West Antony

Tregantle Fort is one of several forts surrounding Plymouth that were built as a result of a decision in Lord Palmerston's premiership to deter the French from attacking naval bases on the Channel coast. The fort was originally designed by Captain William Crossman, with later modifications by Captain (later Maj General) Edmund Frederick Du Cane. Construction commenced in 1859 and was completed in 1865. When originally designed it had provision for 35 large guns. By 1893 the guns consisted of five RBL 7 inch Armstrong guns and nineteen RML 64-pounders, together with a number of 32 Pounder Smooth Bore Breech Loading guns. Early in the 1900s it became an infantry battalion headquarters with 14 officers and 423 other ranks, and from 1903 was used for rifle training. Tregantle is infamous within the armed forces because many of the rifle ranges located there slope steeply down towards the sea. These ranges are still in use, primarily by personnel located at HMS Raleigh. Tregantle was vacated after World War I until 1938, when it was used as the Territorial Army Passive Air Defence School. During World War II it was used first as the Army Gas School and from 1942 as US Army accommodation. (source Wikipedia)

While the footpath looks inviting, the sign warns that it leads into a military training area and that entry is forbidden.

Looking over the old quayside and across the entrance to the tidal creek called Wacker Lake to the woodlands at Warren Point. Wacker Quay used to be where ammunition and other goods were brought in for the military fortifications of Scraesdon Fort and Tregantle Fort. They were taken up to the forts on a railway line which started here but has long since disappeared.

Note the two berry pickers at the field edge.

This photograph was taken from the "bottom" of the village looking up the main street to the church.

A narrow lane through mixed agricultural land to the north of Whitsand Bay.

Part of the fort near the viewpoint carpark.

Used by Marines for Training - used blanks / trip flares all around

This picture clearly shows the outline of Scraesdon Fort with its defensive moat filled with mature trees. The village of Antony is in the picture as is Scraesdon Farm and all roads contained within the 1km square map image.

House Gun Embrasures that protect the gatehouse with musketfire, the upper floor is long gone but the stonework supports can be clearly seen.

Bomb proof gun positions that point north over the Lynher estuary.

Down down down we go into the eerie blackness below

Spectacularly sturdy building - amazing to see where masonry and brick have been integrated into the rock that was cut away to form this forbiddable structure.

Picture of a Fortified Caponier. The fire coming from here would sweep across the entrance to the fort, inflicting devastating damage on any attempt to storm the fortificaton. To avoid fire from one caponier bearing on the next, caponiers are usually set at alternate corners of the fort, so that they fire towards a blank wall at the opposite end of the ditch, giving full coverage of the ditch without subjecting the next caponier to fire. The length of the straight sections of the ditch is chosen so that it can be covered by fire from a single caponier. Caponiers are often wedge shaped so that they can fire down both angles of the ditch. Caponiers are a common feature of 19th century fortification, and are found on almost all the Victorian forts of Malta and the Palmerston Forts in UK - like this one.

The entrance - seen here broken by an attack by a single bloke in wellies having come under considerable sustained fire from all angles.