Secret Plymouth routes are part of the Secret Cities series of cycle route guides. This one sets off from Coypool Park & Ride, to go explore some roads and lanes in Plympton that you probably never even knew existed.
Why is this route called Plumtown? Plympton is considered to have taken it’s name from the Old English adjective plymen, which meant “growing with plum trees”. According to the The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names, Plympton meant either “Plum Town” or “Plum-tree farm”. Later, Plympton became the fourth Stannary town in Devon.
As a result, I called the route Plumtown..
11.7 miles (allow for 1 to 2 hours leisurely riding), first half is a bit hilly
Route surface
Almost the entire route is on tar, but there’s a gravelly section through Saltram Estate. Despite being an unsealed surface, its rideable all year round.
By Saltram beach, it can get a tad muddy, especially after rain.
Getting there
The route starts and ends at Coypool Park & Ride, where there is free parking. It’s also easy to cycle there, mostly traffic-free, from the city centre. Being a Park & Ride, the start is well served by regular buses, too.
Refreshment stops
There are some shops directly along the route, though they’re not very regular. The route goes right past The George pub, and very close to the Union Inn.
Bikes
You can use any type of bicycle, including skinny-wheeled road bikes, trikes and tandems.
Barriers
There are no barriers along this route, nor any gates, but there are some kerbs you will need to get over, and in places there are bollards, where some trikes and cargo bikes may struggle.
Bike hire
You can hire bikes right at the start, from Plymouth Bike Hire.
Child friendliness
This route is suitable for older kids, with good road sense. I wouldn’t choose to take younger kids along the route.
The route map
The interactive map below allows you to zoom in or out, and you can also switch between different types of maps, including Google Satellite view. Click here to download the GPX for the route.
The route video
Here’s the route video, so you can see beforehand what the route looks like.
Route bingo
See how many of the following you can find along the route. You can print the bingo card for this route easily. Simply click here to open the Bingo Card, then print it off, and take it along.