Cornwall Archives - Woman on Her Way

Penzance, England

May 24 Lamorna Cove to Penzance (Day 11)

This is our final day on the South West Coast Path. I am not sad that it is an easy 6.5-mile path, 1.3 on paved roads. Knowing this in advance, I took my hiking sandals to change into after Mousehole (mow-zel) for the final walk into Penzance.

Lamorna was a famous artist community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, it has cottages and a pub/cafe. We climbed out of the cove onto the path and eventually into a wooded nature reserve. When the path climbed steeply up irregular steps carved in the hillside, I needed a bum push from Dennis to get over some of the tall steps. We stopped midway to breathe and admire the landscape.

At last, we descended into Mousehole, a picturesque harbor village. From there, we followed a paved footpath to Newlyn and Penzance.

We stayed at Holbein House for two nights. The room was lovely, and the hosts were helpful, but the nesting crows in the tree by our room started squawking at 4 am, making it impossible to sleep. Dennis also took a photo of the three adaptors needed to plug American electronics into the system: British-to-European-to-US. This conglomeration is particularly inconvenient when the outlet is behind furniture.

Wanting to rest for a couple of days in Penzance, we moved to the Union Hotel, which is closer to the center of town. Though built in the 17th century, the hotel has been modernized with electricity and plumbing, it remains worn. Though far from ideal, it was adequate and allowed us to rest.

We visited Penzance, shopped, and ate well. The Turks Head Pub is one of the oldest tap houses in Penzance, dating back to the 1200s. We sat by the door that leads to tunnels used by pirates and smugglers. The Egyptian House (now a B&B) was built in 1835 in Egyptian Revival architecture.

Land’s End, England

May 22 St Just to Land’s End (Day 10)

The cab driver picked us up at 8:40 for an early start in St. Just. We arrange to be collected at Land’s End instead of the scheduled destination.

We walked for 1.75 miles before leaving St. Just and getting onto the tough path. I fell twice on the precarious scree, the slippery pebbles on the trail. One bolder was so high that I approached it backward and shimmied over it. I had to squeeze between huge boulders near the pinnacle of one hill before starting the descent. Yes, my heart was in my throat.

The spectacular boulders reminded me how fleeting human life is compared to Nature’s elements. Many of the formations are millennial. I could split my head with one fall—humans are so fragile. According to a Google search, bones can survive for around five centuries in soil and become powdery in the air in about 50 years, a mere flash in the pan compared to these stones.

Land’s End is very commercial. We took the obligatory photo shots and called the taxis to take us to Holbein House in Penzance, where we will stay for our final two nights on the Path. Tomorrow, we end the South West Coast Path through Cornwall.

We waited for the taxi at the entrance of Land’s End. Lined up were vintage cars for the Land’s End Classic Car Rally. They all took off at the signal except one, which sputtered, emitted foul exhaust, and only managed to creep about three hundred yards before pulling aside. I’m sure the driver was disappointed.

Land's End Classic Rally — Land’s End Classic Rally

Pendeen, England

May 22 Gurnard’s Head to Pendeen (Day 9)

We took one sick day and one scheduled day off. Luckily, our hotel accommodations were four nights in St. Ives. While Dennis recuperated, I did laundry, wrote in my journal, and rested—my shins were happy for the break.

Dennis bemoans that my paranoia of being cold on the hike caused him to pack too much clothing, which resulted in bulging suitcases and heavy daypacks. In fact, because of my fear, I purchased an additional long-sleeve shirt and sweater in Halifax. Now, I have to get rid of them. But I am reluctant to discard two unneeded pairs of shoes I added at the last minute, justifying that they cost too much to throw away.

Because he is still ailing, we decided to shorten today’s scheduled hike and get off at Pedeen (instead of continuing to St. Just and then getting taxied to Pendeen. We adjusted the logistics to accommodate changes to HillWalk Tours‘ schedule.

The shuttle taxi was 35 minutes late. At Gunard’s Head Hotel, we had to wait for cattle to cross the road. Then we missed the trail and had to scuttle to find it, losing another half hour. It’s a good thing we decided to shorten our day’s hike.

The trail was stony, muddy, undulating, but otherwise, not too difficult. Dennis’s cold made breathing difficult, so we stopped often. The trail is hard-going; the rocks, the scree ( small loose stones that cover the slope and make it slippery), the boulders, the mud, the streams, the hill climbs, and the descents make this our hardest day. My feet ache from pounding on stones, my toes throb from jamming my shoes, and my elbows ache from using the hiking poles to propel me up and then brake me on downhills.

I am elated when we get to the Trinity Light House in Pendeen. This is where we get off the trail and walk about a mile on the road to the Inn. It was a tough day!

St Ives, England

May 19 Hayle to St Ives. (Day 7)

Dennis woke up with a cold. After taking Day-Quil, we were shuttled back to Hayle for a 6-mile walk to St. Ives. The path was 2/3 paved. Since our accommodation does not include breakfast, we stopped at the Birdies Bistro for brunch. It is located near the path on the edge of the Hayle Nature Reserve in Lelant. Because it was crowded, our food took about an hour to arrive. Dennis had OJ. The bottlecap read: “Let curiosity be your guide and courage be your sail.” Quite appropriate.

We passed St Michael’s Way, part of the pilgrim’s route to St. James de Compostela. Although we were on the Way for only a few feet, seeing the familiar way marker was nice.

We spotted a memorial bench dedicated to Dennis and Jane Quick as we approached St. Ives. The quote felt apropos: “Don’t you worry, my dears, because all the worry in the world won’t make it right.”

Because of his difficult breathing, I’m sure Dennis was happy that the ascent was not very steep. A busload of tourists interested in local botany ensured we kept a slow pace into St. Ives.

