Bolt Tail is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Joh ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, immediately to the southwest of

Hope Cove Hope Cove is a small seaside village within the civil parish of South Huish in South Hams District, Devon, England. It is located west of Salcombe and south west of Kingsbridge. It has two beaches, and is sheltered by the headland of Bolt T ...

in the

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exeter ...

district, at

grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

. Bolt Tail is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

, although little evidence now remains of this structure; it occupied a classic promontory defended from inland by a linear earthwork at some 60 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. Bolt Tail marks the western end of a coastal walk through

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 ...

land to

Salcombe Salcombe is a popular resort town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mostly built on the steep west side of the estuary. It lies within the South Devon Area of ...

, via Bolberry Down and Bolt Head at the mouth of the Salcombe Estuary. It offers views to Bantham Beach and Burgh Island. On a day with good visibility it is possible to see far down the coast into

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, as far as

Dodman Point Dodman Point (Cornish: Penn Den Varow) near Mevagissey is the highest headland on the south Cornwall coast, measuring . It is also known by its earlier names of the Deadman and Deadman's Point. It hosts the remains of an Iron Age promontory for ...

. Under very exceptional atmospheric conditions the Lizard Point in Cornwall is visible from Bolt Tail. The SS ''Jebba'' ran aground near here in 1907. Nearby, a similar fate had befallen the 90-gun ship-of-the-line HMS ''Ramillies'' in February 1760. Report of a dive in "Submerged"
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References

External links

Walks around Bolt Tail
– BBC Devon Headlands of Devon Hill forts in Devon South Huish {{Devon-geo-stub