Final South Walk: Coverack to The Lizard

Sunday July 19th: Today was the final leg of my 630 mile mission to walk the whole of the SW coast Path - not in one go, but in stages throughout the year. I had started it on the weekend of August 8th, 2008, and committed myself to completing it within my 50th birthday year. Unusually, I had decided to walk it from both the start and the finish in opposite directions - finishing at The Lizard which is near enough halfway. Also raised some money for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation along the way!

For my last day of walking, I had been joined by my friends Jeff and Marie Weeks and we stayed overnight at Cadgwith, a small fishing cove nr the Lizard on the Saturday. I had explained to J & M, that apart from just finishing the walk- I was also on a mission to see Dolphins, which had been noticeably absent on the previous 618 odd miles of walking. AND having just missed seeing a Cornish Chough near Lands End, and subsequently finding out a bit more about them ( they are birds!) - I knew there was a breeding pair on the Lizard somewhere - SO - that was the second mission - "Spot the Chough" Eyes would be peeled!

The first problem was to organise transport - the Bus Services were limited particularly as it was a Sunday. In the end, it was easier all round to get a Taxi from the Lizard to Coverack, our starting point and leave Jeff's car at The Lizard.

It was a relatively short stint of 10-12 miles to be walked, but with a fair few ups and downs. Jeff and Marie weren't regular walkers, but were looking forward to getting a bit of a taste of the Coast path. (Marie had packed enough goodies for an assault on Everest - but we were glad of it later!)

Meanwhile, we had had a hearty full English at the Cadgwith Cove inn which needed to be walked off. I had last ended my walk at Coverack at the Paris Hotel near the harbour on Dolor Point, so this was where we started from. It was a lovely sunny day - but forecast for a few showers later.
After a quick bladder check we set off in tandem, with Jeff setting a cracking pace at the front.

The path climbed steeply out of Coverack and then followed the cliff around to Perprean Cove and onto the rocky outcrop of Chynalls Point. It was good walking weather, not too hot but very windy. The views were good as we headed towards Black Head, with it's disused Coastguard look-out hut and then ascended steeply into Downas Valley. Our first target destination was Kennack Sands which would be about our halfway point and a good place for a coffee stop. So far, so good - after a few miles, Jeff and Marie were still blisterless, both had dodgy joints to look after - Jeff with his knee, still recuperating after keyhole surgery last year and Marie with her Netball Ankle injury!

As we approached Kennack Sands across the gorse and heather of Eastern Cliff - the clouds gathered ominously. There are two beaches at Kennack - North and South and by the time we approached the Southern beach, the one with the cafe's it was raining quite heavily. Fortunately after a nice coffee break, the rain had passed and it was onward and upward.

We soon reached a little place called Poltesco and Carlean Cove which used to have a thriving Pilchard fishery. In the 1860's some of the fish cellars were converted into a factory for producing ornamental products form the local rock, Serpentine. At one point up to 20 people were employed and products were taken by barge to ships in the bay for distribution. The old buildings are now owned by the NT.
We were now not far from Cadgwith Cove where we had stayed the previous night. As we passed around Enys Head - we met a group of 6 wild Ponies. One of them made a bee-line for us and seemed intent on following us. Marie shot off like Usain Bolt with Jeff in pursuit. I tried to halt the beast with a pat on the nose - he was just after some of the goodies in our backpacks, but we fooled him with a pincer movement in opposite directions and he lost interest.

We soon got a good view of Cadgwith Cove from an old Coastguards Watchouse at the head of the bay. It is a very picturesque village with thatched cottages and working fishing boats on the beach.


Cadgwith Cove
We were ready for another pit stop so stopped for a quick snifter at the Cadgwith Cove Hotel and sat out in the sun watching the bizarre sight of a girl with bright pink hair, tiny tight shorts and fishnet tights who was part of a group on a cycling trip! My attempts to take a sneaky photo ( just for this blog) were thwarted. Leaving Cadgwith, tucking in to Marie's sandwiches - we passed by the unusual collapsed cave known as Devil's Frying Pan with it's bridge shaped inlet and then for the next mile or so, the path was quite open - and we had clear views of the Lighthouse complex at The Lizard.

