It has been a busy few months for the Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme team, because this July, the new 87-mile Tamara Coast to Coast Way will officially open!

In the last few weeks, a new permissive path has opened up on the Pentillie Estate, thanks to volunteers from Tavistock Taskforce, and the winning design to mark the source of the River Tamar with a carved marker stone, has been chosen. Soon you’ll also start to notice the new waymarkers going up along the Coast to Coast route.

The new permissive path at Pentillie, will enable those that wish to follow the Kylgh Kernow route — a new Circuit of Cornwall which has been made possible by the Coast to Coast Way —to avoid a busy road, the A388 which runs past the Pentillie Estate.

Sammie Coryton, owner and director of Pentillie Castle says:‘We are very pleased to have been able to facilitate this permissive path. While it is still close to a main road, we hope that walkers will appreciate the hedge boundary between them and the speedy traffic. We are grateful for the co-operation of the tenant farmer, and to the Tamara and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team for the foresight to make this path a reality.’

Esme Lawton, a young artist who studied Art and Visual Culture at Exeter University, designed the winning entry to mark the source of the River Tamar.

The marker-stone will be a point of interest on the new walking route and the judges looked for a design that reflected the essence of the Tamar and included the text ‘Pennfenten prp Dowr Tamar – Cornish for ‘Source of the River Tamar’.

Esme says: ‘I am so thrilled that the judges of the competition felt that I was able to capture something of the magic of the Tamar Valley and its extraordinary wildlife in my design. I am overjoyed to have won.

‘Within my creative practice, I love to explore how my work can provide a story, through careful choice of medium, line and texture. I entered this competition to challenge myself and explore how, through illustration, I could capture a locations history and wildlife. I greatly enjoyed using my memories of visiting the beautiful Tamar Valley with my family, and my love of natural forms and animals, to help inspire the design I produced for this competition.’

The new Tamara Coast to Coast Way is a Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme project and is funded primarily by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Cornwall Council and Devon County Council.

It will stretch from the south to the north coast of Cornwall and following the Tamar Valley Discovery Trail with parts of the Bude Canal Trail will link to the South West Coast Path at each end.

Excitingly, this in turn will also establish a new 284-mile circular walk around the coast and county boundary of Cornwall, called ‘Kylgh Kernow’ (Cornish for ‘Circuit of Cornwall’).

There will also be many short walks included along the Coast to Coast route for those not wanting a major hike. All of these routes will enable more people to enjoy the beauty of the Tamar Valley and benefit physically and mentally from time in the great outdoors.

The Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme aims to create a brighter future for the Tamar Valley and its communities in a number of ways.

This includes improving access, people’s wellbeing, supporting farmers, caring for wildlife and providing training opportunities whilst also conserving and enhancing the landscape. Over £3 million is being invested across the Tamar Valley until 2025.

More information can be found about the scheme and the Tamara Coast to Coast Way here www.tamaralandscapepartnership.org.uk.