The Looe River Valleys by Rail and Ramble

1 On leaving the station, turn immediately left along a quiet lane to a junction with another lane opposite Badham Farm Holiday Cottages. Brace yourself for a stiff climb for the next ¼ mile (400m). The effort is worth it; you gain height and then the rest of the route is generally downhill all the way.

2 In ¾ mile (1.2km) go left over a stone stile, turn right through a gap and then head diagonally across a field towards the opposite right-hand corner and a row of houses. (If the field is under crops and no right-of-way apparent, you may have to go round the field edge). Go through a gap in the far hedge, just left of the field corner, then turn right and go through a field gate and down a lane to the main road. There are public toilets along to the right. Opposite is the post office and village shop. Go left along the footway to reach the welcoming Olde Plough House Inn, preferably in time for lunch.

3 Continue along the main road from the pub and in about 275yds (251m) you'll reach a signpost indicating the way to the Duloe Stone Circle. This haunting Bronze Age ceremonial site is composed of eight quartzite stones, each one representing the main points of the compass. Take the opportunity of checking your directional instincts - and your compass. Once back on the main road, walk the few paces to Duloe's Church of St Cuby.

4 Leave the churchyard by the top gateway into the lane alongside the village war memorial. Turn right and follow the lane, past the village green and school, for ¾ mile (1.2km). Keep ahead past a junction on the right and descend steeply into the wooded valley of the West Looe River.

5 Go left at a T-junction. As the trees close gently round you here and, just before reaching the river, go left over a stile by a gate. Do not follow the track directly ahead; instead bear right at a signpost and follow a grassy path that becomes a broad track above the river. Follow the well-signposted riverside way for the next ¾ mile (1.2km) in tandem with the chuckling river to reach a narrow lane at Sowden's Bridge.

6 Turn right here, then cross the bridge and follow the lane, ignoring side junctions but going left at a final three-way junction, signed 'Kilminorth and Watergate'. In ½ mile (800m), turn left by some pretty cottages into the nature reserve of Kilminorth Woods. These ancient oak woods were once 'coppiced', the trees being cut back to a stump and the resulting clusters of new shoots harvested for hedging and other uses.

7 You can choose your route through the woods to Looe, either by following a lower riverside footpath, or the higher Giant's Hedge footpath that first climbs steeply uphill, then follows the line of the vegetated Giant's Hedge, probably a 6th-century boundary dyke that marked out the territory of a local chieftain. Both routes are well-signposted and take you pleasantly back to Millpool car park.