The next point of interest was Church Cove, another former Pilchard Fishery which had been converted into spectacular private dwellings with a superb setting nestled into the cove.
Around the next point was Kilcobben Cove, the dramatic setting of the Lizard Lifeboat with steep rails carrying the lifeboatmen down to the boat in carriages.

Still no signs of Dolphins or Choughs, although there had been a few false alarms with the odd distant Raven being mistaken. Choughs,are black but have distinctive red beaks and red legs and an unusual high pitched chi-ow call.

At Bass Point, where there was a large Coastguard station, it didn't look as if we had far to go - Lizard Point being just the other end of the large Housel Bay. Overlooking the bay, was the superbly situated Housel Bay Hotel which looked inviting. As we traversed across a wide open area heading towards the lighthouse complex, Marie suddenly piped up - " look - Chough's" I glanced up, expecting to see just about anything vaguely black with feathers except a Chough, but to my astonishment, 3 black birds with red beaks and legs were flying at high speed across the low cliffs below us. I grabbed my camera, but they were gone in an instant. Well, what could I say, they had made an appearance right on cue - we were only 20 minutes away from the Lizard - now, where were those Dolphins!

The next walkers we bumped into, I excitedly told them about the Choughs, but I probably just sounded like some eccentric twitcher.

We reached the edge of the lighthouse Complex and then just a bit further on around the corner we got our first glimpse of the rather shabby looking Lizard Point. Disappointingly, there was the distinctive choking smell of raw sewage pervading the area and looking down you could see the sea tinged with brown. I found it unbelievable that they could let that happen in such a landmark area - particularly on such an occasion - ie the grand finish of my walk! I would have liked to have collected a sample in Marie's tupperware sandwich container and posted it 1st class to the Head of Cornish County Council!
We reached the Point, a collection of small buldings all claiming to be the most Southerly - gift shop, cafe and National Trust office.

The walk was over - 630 miles done and dusted - photos were taken, but I was more interested in getting my laughing gear around another Cream tea. Not even the whiff of human effluent could put us off and we sat in the sun and tucked into Scones, cream and homemade meringue.

It had been a good day's walk, the promised rain never came to anything, and it was good to finish in bright sunshine. Finishing the whole thing was always going to be a bit of an anti-climax, but it was nice to have had some company at the end. All in all, I was quite Choughed!

Final North Walk: Porthleven to The Lizard

Saturday July 18th: Just less than a year after starting this walk at South Haven Point Nr Poole - I now have just about 25 miles left to finish the whole of the SW Coast Path culminating at The Lizard Point.

For my final weekend of walking, on the Saturday, I would be reaching The Lizard from Porthleven and on Sunday, I would reach it from Coverack in the other direction with friends, Jeff and Marie Weeks for the final leg.

I had caught the Friday evening train down to Penzance from Exeter and bussed it to Porthleven, staying in a small B&B called Seefar overlooking the harbour. The weather was forecast to be a bit dodgy - so I didn't hang about and was back on the path just after 8.30am

True to form, it started drizzling before I had left the village with the path leaving the harbour edge past the Clock tower and alongside the seafront cottages out and up to the low cliffs beyond.


Before long I had reached the edge of the massive length of Porthleven Sands which stretched for 2.5 miles all the way to Gunwalloe Fishing Cove. The path carried on above the beach until it reached Loe Pool and Carminowe creek - Cornwall's largest natural lake which edged up to the back of Porthleven Sands. Crossing the sands, it was then a shortish walk up onto the cliffs again to then reach Gunwalloe and then up to the imposing Halzephron Cliffs. A pair of Peregrine Falcons were searching for food, hovering quite close to the cliff edge.


