Other SWCP posts:
IntroductionDay 1: Minehead to Porlock
Day 2: Porlock to Lynton
Day 3: Lynton to Combe Martin
Day 4: Combe Martin to Mortehoe
Day 5: Rest day, Morte Point loop
Day 6: Mortehoe to Braunton
Day 7: Braunton to Westward Ho!
Day 8: Westward Ho! to Clovelly
Day 9: Clovelly to Hartland Quay
Day 10: Hartland Quay to Morwenstow
Day 11: Morwenstow to Bude
Days 12-14: Bude to Crackington Haven
Day 15: Crackington Haven to Tintagel
Day 16: Tintagel to Port Isaac
Day 17: Port Isaac to Padstow
Day 18: Padstow to Porthcothan
Day 19: Porthcothan to Crantock
Day 20: Rest day, Holywell bay loop
Day 21: Crantock to St Agnes
Day 22: St Agnes to Godrevy
Day 23: Godrevy point to St Ives
Day 24: St Ives to Pendeen Watch
Day 25: Pendeen Watch to Sennen Cove
Day 26: Sennen Cove to Lamorna
Day 27: Lamorna to Marazion
Day 28: Marazion to Porthleven
Day 29: Porthleven to Lizard Point
Day 30: Lizard Point to Coverack
Day 31: Rest day in Coverack
Day 32: Coverack to Maenporth
Day 40
Polruan to Polperro
Approx. 7 miles, 550m ascent
16,190 steps
The evening after the James Acaster show I headed back down to Cornwall with my Aunt. My Uncle travelled separately on his motorcycle, so that we could use the two vehicles to shuttle from the start and end of the 2 days’ walking we had planned. We stayed in a rather fancy static caravan (things have moved on from lurid patterned upholstery!), on a big site a couple of miles inland from Polperro. The caravan would be the base for a couple of days, giving me a couple of easy days of walking without the big backpack.
On Saturday morning after a leisurely breakfast we drove down to Polruan to start the walk, just on the other side of the estuary to Fowey. We planned a relatively short distance to ease them in gently, but the section did have quite a few decent valleys, so it wouldn’t be too easy, and was certainly a good part to walk for an accurate introduction to the path! After taking in the stunning views up the estuary we found our way out to the clifftop path. The path traced the high green cliffs, with spectacular long views up and down the coast.
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| Looking back across the water to Fowey |
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| Stunning views along the coast |
The day started with a few wispy clouds resting in the sky, but it soon heated right up, and was tough going on the exposed cliffs. The horseflies seemed to have a taste for my Aunt, who was somewhat plagued by them in the warm morning air. However, the beautiful section was a very pleasant walk, and I was glad to be feeling strong and fast after a couple of good rest days and only a small backpack.
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| More pretty little bays and coves |
After a very hot morning of walking, we hauled ourselves up a particularly steep hill and found a perfectly placed bench with a pleasant breeze for a lunch stop. We were very shortly overtaken by a woman running up the very steep path, which put us all to shame as we got our breathe back. We enjoyed our lunch picnic, although the complete lack of shade was a bit much for me, and I was pleased to have remembered my silly floppy hat to keep the sun off my face.
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| Snaking path on the left of shot |
The afternoon was tough going, with no let up in the steaming weather and not much breeze to take the edge off. I was rather pleased we agreed to only 7 miles, as that was plenty in such conditions; I am not built for the heat! Finally with a mile or so to Polperro the path found some shade in the trees and high hedgerows and the air was filled with the lovely scent of warm privet flowers. I love that smell; when we were children there was an odd section of privet hedge in the middle of our garden, and we frequently used it to build dens to laze around under on hot summer days.
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| Polperro harbour |
We rounded the corner into very pretty Polperro, and enjoyed a good while exploring the little twisting streets. We discovered some very excellent proper ice-cream, and revived ourselves in the shade. To get back to the caravan we had planned to catch a bus, but as we walked up through the village to the bus stop a taxi passed us and was happy to stop and pick us up. I made the most of the caravan facilities whilst my Aunt and Uncle jumped on the motorbike to collect the car. After they returned we found a nice local pub for dinner, and I ate far too much delicious food, continuing to eat my way around the whole of the South West!
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| Pretty Polperro |
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