Kingsand and Cawsand

Kingsand and Cawsand are two adjacent fishing villages on the western shore of the Rame Peninsula, facing Plymouth Sound. They sit so close together that the boundary between them runs through the middle of a terrace of cottages - a lane at the back of the village marks the old Cornwall-Devon border, since Kingsand was historically in Devon until the county boundary was redrawn in 1844. The villages have a combined sandy beach, one of the few genuinely sandy beaches on this part of the south coast, sheltered from westerly swells by the Rame headland.

The villages are about 10 miles from Plymouth by road, but a passenger ferry operates seasonally from Plymouth Barbican, making the crossing in around 30 minutes. The Rame Head headland, with a 14th-century chapel perched at its tip, is about 2 miles south by the coast path. Penlee Point, just south of Cawsand, is a good position to watch shipping entering and leaving Plymouth Sound. The villages have pubs, a cafe, and some independent shops; the Devonport Dockyard and Plymouth city centre are visible across the water.

Accommodation in Kingsand and Cawsand is largely in period cottages and terraced houses converted for holiday letting. The Rame Peninsula as a whole - sometimes called the “Forgotten Corner” of Cornwall because of its relative isolation - attracts visitors who prefer quiet beaches and coastal walking over the busier resorts. Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, with formal gardens and 865 acres of parkland, is about 2 miles north along the peninsula.