The next point of interest was Church Cove, with the 15th Century Gunwalloe Church nestled into the cliffs above the cove and constantly at risk from erosion. The path passed alongside a golf course before reaching another pleasant cove at Poldhu. Despite the weather - there were several families enjoying the beach and the RNLI lifeguards were in attendance.

Further on, beyond Poldhu Point there was the Marconi Monument, marking the area where the first transatlantic telegraph signals were sent across to America.

The next cove was Polurrian, a small beach resort with cafe and hotel and then at the top of the cliffs beyond an old coastguard Hut, was the large Mullion Cove Hotel looking down onto the small fishing hamlet of Mullion Cove, with Mullion itself, further inland. This small harbour has been battered by the waves over the years, and has belonged to the National Trust since 1945. Its very unspoilt as you would expect and the small cafe looked as if it hadn't changed since the 1940's. Still raining - it was a good time for a pit stop before the last 7 miles to Lizard Point.

Mullion Cove


The coastline was much more rugged now, and would remain so for the rest of the day, it was just a shame that it was so drizzly and misty. There were a series of steep descents and ascents with sheer cliff faces and small caves. At the top of the cliffs was a herd of Long Horn Cattle literally grazing over the cliff edge. Eventually after walking around the Rill Point - the various buldings at the Lizard were clearly visible and in the foreground a series of small islands and rocks which marked the well known Kynance Cove. I could also hear the Lizard - as the Lighthouse was booming out a fog horn at regular intervals. This was my first visit to this area of Cornwall and I was conscious that I wasn't seeing it at it's best. The rocks were the local Serpentine - red and green mottled in appearance interspersed with granite. The cove, also owned by the National Trust sits in a steep valley and is a fantastic setting.

Again, very unspoilt, Kynance Cove consisted of a Cafe, self catering cottages and a toilet complex which was built into the rocks and has a natural roof with flowers. Signs in the toilet, which I graced, described how it was very much a hi-tech Bio-Bubble toilet with all waste being treated and converted into clean water. The roofs of the other buildings had special solar tiles and everything possible had been done to make the whole complex as eco-friendly as possible. I will return on a
better day!
Kynance Cove

The tide was still low, so I was able to take the path at the back of the beach and then climb steeply up to the Kynance Car Park. The views back to the cove and Asparagus Island were superb as I carried on towards the Lizard.
Lizard village itself is a mile or so inland, but the Point was my destination, the most Southerly point of England and the finishing point for my walk. As I approached, it all appeared a bit scruffy. Looking downwards, I could see the remains of an old Lifeboat station and then there was a ramshackle Gift Shop and Cafe which was doing a brisk trade. It was much better inside than out and the home cooked fare looked very tempting. The decision to have a Cream tea took a millisecond and it was superb. I was due to meet my friends Jeff and Marie here - but they were running late - so agreed to catch up with them in the village pub. With some time to kill - I carried on along the path towards the large Lighthouse complex which is also a tourist attraction and then headed inland towards the village. A bit touristy as you might expect, the village was dominated by shops offering Serpentine stone products - mostly in a dark green mottled colour - mostly pretty naff.
I headed for the pub and before long Jeff and Marie turned up, having driven from Exeter. They were keen to join me for my final walk, and it was good to have their company. I had booked a couple of rooms at the Cadgwith Cove Inn which sounded an idyllic location, just a few miles from the Lizard.

Cadgwith was very picturesque and a working fishing village with the boats hauled up the beach by tractor. The Hotel wasn't the best, but it was all about location. Amazingly, Jeff spotted someone he knew walking past the hotel, in this obscure part of Cornwall and they joined us for some drinks.
We then had a great meal - fish was obviously the specialty and it didn't disappoint. Jeff and I were tempted to have a session, but with a 12 mile walk to complete the next day we erred on the cautious side. So, one more day of walking to go - from Coverack back to the Lizard from the other direction - might be tempted to have another Cream tea!

