20180604 Perranporth – Portreath

Date: 20180604

Time: 9:40 – 14:30

Distance: 20.2 km

Stay: The Portreath Arms, Portreath

Walk

The beach where I walked yesterday, is now fenced off. They are building 3 stages for Tunes in the Dunes that will be held this weekend. Last year Tom Jones was here and this year UB40 is coming.
Unfortunately I will not be here anymore, otherwise I would definitely have attended.

Just before I walk out of Perranporth, I pass a huge sundial. This indicates the time of Cornwall, so 20 minutes later than the usual English time 🙂

Today it goes to Portreath, via a few beaches, Chapel Porth and Porth Towan. Apart from the usual Coast Path environment, paths up along the cliffs, I now also walk through a former mining area. This is visible from the remains of the mine buildings, the landscape and the closed mine shafts. It is interesting to see what people used to do with the landscape. Here and there are still mountains with excavated material. The mine shafts are closed with pyramid shaped structures. Let’s hope that nothing collapses when I walk over it.

The last stretch goes for a large part along a fence. Behind that fence lies RRH Portreath or Remote Radar Head Portreath, a former site where chemical weapons were produced, including Sarin (hmm, that does ring a bell…). The site is owned by the MOD (Ministry of Defense). Despite the somewhat macabre history, this is a pretty boring part to walk.

After the fence, however, Portreath quickly comes into view. A little further down to the currently dry harbor and my hotel is coming into view. I am really early today.

Unfortunately, I am way earlier than my luggage (I think). So I am forced to wait in the bar …
At 4 p.m. my luggage is still not there. After a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing  my luggage appears to have been parked in the wrong room. My luggage was delivered at 10 a.m. this morning (that can be correct, because I put my luggage at the reception before 9 o’clock and after breakfast it was already gone).
In the end everything is fine and I can go in the much needed shower …

Weather

Well, the weather. I have nothing to complain about the weather. Again good walking weather, alternating cloudy and sunny, pleasant temperature and during the last kilometer a few drops (hardly worth mentioning).

Lyric of the day

Since UB40 apparently travels a few days behind me, today one of their song lyrics, Food For Thought, just because I like it.

Ivory Madonna dying in the dust,
Waiting for the manna coming from the west.
Barren is her bosom, empty as her eyes,
Death a certain harvest scattered from the skies.

Skin and bones is creeping, doesn’t know he’s dead.
Ancient eyes are peeping, from his infant head.
Politician’s argue sharpening their knives.
Drawing up their bargains, trading baby lives.

Ivory madonna dying in the dust,
Waiting for the manna coming from the west.

Hear the bells are ringing, Christmas on it’s way.
Hear the angels singing, what is that they say?
Eat and drink rejoicing, joy is here to stay.
Jesus son of Mary is born again today.

Ivory Madonna dying in the dust,
Waiting for the manna coming from the west.
Ivory Madonna dying in the dust,
Waiting for the manna coming from the west.

Photos

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