I believe that this is our twelfth trip to the South-West. The excitement and expectation, though, are still as with our first trip, just over two years ago. There’s still, even after all these years, a thrill in studying an OS map, planning the route and hoping above all else that I’ve not made it too hard or easy. Although, none of the routes on the South West Coast Path are for adrenaline junkies, the nature of the terrain means that the path is somewhat undulating! I don’t mind, but both Andrew and Carolynn were under the impression that a coast path walk meant a stroll along the beach! However, this has certainly not been the case. There is in fact over 35,000 metres of ascent and descent: that’s the equivalent of scaling Everest more than four times!
We met up with Andrew and Caroline at East Portholland, the end of our first day’s walk. Apparently, if you put the wrong post code into the satnav it takes you to Mevagissey, which was the end of our second day’s walk, and not East Portholland! So I’ll blame the satnav for our latish start, but I’m to blame for what turned out to be a fairly long and arduous first day! Me, well I enjoyed the day: beautiful weather, picturesque coves and stunning sea views. The path changes from pastoral meadows to windswept cliffs on this day giving us fantastic views. We finished at East Portholland, a hamlet, with the only shop being a craft shop… heaven for one of our group!
The weather forecast for the week is not good and today started badly. Normally I wouldn’t start off in waterproofs, normally I’d bale at this point, go home and sit by a nice warm fire with my pipe and slippers, but if we don’t walk the schedule, what is now booked for the next few trips is ruined, so walk we must. There was, however, a certain refreshing feeling to walking in the rain. I enjoyed the feeling of the rain and the wind on my face. There was a spring in my step and I felt I was back on the right path. I’ve no idea why, I don’t think that it’s this particular path, it’s that I was once again doing one of the things I love most with the person I love most.
The morning’s walk was still a little miserable and lunch seemed to be a long time coming; we walked into Gorran Haven, hoping, no praying for a sheltered place to take lunch. We found an undercover heated outside table… paradise. We all stripped off our waterproofs. Andrew and Caroline tucked into an all-day breakfast; Carolynn and I were a little more restrained. It seems that our packed lunches would have to wait until tomorrow! An hour sitting in the dry was enough to see the rain blow over and, for a short time at least, for a while the sun came out. The rain might have been refreshing but the sun always brings a smile. Mevagissey’s quaint narrow streets didn’t come soon enough at the end of a long exhilarating day. And what did we find, a café and a cream tea… what else!
The following day started with a beautiful sunrise; Lottie and I were the only ones that saw it, though! Not that unusual, but sleep isn’t inducive to seeing the wonderful golden light of sunrise. Today we are walking through Poldark country, Charlestown: a port that seems to be stuck in the 18th Century. It’s a place where I could have spent hours taking photographs, but as Carolynn regularly says, “We never seem to get time to just stand and stare, we always seem to be marching forever forward.”
The path seems to contour the cliffs. The ceaseless ups and downs have become more infrequent. I am, however, very conscious of the constant steep drop on my right, this is how I envisaged the coastal path, a narrow and exposed path.
Our lunch stop is on a row of seats at Lower Porthpean. It’s reminiscent of the sea front at Brighton, four middle aged people sitting looking out to sea pondering their Glory Days! After lunch the path changes again as we enter St Austell and the old port of Charlestown and then finally to Biscovey and the derelict industrial wasteland of the china clay industry. Not a very inspiring end to the day, not a place to stop, no cream teas and no refreshing pint! Industry doesn’t need to be ugly, nor does the landscape that is created around it, but Biscovey was not a place I wanted to linger and was only too happy to drive away.
The next day was a day of rest, if being with Andrew can ever be called restful… he’s always on the go and the day of rest was a day at the Eden Project!
The Forty Third Day on the SWCP saw us swiftly move away from Biscovey and its dying industrial heritage and we’re soon back on rolling coastal hills heading towards Fowey and the ferry crossing to Polruan. We walk past St Saviour’s Point and follow the cliff tops to Triggabrowne.
The narrow path, as in previous days, clings to the cliff’s side, contouring around the headlands then sweeping down into a cove only to ascend back up steeply and without mercy. The rollercoaster path eventually descends steeply into Polperro and its picturesque harbour, but more importantly its café and a well-earned rest.
The path to Looe is similar to the previous days: a varied walk along narrow cliff top paths, hidden coves and open fields until the small fishing town of Looe is reached, the end of the day’s walk.
The final day, from Looe to Downderry, reminded me somewhat of the section around Bideford – much of it was road walking, which I take very little pleasure in. The road often hides the view with its high hedged walls and wind-blown trees shielding the road, often making them dark and a little dismal. It’s a short day and we find a very characterful café on the beach at Seaton. As always with these stops it’s 800 calories used and 801 calories consumed! The final couple of kilometres is what Carolynn expected of the coastal path, a walk along the beach with the beautiful turquoise sea against a thunderous dramatic sky. A lovely end to an up and down week.