South Walk: Gillan to Coverack

Gillan beach and Creek, nr Helford

Sunday July 12th: Woke up early in the strange surroundings of the caravan at Gillan - it was a beautiful morning after a horrendous night of rain - so before I tucked into breakfast I went for a wander. The estuary was looking very beautiful in the early morning light and I was looking forward to the walk to Coverack, which was only about 11 miles.

Boots were still squelchy wet but at least I had a dry pair of socks!

The path headed out towards Nare Point where there was a large manned coastal observation point. From there, it was a pleasant walk to the small seaside village of Porthallow which has now been recognised as the Official halfway point of the SW Coast path - and an attractive waymark has been erected in it's honour. Apart from that, it didn't have alot to offer. From here, there was a confusing choice of paths according to my guide book - depending on the tide level, so I played safe and stuck to the official path which headed out of the village on the road and took the inland route before dropping down steeply to Porthoustock cove which had some lovely old cottages but was somewhat spoilt by some massive industrial buildings on the beach. This whole stretch of coast has alot of quarry workings, which has meant alot of the path being diverted inland.

From Porthoustock, the path once again headed back inland towards Rosenithon. Apparently, the SW Coastpath Association are pressing for a more coastal route to be established in this area, but the occasional change of scenery is pleasant, especially on such a nice sunny day.

From Rosenthion, it headed back down to the long stony beach at Godrevy Cove and would remain a coastal path all the way to Coverack. The beach is in fact made up from alot of quarry stone waste.

The path proceeded to go straight through the old workings of Dean Quarry which didn't look as if it had been closed all that long. There were old buildings with hard hats and bits and bobs still inside - even if all the windows were smashed. There was quite a nice beach below the quarry, which had it's own Jetty.

Once that Industrial scar was passed, the path became more scenic and natural. It was mostly open low cliff walking from Lowland Point all the way to Coverack. Shortly, I reached an Information board about Lowland Point area being an important nature reserve and there was a lovely picture of 2 seals on the beach. So with seals uppermost in my mind, I found myself gazing at an odd shaped rock just off the coast. As I got nearer, I convinced myself it was a seal - and after zooming in with my camera lens, it was confirmed! The path was actually quite away from the waters edge, so I clambered across the rocks as near to the Seal as possible. It was quite amusing, because the rock was just poking out of the sea and he was perched quite precariously on top. As the sea rose, the seal would arch his body to keep himself from floating off, making him look as if he was actually surfing!

At first he was facing away from me, but I swear that he actually repositioned himself and was keeping a beady eye on me. After taking about 50 photos, I carried on and made sure that I told a few other walkers about it, as it could be easily missed. I said to one man " There's a seal on a rock a little bit further on" "What a real one" he replied!! "Of course it's a real one" ( you stupid man) - what I should have said is, " No it's a 100ft inflatable one, it's part of a new Cornish Disney Theme Park and watch out for the 6ft Remote controlled Dolphins that are leaping all over the place"

Anyway, it was the highlight of the day for me, although I've still yet to see Dolphins on this walk - and only 30 miles to go, so running out of time.

Before long, I reached the outskirts of Coverack and it was a lovely view across the bay to the small harbour at Dolor Point. Coverack is a popular resort with a lovely beach. It heavily promotes the Organic Ice Cream of Roskilly's which is made at a farm nearby in St Keverne. Of more interest, was the oddly named Paris Hotel pub which was offering a Sunday Roast Carvery, which proved impossible to resist, and I still had plenty of time to sample the Ice Cream which didn't seem anything to write a blog about in all honesty.

I had to get a bus back to Helston and then catch another to Truro, where yet again, I was able to enjoy luxury Ist class travel back to Tiverton on my pre booked £10 ticket!

One more weekend of walking left now - just 12 miles from Coverack to the Lizard in one direction and 14 miles from Porthleven to the Lizard in the other direction. My 50th birthday walk was nearing it's end!

