SWCP: Portreath to Hayle

I had a bit of a lie-in and didn’t set off till about 9 o’clock. Got the bus to Portreath. Remembered how small Portreath is. There was an off-season feel as it was cloudy and damp. 

Quite a few Shetland ponies along the way.
This one had a gorgeous hairdo. 

The going was mostly fairly easy and level today. Just past Portreath there were cliffs covered in heather. A sight to relish.

I just came down that

Not raining yet

Towards lunchtime as I reached Godrevy Point with its extremely scenic lighthouse, it started pelting down. 

Blowin' in the wind

Valiant beach-goers

At Godrevy lighthouse there was a group of about 20 seals on the beach below,
including a few pairs playing in the sea.

Loads of surfers today. Obviously the weather doesn’t bother them. 

The rain wasn’t too much of a problem in itself as  it was still quite warm and my raincoat was secure, but from that point I was then walking through the Towans dunes, which meant that my feet were taking the brunt of all the wet grasses and brambles. By the time I got to Hayle my feet were squelching, which is never pleasant. My shorts were also wet but that wasn’t a problem. As I remember Grandpa telling me once, it doesn’t matter if your extremities get cold as long as your core is dry and warm. I had to keep walking though, otherwise I would have started feeling cold. That meant I couldn’t sit down to eat, so all I ate today were two tangerines and two boiled eggs. I’ve just ordered a curry and am about walk walk ten minutes into town to collect it. (Fortunately the rain has stopped - I’m in my sandals while my boots dry.)

SWCP: Hayle to St Ives

 Up early for the 9am train from Paddington. All quite uneventful, changed trains at Plymouth and they squeezed everyone into two carriages. The young girl sitting next to me got her cat out of its carrier and fondly poked and manhandled it non-stop for about an hour but it didn’t seem to mind. Apparently they’d given it some practice riding trains on short journeys.

“Kitty”, also occasionally known as Cucumber
because she’s scared of cucumbers

I had planned for arrival in Penzance shortly after 2 o’clock and then a 40-minute wait for a train to my starting point, Hayle. However, it dawned on me that Hayle was actually on the Plymouth to Penzance line, so I got off there and gained an hour of time, hurrah for me! Hayle itself didn’t seem to hold any interest but it’s on an estuary with wetlands full of birds. Several ornithologists were lurking around with their telescopic lenses.

 The first part of the walk from Hayle was posh suburban, and then I came over the brow of a hill and had a sudden view of the magnificent Carbis beach through a tunnel of trees shadowing the paths. The tide was out and the beach was spectacularly huge. Walked beside the railway line to the Carbis Bay Hotel with its planting and its deli. It was heaving with people, lots of families with kids. It was warm and I was tempted to go in the sea but decided to press on to St Ives, just a couple of miles further.  By the time I got there, a cold wind had got up so I didn’t do it. Maybe tomorrow, although the forecast is for rain. 

In St Ives I bought fish and chips and ate them with a great view of St Ives and a less great view of this parent-and-child gull duo. The parent kept approaching and eyeing my chips. The child complained constantly and loudly that it was hungry.

Then off to get the 6pm train to Camborne, where I’m staying for 2 nights.  Very welcoming hostess. Getting the 8am bus to Portreath in the morning. Day one a success.

SWCP: Harlyn to Mawgan Porth

Slept OK in the very nice Airbnb (we think she lives there), although Laura’s bed was much too hard and hurt her back. We were away in Laura’s mini by quarter to nine, off to Harlyn beach. 

The weather was perfect for walking - soft air, bit of a wind, about 16 degrees and cloudy, although the sun came out late in the afternoon. The coast was dotted with beautiful houses, old and new, and there was the usual abundant crop of dogs enjoying the hell out of the day. 

Setting off from Harlyn

It seemed to take forever to get around Trevose Head even though the  path was quite easy and level. There is a pretty lighthouse there, pleasingly designed and freshly painted in white. 

We trudged along Constantine beach - quite hard work on the sand and there were loads of dead jellyfish to avoid. We sat and ate our lunch at the far end. It was not quite midday yet but there were plenty of families there with dogs, windbreaks, picnics and surfboards

Outcrops at Trethias

Sticking close to Mum

We sped up after Porthcothan so that we would make it for the 3.15 bus back to Harlyn. The Atlantic Coaster, no less - open topped! A fun and breezy ride back, trying to avoid being knocked out or defaced by any of the branches we were smashing into along the way.

Back in Harlyn, the sun was out, the beach was beautiful, the live singers were a-singin’ and we sat in the Beach Box balcony cafe and had a late second lunch/very early dinner. Then a bit of a lie on the beach with our coffee before reluctantly climbing back into the car for the almost 5-hour journey home. Laura mused that Mabel would love the beach and she’s vowed to take her to one as soon as possible. It’s hard to resist all the doggy enthusiasm we’ve witnessed at all the beaches we’ve seen over the past two days. 

The real star of this trip has been the Cornish flora. So many meadow wildflowers  thronging the paths. They’ve been a delight. Here are some of them below.

SWCP: Polzeath to Harlyn

Strava lost signal for a bit, so today was more like 9.5 miles and 3 hours 45 moving. We left the Airbnb early. It was a strange little annexe near the M5 but only accessible by driving several miles down country roads. Next to a level crossing and a pub. There were tiny ants rushing around madly on the floor and the lady sprayed ant killer everywhere. Drove an hour and a half to our lovely Airbnb on the outskirts of  Wadebridge, stopping along the way for breakfast at a sparklingly clean and friendly roadside cafe. Walked down the hill into Wadebridge and got the 11.15 bus to Polzeath. Surprisingly nice walk from Polzeath to Rock - we’d thought it might be all holiday homes and tarmac, but it was actually beautiful grassy hillsides, including a huge round crater that was a real hazard for dogs and kids.

Got the ferry across to Padstow and ate our lunch in the harbour. The sun was out by now and we got a bit hot sitting on our bench. As always, loads of dogs all over the place. We found the whole day fairly easy going, not much incline and well made paths. 

Arrived in Polzeath. Last time we were here it was bucketing down!

Piling onto the ferry - it arrived just as we did.

We stopped for an ice cream at the Rest A While Tea Rooms by Hawker’s Cove and aired our feet a bit

Hawker’s Cove

Glad I brought my hat

The Daymark at Stepper’s Point, designed to prevent shipwrecks during daylight hours 

Lovely colours

Cows chilling at Crugmeer

Tee hee

Look at the weather!

Stretching out my iliac band to try and ease my knees. (It worked!)

We got the 5.30 bus from Harlyn back to Padstow and had expensive (but expertly cooked and crispy) fish and chips.  6.40 bus back to Wadebridge and it dropped us at the top of the hill right near our house! The house is very nice, seems to be the person’s home. Nice view at the back across the hills. Birds cheeping, sun streaming in. Just had a great shower.