SWCP - Day 7 - St Ives to Pendeen Watch = 15 miles - July 13th, 2015

The guidebook wasn’t lying. Today’s walk was severe. This was due to the very rocky terrain and over 1000 metres of ascent combined with wet boggy sections. We had to scramble over rocks and boulders and tried to attack the route all day long. We set off at 9am, after the best Cornish  breakfast yet – and hiked non-stop until 6pm. This was a very remote and rugged stretch of coastline with no facilities or services so we were prepared by having purchased sandwiches the night before. We encountered bits of mist and drizzle but overall the the day was overcast with very gusty winds. Having said all that, the scenery was spectacular with vistas only seen by walking the path. We are in the Trewellard Arms pub, having dinner and lots of wine to try to  numb the pain of our aching feet!

Near St Ives harbour

St Nicholas Chapel, St Ives

The Granite Fingers, Wicca Pool

Francine and todays's terrain

Boulder field we had tro traverse 

SWCP - Day 6 - Gwithian to St Ives - 10 miles - July 12th, 2015

It had to happen. After five days of brilliant sunshine, we woke to rain. We lingered over breakfast at our B&B and started off about 10:30 when the rain had changed to drizzle. Our walk today was a shorter one to St Ives. The sand dunes were covered with interesting snails and rabbits running around. We walked a section of beach before it became necessary to veer inland around the town of Hayle and its estuary. This particular section was not the greatest as it involved walking on roads however we did learn that Hayle was a town at the centre of the British Industrial Revolution. We next hiked through a wooded section, stopping to visit the church of Uny St Lelant, where the Pilgrimage route called St Michael’s way begins. We arrived in St Ives about 3pm and checked in at Cornerways guest house near the harbour. (Daphne Dumaurier used to stay here regularly in the 1949s). St Ives is a lovely, artsy town, very busy with tourists at this time of year. We visited the Tate Museum and then wandered the cute main shopping area - Fore Street, where there were many shops selling locally made jewelery, glass, products etc... An early dinner tonight included loacal fish and seafood. We will be off to bed early as tomorrow’s route is to be the most challenging – the guide book calls it “ a severe and remote 14 mile length”.

Upton Towans section

Slate waymarkers in this area

Hayle harbour at low tide 

Lelant Church 

Wild poppies

Hayle River & Estuary

Trail coming into St Ives 

Fore St., St Ives 

Our home for tonight

St Ives Harbour

SWCP - Day 5 - St Agnes to Gwithian - 16+ miles - July 11th, 2015

Another beautiful sunny day! We can hardly believe our luck. We were sure that the clouds in the distance would bring showers at some point but the winds kept blowing these inland.
This was our toughest day yet. We covered 16 miles and these included many ups and downs. We can’t remember how many sets of stairs we ended up descending and climbing. We walked a full eight hours and travelled from Trevaunance Cove to St Agnes Head and by the beautiful wheal coath. This structure is part of the tin mining past of this area. Then we walked down to the very nice beach at Chapel Porth. Another climb and then on to Porthtowan, with its nice beach. Then on to Portreath, which was at one time the biggest port in Cornwall during the tin mining days. Here we picked up ready-made sandwiches at the local bakery for a picnic lunch later on. In the Western Hills area, we saw wild Shetland ponies and many bird species including kittiwakes. At Hell’s Mouth, there was a very nice café but we didn’t have the time to rest. On we went to Navox point, spotting about a dozen seals on the shore. Past the lighthouse at Godrevy Point, we could see the village of Gwithian in the distance. After traversing the towans (sand dunes) behind Gwithian  Beach we managed to find our rest point for the night – Sandbank House B&B. We are tired and have aching feet but only casualties so far are Francine’s sunburned lips and Peter’s 2 developing blisters. We are over the half-way mark and are amazed every day by the gorgeous cliffs and Cornish coastlands.

Butcher shop in St Agnes

Our lodging last night

Trevaunance Cove

Paradliders

Wheal Coath

Moorland

 

We look out for these way markers

These stairs are tougher than they look - very uneven

One of many hidden coves seen today

Shetland ponies

SWCP - Day 4 - Newquay to St Agnes - 16 miles - July 10th, 2015

Woke up after the best sleep in days. What a great B&B. Kate and Paul at the Cliff House in Newquay were amazing hosts. Our king bed was just what we needed. The Italian restaurant they recommended was perfect and we loved their friendly, warm hospitality. Leaving Newquay under brilliant blue skies once again, we diverted to Towan Head and the Huer’s Hut. Next we enjoyed watching Britain’s best surfers on Fistral Beach. This area hosts international surfing competitions and is THE surfing capital of the UK. Nearing the Gannel River, we had to weigh our options for getting across. Because of the tides, we had to take a ferry. Had it been low tide we would have had to cross via a footbridge. Our “ferry” was actually a small boat with a “captain” and his “mate” – a very cute dog. Crantock beach on the other side was actually one of our favourite beaches so far, We never realized how many beautiful beaches there were in the southern UK.  After crossing the dunes, we walked along the cliffs of Pentire Point and Kelsey Head before arriving at Hollywell Bay. Onwards along cliff paths before arriving at Perran Beach. At this point, we were able to shed our hiking boots and socks to walk the 3 mile length of the beach to Perranporth. This would have been a full day, but in order to achieve our goal, we continued on towards St Agnes, passing many former tin mining sites as well as WWII airfields. We arrived at the St Agnes Hotel about 5:30 pm, tired and in need of refreshments!

Fistral Beach

Surf School

Ferry across River Gannel 

Sand Dunes near Hollywell Bay 

A common site - dogs on the trail 

Perran Beach 

SWCP - Day 3 - Porthcothan to Newquay - 11 miles - July 9th, 2015

What a beautiful day! We were blessed with bright sunshine all day long. Mary, the B& B owner told us that the next section of our walk was her favourite one. We tend to agree. The area of the Bethruthan Steps was absolutely gorgeous. The only down-side was that we were there at high tide, which meant that we were not able to go down 140 some steep steps to the ocean floor. It is possible to walk around the stacks at low tide. Oh well - our knees will thank us. Onwards to the village of Mawgan Porth were we picked up supplies for a picnic. We walked past Watergate Beach where the surfers were having a great time. This is a 3 mile beach at low tide and is very active.
We arrived in Newquay mid-afternoon and checked into our great Cliff House B&B with plenty of time to go down the stairs for a swim. The water was pretty cool but the air was warmer so it felt great. We have just had a nice pasta meal at a local Italian restaurant and we are now off to bed for a long walk tomorrow.

At Park Head

The acorn symbol is one of our waymarkers

Bethruthan Steps

Beach at Mawgan Porth

Watergate Bay