Other SWCP posts:
Day 22: St Agnes to Godrevy
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 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 23
Godrevy point to St Ives
Approx. 9.6 miles, 300m ascent
29,007 steps
The day started grey and drizzly, but by the time my Grandparents dropped me at Godrevy point the clouds had cleared away and it looked like it would be another hot and sunny one. The section today was easy and quite short, skirting round the vast entirety of St Ives Bay. A day of very golden sands and plenty of people. As the walking would mostly be on sand and tarmac I elected to leave the walking poles behind for once. It was also a big milestone day, as the map books I was using were split into three separate books, and the first one finished in St Ives. I would finish the day with 232 miles down, well over a 3rd of the path complete!
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| To St Ives! |
I found my way to the official path route, which weaves through the mass of sand dunes behind the big beach at Gwithian. I stopped to take pictures of the sea thistles stuffed full of snails (enjoying the moisture?) and got chatting to a dog walker who turned out to be a warden at Cape Cornwall, where I would be walking in a couple of days. We agreed it was a spectacular spot, and much preferable to the tourist trap at Lands End, which did have the claim of being just a few metres further west that the Cape.
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| Snails |
I headed off into the dunes, pleased that there were quite obvious large slate markers showing the way through the maze. However, the ups and downs were completely blocking the sea breeze and I was quickly far too hot, so I found a path down to the beach, hoping the tide was far enough out so I could follow it all the way to Hayle. I had timed things right and I had a clear route, so had an easy hour or so just walking on the sand and enjoying the lovely weather, now with a welcome breeze.
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| More dunes! |
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| Back on the beach |
At the Hayle estuary the beach is bisected by the river flowing out to sea, with many warning signs that the water is too fast and too deep to wade or swim across. This is rather infuriating, as it involves a diversion of a couple miles up to Hayle to the nearest bridge, then back down the other side of the river, only to return to the beach about 100m from my current location. Somewhat grumpy at failure of the people of Hayle to install a bridge just for my purposes, I set off up the estuary, on an unexciting pavement beside the road. Arriving in the town, I decided I couldn’t be bothered with another couple of dull miles of pavement walking, so I located a bus stop and was soon alighting in Lelant on the other side of the estuary.
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| Up the Hayle estuary |
I found my way past the church back to the beach, dodging golf balls from the nearby course on the way. A brief stop for lunch in the dunes, then I found my way down to the sand, deciding to risk that the steps at the other end of the beach would be accessible, as I had heard conflicting reports on whether that route was possible. Another glorious half an hour of beach strolling and I was pleased to find it was possible to scramble up, despite the steps being half collapsed and washed away.
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| More sand |
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| Looking down on the stunning Carbis Bay |
At this point the weather was really heating up, and for the first time on my walk I was getting a bit low on water. I had mostly been over-cautious and carried at least 1.5 litres every day, usually with several opportunities for a refill on the way, as running out of water was a bit of a fear of mine. I had just taken my smaller 800ml bottle on this day and hadn’t had a chance to top up yet. However, I tried not to be overly concerned as I wasn’t exactly deep in the wilds! I dropped down into the gorgeous Carbis bay, but the beachside restaurant looked far too posh for me to walk in and request water, so I headed on, only a couple of miles away from St Ives. The path thankfully headed up into the trees on the cliffside; a welcome bit of shade after several hours in the full sun.
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| Approaching St Ives through the trees |
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| Looking back at the day's walk, Godrevy lighthouse on the far left |
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| Good coffee |
I shortly arrived into the centre of St Ives, and found a cafe for a cold drink and cake whilst I let the Grandparents know where I was. I found the excellent booze shop that I had remembered from a holiday the previous year, and stocked up on a few local beers as a thank you to the Grandparents for their excellent support. I made my way through town dodging tourists, stopping for a very good coffee at Mount Zion, then around the little headland at St Ives head, giving a full view of the day’s walk back to Godrevy point, the sea the most incredible colour. I met the Grandparents near the Tate at Porthmeor, fully in love with beautiful St Ives despite the mad crowds.
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| The most ridiculously blue sea |
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