Fri 2/7/10 fine, sunny
Arriving late in the day we (Geoff and Cathryn) left after brief farewells from the remainder of the family and covered the relatively short distance to Treen in good weather. The coastal scenery is wild and dramatic.
Sat 3/7/10 fine sunny
Todays objective was Marazion, again to a camp site at Wheal Rodney. The villages of Newlyn and Mousehole en route are a delight to see, enhanced by views from the cliff tops as we approach. Marazion is said to be Englands oldest village. The views out to St Michaels Mount are stunning. We had a nice meal and me, a pint of 'Tribute' at the Fire Engine Inn looking out through a window to the Island.
Sun 4/7/10 windy overcast rain at times
Todays objective is Porthlevan. The weather is rotten and we walk in full rain gear getting blown around by the wind. Fortunately there is a beach cafe at Praa Sands which provides a hot cuppa and respite from the gale. At Porthlevan we opt for a B&B 'Wellmore' most accommodating and run by the ever cheerful Bridgette. I try a pint of 'Tinners' at the Ship Inn
Mon 5/7/10 chilly wind overcast
We are booked at Chyheira B&B on the Lizard, an arrangement I made in Australia. Our walk today takes us across Loe Bar then high rugged cliff walking takes us past Gunwalloe Cove and Hazelphron Cliff then to Poldhu Point where Marconi conducted telegraph experiments. Mullion is a delightful introduction to the Lizard. We walk to Kynance Cove where the geology changes to Serpentine, a dramatic green and red marble-like rock; then strike inland for Chyheira a magnificent old farmhouse. We walk to Cadgwith for an evening meal in the local Inn. Cathryn has foot trouble and we have to plan some road walking to ease the pain.
Tues 6/7/10 fine windy
Today I head off south to reach the tip of the Lizard whilst Cathryn takes a short cut to the SWC path at Cadgewith to reduce her distance today. My route takes me past the light house then back up to Cadgewith before catching up with her at Coverack. We continue on to Porthkerris Divers which is a disappointment, no real facilites and food only available in the next valley
Wed 7/7/10 rain, rain, rain
We pack up in the rain by ferrying all our gear into an army tent at the dive centre. I have a wet tent bag which means that it can be stowed alongside my dry gear. I also use a pack cover which keeps the pack dry. We generally don't bother with a rain coat; it is not that cold and the sweat from exertion makes you wetter than being in the rain anyway. Pennance Mill camp site tonight.
Thu 8/7/10 overcast
We plot a route using roads for the sake of Cathryns sore foot, and I transfer some of her pack to mine. This seems to work and we head directly into Falmouth where we stock up on some nice food and raid the hole in the wall. We then catch the ferry over to St Mawes and then a connecting ferry to Plaice. There are views of Henry VIII Pendennis Castle. From Plaice we head up to the vaillage of Bohortha which I think is the most beautiful village I have seen yet with thatched roofs and flowery gardens ( and no traffic). We then travel to Gerrans, Portscathco and into Veryan where we are lucky to get a B&B called Elerkey run by two immaculate gentlemen. The B&B has a deep bath and I made good use of it, Cathryn has walked much better today from our adjustments. There was a time when it looked like we would need to abandon the walk.
Fri 9/7/10 rain later
We rejoin the SWC path at Portloe and walk the route via Portholland, Porthlune Cove and then inland in search of accommodation which ends up being Boswinger YHA. In the evening we take a walk (without packs) to Dodman Point where there are some interesting buildings including a lookout dating from the Napoleonic Wars
Sat 10/7/10 overcast windy
We head for Gorran Haven a fishing village then rejoin the SWC for a relatively easy path to Chapel Point and on to Charles Town. This was the where the Onedin Line series was filmed, we have a Triang pram at home which was one of the props in an episode. We have lunch at an old Inn; I try a pint of 'Doombar'.
We stay at Penare (Carlyon Bay Campsite) that night, one of the better camp parks I have seen.
Sun 11/7/10 sunny for a change, rain at night
We pack and hit the road early. Our walk takes us through the prestigous Carlyon Bay Golf course and past the abandoned 'Coliseum' a venue that in the early days used to get regular visits from Elton John, Genesis, The Who etc. We reach Polkerris Cove where there is a fantastic tea shop serving scones with a pot of tea that produces 5 enormous cups, just perfect for tea-loving hikers; then to Gribben Head where the tower just happens to be open (50p) and we climb to the top for fabulous views in all directions. Our walk is now down to Fowey (pron 'Foy') which is a large village on the River Fowey. We do some shopping and catch the ferry to Polruan the other side of the river. a very steep walk up out of village gets us to the Polruan Holiday Centre where we get a tent site despite the sign saying 'full'.
Mon 12/7/10 overcast
It rains all night but we wake to a dry morning and pack early. From Lansallos Cliffs to Polperro the path makes a series of rises and falls with hundreds of steps which is a bit tiring. Polperro is a delight and we have lunch there before continuing to Tallend then to Tencreek Holiday Park to camp for the night
Tues 13/7/10 overcast, windy rain later
We packed up and left early, walking directly to East Looe then over the bridge to West Looe. The wind was very strong and unpleasant so we opted to stay off the coast path for this bit. We rejoined the path for Milendreath where there is a prevalence of shoddy beach houses then to Bodigga and on to Seaton and Downderry. Given the bad weather we are directed to Trelidon a delightful farmhouse B&B dating from 1809. The owners are delightful and happy to share their wealth of knowledge of the district and the history of their farm. This was a real feature of the whole trip.
Wed 14/7/10 overcast strong winds
We left Trilidon after a big breakfast and much farewelling from our hosts. The walking was again very steep with repeated rises and falls all along towards Tregantle Fort. The red flags were flying and we could hear heavy gunfire, so the path diversion was in force. Apart from a few signs there was surprisingly little to keep the public out of the army site. There was a very poor fence that in places was collapsed. We headed around to Rame Head almost within site of Plymouth and decided to camp wild. On Rame Head is an abandoned chapel. There were some navy destroyers doing exercises out to sea and some aeroplanes buzzing about.
Thurs 15/7/10 rain and wind
After sustaining gale force winds all night we packed up and headed for Plymouth. The walk, in better conditions through Kingsand Cawsand and Mt Edgecombe Country Park, would normally be delightful, but we are focussed on getting to our destination, both feeling a bit tired from no sleep last night and me now with a very sore throat I think from being snap frozen too many times in the strong winds over the last few days. One last ferry ride from Cremyll deposits us in Plymouth and it is now just a short walk to Citadel Road to be greeted by my wife at the guest house we pre-booked in Aus.
Fri 16/7/10
This is a rest day. Angela and Cathryn catch the train from Plymouth to London to commence the journey back to Aus and I am now contemplating the remainder of my journey on my own. It was such a treat to have Cathryn's company for the last two weeks. The rest day gives me a chance to catch up on emails and write this blog. An issue all along has been broadband availabilty and the opportunity to charge flat batteries hence the reason why there has been apparent radio silence for so long; I do apologise.
For those interested in statistics we have walked approx 149 miles so far. Whilst we took some short cuts along roads when Cathryns foot was painful this would be fairly balannced against getting lost several times due to poor or non-existent signing, some long diversions inland to camp sites and following conflicting directions from well-meaning but misguided locals. Again, to help Cathryn's foot problem we used built-in rest days to walk more shorter days, thus averaging about 10 miles/day.
