Date: 20180620
Time: 9:25 – 17:15
Distance: 22.5 km
Stay: Honeycombe House, Mevagissey
Walk
It looks gray today. It has rained, but it is dry when I leave after breakfast. At breakfast I had a chat with two friends (Nick and David) that I passed yesterday. They are starting earlier and I expect that I will pass them again later on.
That is indeed what happens. After about an hour I see them again.
It is foggy today. I could already see the clouds on the hills yesterday.
At one point I arrive in Portholland. That is so big that they have a west and east Portholland (but not really). There is also a kind of cafe, but that is still closed. No problem, it is still too early for coffee. I only have been on the path for about an hour.
So on it goes and after half an hour I arrive at Porthluney Cove. Here is also a beach café and now it’s time for coffee. It is not really hot. Outside the cafe I see someone’s backpack and a …. didgeridoo. Sure enough, Jonnie Seaside is also in the café for coffee.
After Jonnie has taught the young ladies who are working at the café the necessary life lessons, he comes to sit with me. We are chatting for a long time about what we do and my coffee break is a longer break. That is not bad at all, I have enough time today.
Today I have a very relaxed route. Little real differences in height and many wide paths or meadows. The highest point for today is Dodman Point. When I arrive there it is still foggy. Behind me the mist is clearing, in front of me it remains foggy.
I have to be extra careful today. Because everything is wet, it is also very slippery locally…
I see a lot of pheasants today. I’ve seen them more often in recent days, mostly males, but also females today. Strange birds these pheasants, they prefer to walk rather than fly. They are probably afraid that if they fly up, someone shoots them out of the sky.
When I arrive in Gorran Haven it is time for coffee at the Mermaid Café. When I sit outside to drink my coffee, it starts to drizzle.
So on it goes. A little later I meet Jonnie again. He took a number of short cuts and overtook me in Gorran Haven.
After another small piece of Coast Path I get back into the built-up area, first in Portmellon Cove and then in Mevagissey. I am once again too early at the B & B. This one is on the hill and the village (with the pubs) is down at the seaside. So down for a pint and then later up again for the shower.
Before I go back to the B & B, I meet Jonnie again in Mevagissey.
Later, in the B & B, Nick and David appear to be staying again in the same B & B as I am.
Weather
Cloudy, very cloudy, very low clouds even, also called mist. Later in the day a little bit drizzle rain. A fresh wind from the sea.
Lyric of the day
Since Dodman Point has remained foggy all day, today Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin:
Walkin’ in the park just the other day, Baby,
What do you, what do you think I saw?
Crowds of people sittin’ on the grass with flowers in their hair said,
“Hey, Boy, do you wanna score?”
And you know how it is;
I really don’t know what time it was, woh, oh,
So I asked them if I could stay awhile.
I didn’t notice but it had got very dark and I was really,
Really out of my mind.
Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us said,
“Please, hey, would we care to all get in line,
Get in line.”
Well you know, They asked us to stay for tea and have some fun,
Oh, oh, he said that his friends would all drop by, ooh.
Why don’t you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
And Baby, Baby, Baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin’
Ah, not trying to fight it.
You really don’t care if they’re coming, oh, oh,
I know that it’s all a state of mind, ooh.
If you go down in the streets today, Baby, you better,
You better open your eyes.
Folk down there really don’t care, really don’t care, don’t care, really don’t
Which, which way the pressure lies,
So I’ve decided what I’m gonna do now.
So I’m packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
Where the spirits go now,
Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh.
I really don’t know.
I start today with a walk around Pendennis and then through the center of Falmouth to the Prince of Wales Pier. That is still 4.5 kilometers before I am at the ferry.
After a while I meet Jonnie Seaside. I have met him on the Coast Path before, he has a didgeridoo with him. We chat a bit and he plays for me and explains what circular breading is, inhaling through the nose and, at the same time, exhaling through the mouth. You have to be able to do that to play continuously.
During the last few kilometers, it is a little harder with a few steep slopes around Nare Head, but nothing that really bothers me.
On some days you can already see the final destination from afar, sometimes even days before. Today is not such a day. Only if I have to walk less than half a kilometer, I can see Portloe. Another small stretch and then a pint at The Lugger (because the Ship Inn is closed).