South Walk: Falmouth to Gillans Creek, nr Helford

Saturday July 11th: Travelled down to Falmouth Docks by Train, early Saturday morning. Another bargain train ticket bought online - Tiverton Parkway to Truro - FIRST CLASS for just £7!! That was actually cheaper than Second Class! The train from Tiverton was a small shuttle train - but I had to change at Plymouth and then for the first time ever, made my way to the First class carriages to find my large comfy leather seat. In my usual backpacking scruffy attire, I reclined in luxury - the rest of the carriage AND the next carriage completely empty except for little ol' me. Not only that - but I got a complimentary cup of coffee and ginger biscuit thrown in as well. You might have noticed alot of photographs accompanying this Blog for each of my walks. Well, I have to admit to having inadvertently deleted all the photos for this particular days walk - doohhhhh!! Anyway - it was a foul day - got completely soaked and didn't actually take many pictures fortunately.

The plan was to get to Coverack over the weekend, leaving me with just one days walk to my final destination, the Lizard. Helford was my original destination on the Saturday, across the Helford River by ferry from Helford Passage. In fact, I struggled to get accommodation and ended up finding someone who had a 4 berth Caravan available for B&B at a place called Gillan - by a small creek - a few miles further on from Helford.

By the time I reached Falmouth Docks by luxury train, it was starting to rain. The path went past the docks and arround Pendennis Point and along Falmouth promenade towards Swanpool Beach.

It was now raining pretty persistently - so I got my head down and upped the pace. The walking was fairly straightforward mostly along low cliffs, reaching firstly Maenporth and then onto Rosemullion Head. As I approached Helford Passage, I met a serious looking walker coming in the opposite direction. I stopped and had a quick chat - he was doing the SW Coast path, but had also walked all the way from Scotland! I wanted to question him further - but he didn't seem too inclined to stand in the pouring rain and chat, - he was camping along the way - so no surprise if he was in a bad mood.

I eventually reached the Ferry Point - for the short trip across to Helford. The Helford River is one of Cornwall's favourite tourist destinations and is a big sailing area. I wasn't seeing it at it's prime as the weather was so foul. I had passed quite alot of well known gardens along the way as well, such as Trebah and Glendurgan, owned by the NT.

At Helford, I stopped at the old Shipwright's Inn to find it closed! - so I used there undercover outdoor tables to eat my sarnies. There were a German family of 4 travelling on Tandems also sheltering from the rain.

A little further on, I passed a lovely Tea House within an old chapel, so stopped again for a cuppa and to dry out a bit. The path followed the estuary edge towards St Anthony in Meneage at the head of the Helford estuary. Gillan, my destination was just across a small creek around the head. At low tide, you could walk across, but the official SW path went down the creek to Flushing, which was a nice walk despite the weather. I saw a Curlew and various Egrets. From Flushing, the path was a bit cross country and rather vaguely signposted. When I reached Gillan, I was pretty tired and didn't have a clue where this caravan was. However, it's a very small place and as it happens, the first person I saw turned out to be the husband of the lady who I had booked through, and the caravan was in their garden.

It was still sheeting it down and I could see no way that I would get anything dry overnight.

The Caravan was very comfortable and in a secluded area of the garden. The deal was that she supplied an evening meal as well - the nearest pub was Helford. We stood in the pouring rain at the door outside the caravan as she explained that she would bring over a lasagne to the caravan at 7:00pm. That was fine by me - one of my favourites. Soaking wet boots were left under the caravan as I gingerly stepped inside trying not to make a mess. All the stuff for breakfast was laid out - bread rolls, jam etc - plus a nice bit of cake - and the best of all - a large can of lager in the fridge!

Tried to have a shower - but anyone who has caravanned will know what a palaver that is.

The Lasagne arrived - suitably waterproofed - and boy, did that go down well!

The weather proceeded to go from bad to worse as a big storm passed over - but I crashed out fairly early. The next day, I would head for Coverack and the forecast was for a bit of sun - marvellous.

