Date: 20180606
Time: 9:30 – 15:45
Distance: 20.7 km
Stay: The Queens Hotel, St Ives
Walk
Today I go to St Ives and there I have a rest day tomorrow. We, Ada, the kids and I, have been in St Ives before, during our holiday in Cornwall in 2009. Then we were playing with the surf on the beach in the harbor of St Ives, without being aware of that we were trapped by the sea when the flood came. Eventually we had to flee through the water (not too deep) to the dry part. Much to the entertainment of the bystanders who were all watching with interest (studip tourists …).
The first 2.5 kilometers I need to get back to the Coast Path. The B & B was this time a long way inland. But it was worth it (as the sign said), a nice address on a farm, really old English establishment, a good-natured landlady who came to pick me up in the village in the evening so I did not have to walk the whole stretch again and a very good English breakfast (with mainly things from the farm).
The landlady also had a good recommendation for a book, 500 Mile Walkies by Mark Wallington, about someone who also walked the Coast Path and wrote a book about it with a lot of humor. The book is out of print, but I ordered a second-hand copy via Amazon. Seems nice to read, not only because of the humor, but also because I know all the places he writes about by the time I read it.
When I reach the Coast Path again, I mainly walk through the dunes. Today I do not have many cliffs to walk over, just a few short stretches. Most of the Coast Path goes through dunes or dune-like landscapes.
When I arrive in Hayle, it goes through the town and then along a busy road. Not the best part, but luckily not too long. When I walk over the North Quay, someone asks me if it is Wednesday. I have to think about that and he laughs with the remark ‘that’s what I had’.
With the busy road behind me, I walk through the better part of Lelant. Here are some very nice places, but unfortunately they do not have a sea view.
Eventually I arrive at the St Unys Church with a great graveyard. This graveyard is largely overgrown. There are many old graves, some with Cornish Crosses (if you want to search for this, look for ‘cornwall’ and ‘cross’, otherwise you only find chickens). There is also a St Uny Lelant Heritage Center with lots of info and a terrace. Yeay, coffee and cake in the graveyard. Nice and quiet…
The majority of the graveyard is mowed once a year, except for the methodist piece, which they mow once every few weeks. The result is that there is a great environment for plants and insects. It is not for nothing a Living Churchyard.
Then it continues along the railway to St Ives. First right, then left and then right again. Despite being close to the railway, the largest part is still a nice piece to walk. You don’t see the railway and only hear it when a train comes by (which does not happen that often).
In St Ives it is very busy. Many tourists, but that’s what the town lives of.
Weather
Mainly cloudy and dry. Nice temperature for walking.
Lyric of the day
Because of the many graves we have today a song by Black Sabbath, Children of the Grave:
Revolution in their minds – the children start to march
Against the world in which they have to live
and all the hate that’s in their hearts
They’re tired of being pushed around
and told just what to do
They’ll fight the world until they’ve won
and love comes flowing through
Children of tomorrow live in the tears that fall today
Will the sun rise up tomorrow bringing peace in any way?
Must the world live in the shadow of atomic fear?
Can they win the fight for peace or will they disappear?
So you children of the world,
listen to what I say
If you want a better place to live in
spread the words today
Show the world that love is still alive
you must be brave
Or you children of today are
Children of the Grave, Yeah!
