Restormel Woodland Walk - Bring the Dogs

This is a 1.14-mile waymarked trail that links Duchy of Cornwall Nursery to Restormel Castle through the River Fowey valley. We walked it after a delicious breakfast at the nursery and were at the castle in about 45 minutes.

The trail is free and accessible at all times, but if you are parked at the nursery, be aware of the opening hours of either car park. You can start at the nursery (PL22 0HW) or the castle (PL22 0EE) – we started at the nursery and walked back. Note that the car park gates are locked at closing time, so check the published hours and allow yourself plenty of room.

Dogs are permitted on leads (livestock is occasionally present in the valley). The path runs through woodland the whole way. The terrain is uneven in places with some fairly steep gradients, and a couple of sections run alongside a vehicle access road – care needed there, although it was not busy at all when we were there. The ladies coped well at a steady pace, finding lots of interesting sniffs along the way! I would call it easy/moderate rather than easy. If it is a hot day, I would advise you to carry water for the dogs.

The trail itself is a nice piece of historical thinking. It links the modern Duchy of Cornwall Nursery to the 14th-century administrative seat of the Duchy that Edward III created for his son the Black Prince. The same family, the same valley, 700 years apart. There are eight numbered points along the way:

The castle (a circular shell keep, one of the most intact in England), the Restormel Oak (a Cornish Oak that has been here since around 1650), Restormel Manor (an 18th-century house on the site of a medieval manor, now occasionally rented as holiday accommodation), the River Fowey itself (once deep enough that sea-going ships sailed up to Lostwithiel), the valley (the largest deer park in Cornwall from the 1200s until 1540, and then a tin-streamworking landscape until the late 18th century), the railway line (opened to Truro in 1859), the Duchy of Cornwall woodlands (managed plantings of Douglas fir mixed with native oak and birch, and the odd magnolia that has escaped the nursery), and the nursery itself.

We did the round trip with a stop at the castle to walk around the ruins. You can climb up onto the wall-walk for views across the valley. Restormel Castle is in the care of English Heritage – members enter free, non-members pay the standard admission. English Heritage offers 15% off if you book in advance. The castle is open Sunday to Thursday in season; closed Friday and Saturday, which is worth noting if you are planning the walk around the castle visit.

There is no cafe at the castle itself. The Duchy Nursery cafe sits at the other end of the trail and is the obvious place to start or finish. We did breakfast there, walked to the castle, walked back, browsed the deli and the gift shop.

← Back to all places

The facts

Status: Tried and tested
Region: Cornwall
Dog rules: On lead
Walk distance: 1.14-2.28 miles
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Cost: Free
Membership benefits: English Heritage
Website: duchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk ↗

Facilities

Toilets
Picnic tables
Cafe on site
Accessible parking

Reader reviews

Ratings and reviews here come from readers of Bring the Dogs, not from Joanna or the Bring the Dogs team. Every review is read and approved before it appears.

0 out of 5 stars (based on 0 reviews)

Excellent

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.