Bullion

As the South West Coast Path follows the shoreline around Devon and Cornwall it passes through some of the most picturesque fishing villages on the South coast, and along the towering cliffs and stunning surf beaches on the Atlantic-facing North coast.



But the Path also passes through some fascinating urban areas.

In Plymouth,  the Waterfront Walk, runs for about 10 miles, from Jennycliff to the Cremyll Ferry, and offers many insights into the history of the city, for example here at Millbay Docks.

Millions of pounds worth of bullion was

regularly handled at Millbay, arriving from Australia, South and West Africa and the United States.

Gold shipments from Plymouth to New York were common, especially just before the Second World War.

Between 1932 and 1934 over £1m worth of gold and silver ingots and sovereigns was landed at Millbay - salvaged from the Peninsula & Oriental liner Egypt which sank off France in 1922.

The inscription around the base tells of such a stack needing only one policeman to guard it.

How times have changed!