May 18 Portreath to Hayle (Hale) (Day 6)
The day began hazy but mild. We were shuttled back to Porthreath and then took a taxi to Gwighian Beach, cutting out six miles. The cabbie gouged us, charging us 20£ for a 6-mile drive and asking for currency.
It got cooler in the afternoon up on the dunes. These dunes were much easier (more compact) to hike than those a few days ago. I talked to a surfer who told us the water temperature was 13 C (55 F), and she only wore a summer wetsuit without face protection and gloves. These Brits are hardy!
A thick fog prevented us from seeing the coastline until it lifted about 3 p.m. Today was a lot of work without much payoff. Even arriving in Hayle is not picturesque; it is industrial: cranes, buildings, and shipyards.
The remains of the National Explosives Factory near Hayle are examples of a state-of-the-art structure built to serve the Cornish mining industry and provide insight into how explosives were manufactured in the late 19th century.