North Walk: Marazion to Porthleven

Sunday June 28th: It was a grey old day with rain forecast later on in the day, which was unexpected - so seeing as I hadn't brought any wet weather gear, I didn't hang about, and left Glenleigh Hotel so quickly that I managed to leave my walking pole in their porch! I would pick it up later on my way back to Penzance on the bus. The path headed out of Marazion on the main road with good views back to St Michaels Mount, before turning off back towards the coast towards Venton Farm and Trenow Cove. This stretch of the path was pretty uninspiring as I headed towards Perran Sands near the old village of Perranuthnoe. Further on the path returns to the clifftop towards Cudden Point and then round to a couple of small coves - one called Prussia Cove and also Bessy's Cove apparently named after Bessy Bussow who ran an infamous alehouse on the cliffs. I headed up a trek and found myself in the courtyard of an impressive old house with a fantastic position overlooking the sea. I was now not far from Praa Sands, a popular holiday spot with a long sandy beach and large campsite. It was a good time to stop for a quick caffeine input and then I walked the length of the beach and rejoined the path to head up back to the cliffs. The clouds had gathered, and the rain soon started - so I got my head down and ploughed on. There were some old mine workings at Trewavas Head and a dramatic cove with sheer cliffs near Tremearne, but apart from that, it was a straightforward and unremarkable walk to then reach Porthleven. I reached it in good time. My pre-booked train from Penzance wasn't until early evening, so I had plenty of time to kill.

Porthleven was a pleasant fishing village with a large harbour. It has a history of boat building including large Clippers and is also well known for some dramatic storm photographs from 1989 when waves were seen crashing over the top of the town Clock Tower. I had a wander round, and then retreated to the bus shelter as the rain came down again. Some entertainment came in the form of a group of youngsters who were hanging about the bus shelter, swearing and smoking - they looked about 12-13yrs old. One of them had a lighter and was fiddling about with it before somehow managing to spray himself with the lighter fluid and setting fire to himself! That was something to swear about - and it shook him up a bit as he flapped about trying to prevent himself becoming a walking inferno. I was ready to spring into action and fan the flames, but he put himself out without injury, apart from his pride of course, as his mates thought it was hilarious.

Porthleven Harbour

Eventually got the bus back to Marazion, picked up my pole, had some lunch and then got another bus back to Penzance.

With time still to kill - I wandered back to penzance harbour where they were still celebrating the Macey Day festival with an outdoor street market and a musical group from South America with wooden pipes and bongo drums and wailing type of vocals, very ethnic. Uneventful journey back to Devon. I was now just one day's walk away from my final destination, The Lizard, on the Minehead ie North direction of the walk!

North Walk - Lands End to Marazion

Saturday June 27th: I travelled down to Penzance on the Friday night from Exeter. I had discovered some really good train ticket deals on this route - £6 each way from Exeter to Penzance - a bargain. Stayed at the Swordfish Inn at Newlyn on Friday night, where there was live music and the pub was pretty packed, but good clean room for the price. Popped into the Chippie next door where there was a massive chap in a Spurs Shirt. "Didn't expect to find a Yiddo in this far corner of Cornwall" I said rather bravely! He could have thought I was a Gooner and shoved a Cod and chips up my bottom, but fortunately we ended up having a good long chat about 'arry and who might come and go pre-season.

The plan on the Saturday was to catch the early bus to Lands End. I thought I might have to leave without the obligatory bacon and Egg breakfast fest, due to the early bus time - but they had a system where you left a breakfast menu card outside your room indicating what you wanted to eat, and when I explained my predicament to the Landlord - he said, just put a note saying what time you want your brekkie - and no problem. That worked - So I was able to catch the excellent no 300 open top bus which circulates in each direction from Lands End - every day during the Season and was at Land End for 9:15am.

As I left the bus - I spotted another walker who was obviously on a mission - and he disppeared in the direction of Penzance from the car park whilst I headed for the Lands End point where I had ended my walk previously. I thought I would catch up with him later

It was a beautiful day which I was glad of, as this stretch of the coast path was going to be one of the most spectacular of the whole path. I had walked part of it before from Minack a few years previously.

