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.