After breakfast I walk into the village. I’ve already seen a few things here yesterday. I do not know what I’m going to do yet. First I go to the Prince of Wales Pier to find out how it is with the ferry that I have to take almost immediately tomorrow morning.
I walk through some meadows and I wonder why the cows always have to shit exactly on the ‘path’. You always see a kind of path running through a meadow. If you look at the number of cow pies over the entire meadow and you compare this with the number on the path, then I think that there are more cow pies on the path than is statistically justified.
Then I see the plant with the large leaves again. This time there are more of them, but the leaves are not that big, but it is the same plant (I think). I still do not know what it is…
At Maenporth beach I am almost halfway and I take a break. A cup of coffee under the roof of the beach cafe. It is not cold, just wet. When I take off my coat, I wonder which side is wetter, the outside or the inside.
When I arrive at the hotel to check in, a package is waiting for me with the message ‘happy fathers day’. When in my room it appears to be a gift from the kids and Ada, a heavy engraved key ring with on one side “SWCP 16 mei – 16 juli 2018” and on the other side “Down by the seaside”. I am very happy that they have thought of me!
Well, I actually wanted to choose something from Saxon today because I started at Saxon Cove this morning. But that was before I received my Father’s Day gift from Ada and the kids. Given that gift today it is obviously Down By The Seaside by Led Zeppelin:
Today it starts rather flat. I go first to Lowland Point and as the name suggests it is not really high here. Then the route would actually go through a mining area. However, this doesn’t happen because of a collapsed cliff with accompanying diversion. And what a diversion, it immediately goes up steeply and for quite some time. It was long ago that I had to climb like that (that was more during the first walks of the Coast Path). Then the diversion goes through the inland and it is not that bad.
A few more kilometers and I’m at the Half Way Marker. That means I done half of my walking adventure. That calls for a celebration!
After having followed some low cliffs, I have to cross Gillan Creek. There seems to be a ferry and at low tide it is also possible to cross via stepping stones or even wade through the remaining water. That would shorten my route today with a few kilometers. Of course I am going for the other option, walking around it.
Now it goes towards Helford via an uneven forest path along the river. Here I have to cross the Helford River. Walking around it is not really an option (too long), so the ferry it will be. I actually planned to drink a pint on the other side. However, that will be slightly earlier. The ferry will only start again at 16:00 (because of too little water) and I am there around 14:30. That means waiting, but that is no problem. There is a pub close by, The Shipwrights Arms, and it is open. Time to celebrate that I’ve been halfway…
After a Guinness and a Proper Job it is 16:00 and I walk to the ferry again. I’m the first one there that wants to cross and I open the sign (a yellow round board) to indicate that I want to go to the other side. After a while the ferry arrives. The ferry is nothing more than a motorboat with a maximum capacity of 12 people. There are no more life jackets on board and the skipper is expendable …
On the Helford Passage side I continue with the Coast Path. Actually, I am ready for today, but to get to Mawnan Smith, I better walk a bit further and then go to the village. So I do that, that makes the route of tomorrow a lot easier.
First it goes back to the Coast Path, via The Lizard lighthouse. There are many Serpentine rocks (
After a while following the Coast Path, I arrive at The Devils Frying Pan. This is a natural arch through which the water can pass to get into a kind of natural bowl. I can imagine that that gives spectacular effects when the sea is very rough. That is obviously not the case today (and maybe just as well).
In Kennack Sands I take a break at The Beach Hut, time for coffee. From here there is nothing until Coverack. That is why my landlady thought I should have something with me, hence the packed lunch.
When I’m at Black Head, it’s time for a break and for my packed lunch. A sandwich with cheese and marmalade (homemade bread), a scone with marmalade, a mandarin and a fruit bar. Everything neatly packed and with a napkin. A very tasty snack!
I am almost in Coverack, only a few kilometers. On the last part there is another diversion. That is not so bad, this one passes The Terence Coventry Sculpture Park. Here I look at some of the sculptures that are on display here. I have to miss Baarlo Steengoed, but here I have at least some sculptures.
If I follow the detour further, I get a bit of a shock when I go around a corner. There is a plant with huge leaves. It is only one plant and there are only a few leaves, but they are worth it. Anyone any idea what kind of plant that is?
