Plymbridge Woods is a woodland in

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to P ...

, Devon, England managed by

The National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The woods are named after the historic Plymbridge, a Grade II listed bridge over the

River Plym The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. It runs from Dartmoor in the centre of the county southwest to meet the River Meavy, then south towards Plymouth Sound. The river is popular with canoeists, and the Plym Valley Railway runs alongsi ...

. Drake's Trail passes through the woods providing a cycling and walking route. There is a range of wildlife, birds and flora.

History

The woodland is named after Plymbridge a historic bridge over the

which is Grade II listed with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

. A bridge has existed at this location from as early as 1238 with the current bridge being circa 18th century but seated on earlier piers. It is made from

Killas Killas is a Cornish language, Cornish mining term for metamorphic rock stratum, strata of sedimentary origin which were altered by heat from the intruded granites in the English counties of Devon and Cornwall. The term is used in both counties. ...

rubble with five semi-circular arches having

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

with chamfered granite coping stones. A number of tram and railway lines were constructed to transport granite and slate between

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

and Plymouth. The last line to be built was the

South Devon and Tavistock Railway The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried t ...

upon which

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

worked. It was taken over by the Great Western Railway and closed in 1962. It is now called Drake's Trail and is used as a footpath and cycle route through the woodland. There are remains of the quarrying history including the shell of old buildings used by families involved in the industry. A section of the trail passes Cann Viaduct.

Nature

The site is home to many species typical of English woodland, including a herd of

fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

. There are

goosander The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus ''Aix'' ...

kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

and

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

s along the river.

Peregrine falcons The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...

have nested in Cann Quarry since the 1960s and since 2002 the National Trust have maintained a watchpoint, staffed by volunteers, on Cann Viaduct from which it is usually possible to see the nest site. The site supports damselflies and butterflies.

Recreation

The woods are used for walking, cycling, dog walking and viewing the natural flora and fauna. Plymvalley

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

takes place in the woods starting at Plymbridge. The National Trust has a permanent orienteering course and a mountain bike trail in the woods and the

Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route The Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route is a 99-mile waymarked route from Ilfracombe in north Devon to Plymouth in south Devon. It skirts the National Parks of both Exmoor and Dartmoor and incorporates part of the Tarka Trail in the north, The Gr ...

runs through the woods.

References

{{reflist Parks and open spaces in Devon National Trust properties in Devon