•As always, we found the British people we met to be very friendly and helpful. Every single one seemed to have a connection to Canada and loved to tell us about it. They were impressed that we came all the way from home to walk the coast path and wanted to be sure to give us the local highlights.
•Other than locals, we encountered mostly German visitors at our B&Bs, etc…Many were touring the sights relating to the television series based on Rosamunde Pilcher books and TV series as well as Poldark sights.
•Dogs rule in Cornwall. They were everywhere – at the beach, in pubs, restaurants, inns and shops and they seemed to have it made. We encountered hundreds of dogs and their masters on their daily walks on the trail and they were in great shape and very happy. It was so much fun watching them at play on the beaches.
•We never realized there were so many beaches in southwest England and that surfing was such a popular sport!
•The tides played a big part in the activities along the path. We were told that they were 7 metres in height in places. Various types of ferries and footbridges become part of the journey.
•Food was excellent. We tried a variety of fresh local products and Cornish specialties – pasties, ice cream, cheeses, fish and seafood (crab, mackerel, turbot, John Dory, megrim)
•Mining was HUGE in Cornwall. Evidence of this was found all along the way. Wheals, crown engines, old mine shafts, etc…
•Due to past experiences, we knew to avoid stinging nettles this time. The only worry was that Britain’s only poisonous snake, the adder, likes to sun itself in the dunes and we saw many cautionary warnings. Peter was on the look-out for sure.
•We were incredibly lucky with the weather. Even if we had a day of rain and some fog and mist, that gave us an opportunity to see the coast as it is typically - mysterious and haunting.
•The cliffs, coves, beaches, and dunes were spectacular. We saw seals, peregrine falcons, curlews, kittiwakes, choughs, rabbits, butterflies, buntings, many beautiful wildflowers.
•There was an interesting variety of way-markers along the way. Peter was in charge of navigation this time around. His theory was that as long as the ocean was on our right, we were good. It also helped that the gusty winds blew inland instead of the other way around.
•Having done one-sixth of the Coast Path’s 630 miles, we are anxious to be able to complete more sections in the future!
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