There was a group of Cyclists getting prepared for what was no doubt a trip to John O'Groats, but my destination was Penzance, although I was staying at Marazion that night, so legs willing - I might do the extra few miles.

I could see alot of evidence of path erosion at Lands End - due to the popularity and mass tourism, but they had roped off alot of the old paths to allow them to recover. The seascape around Lands End is quite spectacular, if you can ignore the theme park touristy environment around you. There are a series of rocks and small islets and the sea is always in a turmoil. I left the Hotel complex and headed off from Dr Johnson's Head towards Nanjizal bay. The sea was a gorgeous colour and the views just got better and better as I headed in a southerly direction towards Gwennap Head from where I would get my first glimpse of my very final destination - the Lizard! - I would have turned the corner so to speak. For a few miles - I could look back and still see the lands End complex, but after Gwennap Head, it was finally out of view.

At Gwennap - there was a large Coastwatch Station - and I gave the coastguard a friendly wave. It must be a lonely job manning these stations - and many of them are just volunteers, but they do a vital job, not only looking out for ships in trouble - but also logging the likes of myself who might inadvertently go for a nosedive! The rock formations all along this part of the coast were very interesting, with lots of cave formations and strange shaped rocks.
A little further on, I reached a small cove called Porthgwarra where there was a welcome shop. From there the path went up to a high level cliff before dropping down into the beautiful sandy Porthchapel beach. The sea looked quite inviting and it made me think that during all the miles I had walked, I had yet to stop and have a swim! I would be reminded of that later on in the day. From here it was a short hop to the famous Minack Theatre situated at a high vantage point just before Portcurno Beach. The path went right through the Car Park to this popular tourist destination. I had visited Minack before and it has an interesting history for what must be the most spectacular theatre destinations in the country. Built into the rocks within what was a natural amphitheatre, the Theatre was the brainchild of Miss Rowena Cade in the 1930's who helped build it initially for performances to friends and family. The backdrop to the stage is the sea and rocks with Logan Rock looming in the distance. If the weather is kind - it must make for a fantastic evening's entertainment - and there are professional performances all throughout the summer.

Porthcurno Beach

From Minack - it was a very steep climb down to Porthcurno beach where the sea looked Mediterranean in colour. It is one of Cornwall's most beautiful coves and from here it was another 12 miles to Penzance . The path climbed steadily up to the cliff path. I made the diversion out to Logans Rock point from where you got a great view of the Minack Theatre across the bay.

It was at about this point, that I kept meeting running athletes head on. There was obviously some sort of race on, and on the narrow rocky path, it was sometimes difficult to dive out of the way. From then on, they just kept coming all day, men, women - all ages and when I eventually enquired what the race was - a sweaty lady told me that they were running from the Lizard to Lands End!! - just the 45 miles - they had started at 6:00am, the slackers. It is an endurance race that has been staged for the last 3 years apparently - and has raised quite alot of money for charity. I decided that there was no way that I could moan or complain about sore feet at the end of the day - in comparison to that lot of nutters.

A little further on, I reached the small fishing cove of Penberth, where there were several day ramblers having a rest. I headed on and a couple of miles further on, I was stopped by someone who very kindly pointed out that there were some basking sharks clearly visible off Boscawen point. When I reached it - I could see a small boat not far out to see full of people looking at something - but as I made my way closer to the cliff edge, I could clearly see the fins of several sharks swimming quite close to the shore. The cliffs here were tall and steep, so I had a great vantage point looking down on them and with my zoom lens - I could see them with their mouths agape filtering the plankton. they didn't seem as large as I thought - but it was difficult to tell from distance. So that was a first for me, but still no signs of dolphins on this walk! After taking about 50 photos most of which would be no good - I carried on. Someone else told me that there were some basking sharks more close to shore at Lamorna Cove. A little later, as I once again nearly fell into the undergrowth avoiding more runners, I met Sue Robinson. Enjoying the beautiful scenery, Sue, a beauty therapist, had travelled up from Dorset early that morning for a day out and was going to drive to Sennen Cove later on. We walked together for a bit and shared a Cream tea at Lamorna Cove before I headed off for the last stint of the day. Lamorna had a harbour and was previously a busy area for quarrying as you could see from the scarred cliffs. However, there was no sign of any more sharks.