After walking a bit over narrow forest paths, I arrive in Coverack. Here I am immediately invited to an event that will take place soon. I get a flyer. If I look at this later, it turns out to be Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Today I looked a lot at stones (on the path, as well as in the rocks, and at the sculptures in The Terence Coventry Sculpture Park). That is why I chose The Sabbath Stones by Black Sabbath as the lyrics of the day. This also fits more or less with the encounter with the Jehovah’s Witnesses…
I am off to good start today, even before I am at Loe Bar, I have a detour. A piece of the cliff edge has collapsed and therefore I can not get through. There is no fixed new route yet, but a temporary one. A diversion of more than 4 kilometers for a stretch of about 100 meters.
I do not regret it afterwards. The diversion goes inland and is a nice alternate route between meadows, with a piece of forest and the last part goes along Loe Pool. Nothing wrong with that.
In Dollar Cove there is a small cafe, no more than a counter in the wall with a few chairs in front of it. But in the shade, so I take a break for a cup of coffee.
After Dollar Cove, Gunwalloe Church Cove follows. It is called that because they have built a church here, the church of the storms, with the associated cemetery. Not the most obvious place. They found out for themselves because a lot of maintenance is needed. The church suffers a lot from the sea (and the storms).
Lizard Point is the southernmost tip of England. Another milestone. I celebrate it with a pint of Fire Raven from the Cornish Chough Brewery in the southernmost cafe in England.
Then it goes to the B & B of today, in The Lizard (the village). That’s another 2 kilometers.
The first part of today goes via a bike / walking path to Marazion. Here is St Michaels Mount, a tidal island with a castle on it. A tidal island is only island when the tide is high, at low tide you can just walk to it. And that’s exactly what I do. I can almost walk into the harbor, from the sea side that is. But unfortunately, there is just a trench of water too much. So via the regular route, a road of boulders.
After Marazion follows a more regular part of the Coast Path, over narrow paths that are partly overgrown. Today, the vegetation is not too bad. However, the vegetation today is more hostile, nettles as high as I am and stitching stuff that can be felt through my jeans. I seriously wonder how those hikers do it that walk with bare arms and legs when walking these kind of paths. That has to be a painful affair. There were parts today where you can not escape the nettles below the waist…
After the break it goes on to Praa Sands. Here I walk a stretch over the beach. As I approach the end of the beach, I wonder if I can go up somewhere. The cliffs rise from the beach and I do not see an access anywhere. I do see a limited number of people on the beach at the back, which gives hope. And indeed, hidden behind a rock, I find a narrow stone staircase leading to a small bridge where I get back to the Coast Path.
Until now it was not all that exciting. After Praa Sands that changes somewhat, it goes up and down more and the path is sometimes very uneven. There follows a large part that goes over the cliffs. Those cliffs are not very high here.
There are Hottentot figs (
It starts to become the standard format of a rest day, doing the laundry in the morning (nearest laundrette), exploring the village a bit (or hanging out the tourist, hmm nice translation, I’ll keep it) and then visiting a brewery.
Today it looks the same again, after the launderette has done its work, I search for the center of Penzance and browse through various galleries with art and some shops with ‘antiquities’ (ranging from real antiques to ordinary rubbish). In one of the shops with old stuff they have very good synthesizer music. Sounds like the old Tangerine Dream, but turns out to be Carbon Based Lifeforms, a Swedish ambient group. Unfortunately not something for the lyrics of the day…
Before lunch I visit the Admiral Benbow, one of the oldest pubs here. The Guinness tastes great. For lunch, there is the standard Cornish Pasty.
Then I go to the tasting room of the 
The Queen was still there this morning.
During the first part, it immediately goes over narrow paths that are completely overgrown. Not to knee height or so, no to above my head. On some parts it is so overgrown that the path is no longer visible, only a vague impression in the vegetation. If my predecessor had walked off the cliff, I would have followed…
Around Lamorna the Coast Path is hard work, a very uneven path, climbing and occasionally dangerously close to the edge.
In Penzance there is an aircraft carrier off the coast. I could already see that from afar. Some research has shown that it is the HMS Queen Elizabeth, one of the new showpieces of the British Navy (there are two of them, the other is called HMS Prince of Wales). The vessel was made ready for shipping in 2017 and must be fully operational by 2020. When the time comes, it offers room for about 1600 people (crew and troops) and there is room for 40 (maximum 50) aircrafts. Cost about 4 billion.