We took the next day off as a sick day (Day 8) and the following day as a scheduled day off. In total, we spent four nights at the Cornerways Guest House in Saint Ives.

Hayle, England

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.

Old munitions factory, Cornwall — Stone Marker

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.

Portreath, England

May 17 Parrenporth to Portreath (Day 5)

We took the taxis to St. Agnes (Aggie) Head Viewpoint, shortening our walk by four miles. I have no qualms about (cheating?) shortening the mileage. The day is brilliant, the weather is perfect, and the views are indescribable–even pictures do little justice to the majestic sights. At first, the trail was not very difficult, but then it became challenging–stony with steep inclines, some with steps. Unlike in my youth, when I would run up hills, I now need at least three points of contact. Walked 8.87 miles)

We passed the Wheal Coates Mining Village, which, before its closing in 1889, exported tin. Later, we passed Capel Porth, a cozy beach with many surfers in 55-degree water—too cold for me!

We passed a huge white dome-shaped building that belonged to the MoD. A hiker told me that until recently, it was where sarin gas was produced and stored. but is now a defense radar station operated by the RAF.

Perranporth, England

May 16, 2024 Newquay to Perranporth (Day 4)

Four options depended on the tide; we took the shorter distance and taxied to Crancok, a lookout carport. From there we followed the path that was mostly on dunes. When Dennis stopped to take photos, I veered left, and he continued forward. After waiting about 15 minutes at the top of the hill, I retraced my steps. I had to decide whether to go back down the slope to see if he was injured or ascend on the path. I chose the latter, asking everyone if they had seen an old man with a backpack. After about a half hour, someone said that Dennis was looking for me–I now knew to continue forward and hoped he would stop so I could catch up. Soon, I found him at a crosspath, where he figured I would catch up. Relief!

The dunes had many paths that crossed each other, making it difficult to stay on one path. Once again, the Gaia GPS kept us from going too far astray.

We walked on the beach for about a mile. Since we did not know the tidal schedule and it looked like the tide was coming in, we climbed the sandy dunes with much effort and followed that option into town. Had we known there was a staircase up to the town from the beach, continuing on the beach would have been much easier; the loose dune sands are hard to navigate.

I found it interesting that the Patron saint of Cornwall, St Piran, is said to have arrived at Parrenporth in the 6th century floating on a millstone from Ireland. This story is similar to how Saint James arrived in Northern Spain on a stone ship at about the same time.

Newquay, England

May 15, Porthcothan to Newquay (new-key). Day 3)

We followed the path along the coastline for about a mile. Today was cold, with on-off rain but little wind. We walked past mounds called barrows, bronze-age burial places.

Nature has created the most stunning coastline—the Atlantic, battering the coast, carving coves and inlets with jagged rocks, cliffs, and beautiful sandy beaches. I am privileged to see this wonder.

It is difficult for us to follow the path description that calls out the coves, inlets, etc, by name, which means nothing to us. This is where the PBS series Poldark was filmed, and I seem to recognize some of the areas, though, after a while, they all look similar.

Once we got to Trevone, a small coastal village, we lost the Path. Once we reached the road junction, we could go 1.5 miles back to Padstow or continue 3.5 miles to Newquay as planned. We chose to do as planned. We walked the narrow B3276 and arrived in time to meet our taxi in Newquay. It was harrowing. Though we walked facing traffic, we had to step off the road and into the briars/shrubbery to avoid getting hit. I am grateful for the attentive drivers. Like the Path, the road was undulating and did not save our legs from climbing.

Porthcothan England

May 14, 2024, Padstow to Porthcothan. (Day 2)

What a wonderful spread of fruit, yogurt, cereal, porridge, or warm breakfast! After filling up, we started our 13.5-mile walk to Porthcothan Bay from Padstow with a steep climb. It was a clear, chilly day, and the vistas were spectacular—just what we had come to see.

We could see a stone tower on Stepper Point, built in the 1830s as a day marker for navigational purposes. Today, it is known as the Stepper Point Daymark.

We walked through sheep fields, passed many coves and inlets, a few quarries, climbed down steep ravines, and back up the other side.

Today was cold, rainy, and windy (40-45 mph). At times, I turned my back to the wind, planted my hiking poles firmly into the ground, and leaned on them to keep from being blown off the cliffs. It was a bit scary at times, but we managed to arrive safely.

Porthcoton is a coastal village known for its sandy beaches and surfing. It has legends of smuggling where fishermen claimed goods from shipwrecks and sold them to augment their income.

Porthcothan Beach and the clifftop fields nearby were used to film Poldark, especially the shots of Ross riding his horse.

After a tiring walk, we returned to the B&B in Padstow via taxi.

Padstow, England

After breakfast in Exeter, Dennis researched the best way to Padstow, where we were to begin our hike on the South West Coast Path, while I traipsed in the rain to a cash machine to get the local currency.

After deliberating about traveling by bus (cheaper but longer and arriving at 9 PM) or by train (more expensive, same duration but better schedule), we rented an UBER. The cost was the same as the train, but the 90-mile ride only took 1.5 hours, and we did not have to port the backpacks to the station. No brainer! We were in Padstow around 12:30 p.m. to stay in a private B&B on Trevebyn Road for two nights.

HillWalk Tours prepared our hike and booked lodging, a taxi, and luggage transport. They were to leave a package in our room, but they delivered the wrong map and no printout describing the trail. Fortunately, we previously downloaded the 75-page PDF to our phones and are using the Gaia GPS app.

For supper, we headed into town down a very narrow and steep cobbled-stone hill. We had to tread carefully not to step in horse poop. Coming back was difficult, a harbinger of what was to come.