Date: 20180621
Time: 9:40 – 14:35
Distance: 14.4 km
Stay: Pier House Hotel And Restaurant, Charlestown
Walk
A short but heavy route today. It goes to Charlestown, a picturesque fishing village that is often used in film recordings such as Poldark and (for the elderly among us) The Onedin Line. Here are also some big old sailing ships. I have been here with Ada a long time ago and then with Ada and the kids in 2009. The weather wasn’t very good last time, so we went into the Shipwreck and Heritage Center.
During the first, not so heavy part, I go through a lot of meadows with cows. It is a very sloping landscape and I can see how the Coast Path goes. That’s a good thing because I see that there are cows on a part of the Coast Path that is fairly narrow, on the edge of the meadow where there are bushes. Fortunately, I also see that there is a possibility to simply walk through the meadow. Then I will not end up in that narrow part and a little later I can pick up the route again.
After the meadows I arrive in Pentewan. This is a small village with a holiday park that is many times larger than the village. Here are the necessary opportunities for a drink, but it is still too early. I am just walking and have traveled less than 5 kilometers. So I go on.
After Pentewan the ‘heavy’ part of the walk starts. It goes down and up steeply a number of times. As far as I’m concerned, it is not that bad, it’s heavy on the legs, but I got used to that. What I find more annoying is that quite a bit goes along some meadows that are very narrow. On the left there is barbed wire and on the right there are shrubs that partly grow on the path. The path itself is a narrow worn track. That means that you have to put your feet right before each other every time and that does not walk easily.
After a while I come to a part where the path is wider again and even later well mowed. Here it is good again.
When I arrive at Black Head, I make a diversion to walk to the tip of Black Head. The Coast Path skips this, but since the route is already short today, I can manage a little extra.
That extra is not that bad, a few hundred meters that only go up a bit (and later down), but it is worth it. From Black Head you have a great view to Mevagissey and also to the coast where I still have to come (tomorrow probably).
After Black Head it is not done with the steep slopes. It goes down and up again with stairs. Those steps are very uneven, as is normal on the Coast Path.
But then I come to Porthpean Beach. Here it is very busy. I think there are a number of school classes that have an outing. I take a break at the beach with a juice.
After the break it goes up one more time, via a regular staircase. Then I walk to Charlestown at ease. There I first sit on the terrace for a pint (or two) and then I walk around the harbor in Charlestown. I also walk past the museum that we visited with the kids in 2009.
Weather
Sunny but not too hot. Nice walking weather.
Lyric of the day
Large sailing ships in the port of Charlestown that can sail away. So today Sail Away by Deep Purple:
If you’re driftin’ on an empty ocean
With no wind to fill your sail
The future, your horizon
It’s like searchin’ for the Holy Grail
You feel there’s no tomorrow
As you look into the water below
It’s only your reflection
And you still ain’t got no place to go
Time will show
When, I don’t know
Sail away tomorrow
Sailin’ far away
To find it steal or borrow
I’ll be there someday yea-yea-yeah yea-ye-yeah
Oh, woman, I keep returnin
To sing the same old song
The story’s been told, now I’m gettin’ old
Tell me,where do I belong?
Feel like I’m goin’ to surrender
Hard times I’ve had enough
If I could find a place to hide my face
I believe, I could get back up
Time will show
When, I don’t know
Sail away tomorrow
Sailin’ far away
To find it steal or borrow
But I’ll be there someday yea-yea-yeah yea-yea-yea-yeah
Sail away tomorrow
Sailin’ far away
To find it steal or borrow
But I’ll be there someday yea-yea-yeah yea-yea-yea-yeah
Sail away tomorrow
Sailin’ far away
To find it steal or borrow
But I’ll be there someday yeah yeah yeah yea-yea-yeah yeah yeah yeah
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.
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.
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.
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.
