“Cracking weather,” Bewitching panoramas, and Caribbean-like aquamarine waters made Dennis exclaim “If I had to live here for the rest of my life, I would not regret it.” We walked on single-track grassy paths, pavement, in fields with black and white cows, a golf course, a military target firing range (Tregantle Fort), through quaint and colorful fishing villages and mostly on seaside cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. I enjoyed today’s walk more than the Camino Portuguese. It is verdant , varied, and unblemished.
Choosing photos from the ones we took is difficult…all do not display the beauty of this part of Cornwall on the Southwest Coast (SWC) Path, a 630 mile path around Cornwall. We are doing only a short section between Plymouth and Falmouth, a week to ten days of walking. If what we saw today is exemplary, we will be treated to beautiful vistas surpassed by more indescribably beautiful ones. In addition, the people are very kind and generous, often going out of their way to help us.
We started off by taking a ferry from Plymouth to Crymell. The ferry’s mascot is Molly, a large black dog who has her own Facebook page. We walked through the formal gardens at the Mount Edgemont House. On the lily-strewn duck pond, we missed a SWC waymarker (acorn) and walked up to the mansion. It was lovely and we had beautiful vistas from the top of the hill, but we added at least 2 miles to our days trek.
We detoured across a gap and then up a steep incline to visit St. Michaels’s Chapel, built in 1397. I had no trouble climbing up to the ruins, but felt dizzy and scared climbing down. All that, high-altitude, open space was disorienting.
Today’s journey was long. The guide said 12 miles, but it took us more than 9 hours, which make me believe the mileage is off, in spite of the additional 2 miles or so. We arrived in Portwrinkle only to find there were no available B & Bs. There was the country club, but we did not even try that. Instead, we walked another mile to the Finnygook Inn. It was expensive, but we were exhausted and could go no further.