By now - time was going on, so I needed to get a move on. There were still plenty of endurance athletes struggling on. In fact I met one guy laid out by the side of the path under a bush struggling with cramp. I gave him a hand - but he admitted he didn't feel well! Having run 30 miles along a coast path on a hot day, it was hardly surprising. Unfortunately - he had the hardest part of the run still to go.
I was now not far from the tourist hotspot of Mousehole. Suddenly, I rounded a corner and there was the guy who had left the bus at Lands End ahead of me. I stopped and had a chat with him, a retired Geordie, he had been stopping and having a swim at various beaches, which is "what I do" he exclaimed. He was camping at Praa Sands, which was quite a few miles East of Penzance. Obviously quite a fit guy for his age - he admitted that he was ready to stop. I carried on - but then he caught up with me just outside Mousehole and we walked together for a while. By this time, my ankle was giving me quite a bit of jip - so my pace was pretty slow. Geordie boy stopped at Mousehole - he was going to buy a Guardian and have a sit down for awhile! I reckon he would catch the bus from there. Mousehole is a lovely old fishing harbour, mostly a tourist spot now with an interesting history.
Prononuced Mow-zell, it is named after a cave on St Clements isle at the mouth of the harbour where apparently, a hermit once lived. Long ago, Mousehole achieved fame when it was the landing place of the Knights of St John returning back from the Holy Land. From Mousehole - the path followed the road to Newlyn along a new cycle track at the back of the rocky beach.


St Michaels Mount across the other side of the Bay dominated the skyline - and I could see how far I was going to have to walk to Marazion around the edge of Penzance. Newlyn has Cornwall's largest fishing fleets and the massive harbour dominates the place. Apart from a few small shops and the pubs, there is little else to see. I popped back in to the Swordfish for a quick pint as I was passing. From Newlyn, it was a promenade walk all the way to Penzance.

On the train journey up from Exeter, I had listened to some girl students talking about the Mazey Day festival going on in Penzance that weekend. It is the equivalent of Carnival weekend - with colourful parades, street markets and general festivity. As I approached from Newlyn along the road - I could see lots of colourful flags and banners and by this time it was early evening, so people were streeming away from the centre as I came plodding through, having missed the party! There was a large fairground set up and one of the pubs had live music set up outside - so it was all pretty lively.
If I had wanted to catch a bus to Marazion, I would have been out of luck, so although I was struggling a bit - the path to Marazion was level all the way along St Michaels Way - a new waterfront cycle path. The track followed across the back of the long beach which stretched for 2 miles between the outskirts of Penzance and Marazion. St Michaels Mount got larger and larger as I hobbled along. Marazion is thought to be one of Cornwall's oldest settlements with a history of trading in tin - which was smelted on the offshore island of St Michaels Mount. A priory of Benedictine Monks was established on the island in the 11th Century but it eventually became a private residence and is now owned by the National Trust and of course is a big draw for visitors.

You can walk across to the Island along a causeway at low tide. I had visited previously, so gave it a miss this time. I was staying at Glenleigh, where I had been before. It was nearly 8:30pm by the time I arrived. Along the way, I had put my knee bandage on, and the lovely old lady who owned Glendale went into overdrive when she saw me - thinking that I had had some sort of accident - "Oh you poor dear" etc etc. Quick shower and then I made it over to The Fire Engine pub in time. Food was pretty bland and certainly not freshly prepared, but welcome all the same. 22 Miles walked today - one of my longest stints - and one of the most memorable.