area, follow the signs off to the right to pass glimpse of Queen Anne’s Battery before following quite roads through Cattedown. Here Plymouth’s industry is in full swing, as the route passes docks and a scrap yard.
Cattedown has an interesting history; this area is filled with caves, which are now fenced off. Wikipedia states “bones of woolly rhinoceroses, reindeer, hyenas and a woolly mammoth from the ice age were found here. Among the partial skeletons of 15 early humans found in the caves was the famous ‘Cattedown Man’ – believed to be the city’s earliest known inhabitant and dating back 140,000 years. Archaeologists say he could potentially be the oldest human found in Britain.”
There is a fascinating display about these caves in the Box, which is well worth a visit. If you are coming from the train this could be an interesting detour either before or after this walk, as The Box is en-route to the Barbican from Plymouth train station. You can also read more about the caves here.
Heading towards Queen Anne’s Battery you can glimpse the village of Turnchapel, with its pontoons, Plymouth Yacht Haven and Boringdon Arms, traditionally famous for its choice of real ales.
In the heart of Cattedown is a hidden arts gem; the TR2. This full sized theatre stage is used by world class companies for set building, prop manufacture, education and to rehearse new productions before they reach London’s West End and beyond. The location of the TR2 means that Plymouth’s excellent Theatre Royal has a vibrant programme, often hosting first performances of musicals and theatre before they go out nationally.
Head past the TR2, and past Plymouth Boatyard and Marina on the right, to cross the road and onto Laira Bridge, that saddles the Plym river. This iron bridge was originally built by the London and South Western Railway for a branch line that terminated at Turnchapel. Later it was used by GWR, providing access to the Yealmton Branch at Plymstock. It was converted into a walkway and cycle trail in 2015.
After the bridge follow the path on the right to go under the bridge and along the river path. To the right is Chelson Meadow’s Recycling Centre, formerly the old municipal landfill site, but now transformed into a pleasant river walk with adjacent cycle path. Across the river is the A374, the main trunk road into the centre. The difference between the two sides of the river is marked; on one side a continual flow of traffic, on the other a gentle path punctuated by runners, dog walkers and toddlers on bikes. Follow this path until you arrive at a small beach, where a path leads off to the right towards Saltram House.
From here Saltram is about a mile, but the road is well paved and easy going, with pleasant pastoral scenes on both sides; gentle rolling hills and cows grazing.
Saltram is a National Trust house, so is included in a National Trust Membership, alternatively the cost for the gardens in 2026 is £9.50, and for house and gardens £16.00.
We highly recommend visiting inside the house. The interior ceiling plasterwork is extraordinary and there are some fabulous pieces of art; many by Joshua Reynolds and his contemporaries. There are some fine pieces of furniture, a beautiful Axminster carpet in the ballroom and hand painted Chinese wallpaper in the study. In addition there is a choice of two excellent cafes serving homemade cakes, ice-creams and lunches, and a secondhand bookshop.
Because the walk was interesting rather than beautiful, we decided one way was enough, so continued past Saltram through the estate and under the A38 to catch the bus at Marsh Mills. Buses run by Plymouth City Bus go about every fifteen minutes (ignore maps, which suggested there was only one an hour.) From here you can walk back to the train station, or to the Barbican to catch the ferry back to Saltash.
The photos in this blog were resized and edited by our work experience student Riley.
