The flame spent the night on the base before being flown to Land's End by Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter early on Saturday morning to start the relay. It was carried to the world-famous signpost at mainland Great Britain's most westerly point, where Ben Ainslie's torch was lit shortly after 07:00 BST.
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The sailor, who on Friday won a record sixth Finn world title, said: "It's something I'll never forget. It was an amazing atmosphere. But it's back to reality tomorrow and training for the Olympics."
Cornish surfer Tassy Swallow, who took the flame from Ainslie and was second to run with the torch, said: "I'm definitely Cornish at heart and excited to be carrying the flame. I've got quite a lot of pressure on me, but I'm proud to represent St Ives, my sport of surfing and everybody who voted for me, I just want to make them proud."
Hip Hop artist Labrinth will headline the first evening celebration on Plymouth Hoe which starts at 19:00 BST. The free two-hour stage show will also feature Britain's Got Talent finalists Twist & Pulse. Later, the torch will visit BBC Radio 1's dance party at Paignton, Torbay.
The torch visits the four nations of the UK before being taken to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on 27 July for the opening ceremony of the Games. It will travel through 1,019 cities, towns and villages, on foot or in convoy, and drop in at UK landmarks like the Giant's Causeway and Stonehenge.
It will be carried by bearers, or taken in a convoy and will also be transported by boat, bicycle, tram and train. The flame, meant to represent purity, was kindled from the rays of the sun using a parabolic mirror in a ceremony on 10 May at Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympic Games.
It was taken on a 1,800 mile-long relay around Greece before being handed over to the Princess Royal on Thursday evening at the Panathenaic stadium, Athens. A flame first burned for a modern summer Olympic Games at Amsterdam 1928, but it was not until Berlin 1936 that a full torch relay was staged.
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