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Day 29
Porthleven to Lizard Point
Approx. 13.4 miles, 735m ascent
29,494 steps
A big day ahead, I found a good breakfast at the Hideaway cafe in Porthleven, sitting outside in the morning sun. I got chatting to some friendly locals who were very interested in my giant backpack and my journey, and had some good tips for food stops on the path. After some encouragement from the group the cafe owner took my picture and posted on instagram, I felt a little bit famous, especially when the guy serving at the cafe further down the coast recognised me from the post! An entertaining start to the day, and got me enthusiastic about the walk ahead.
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| Instagram famous haha |
The morning was another gloriously sunny one, and with a decent breeze the heat felt manageable. The path started gently, climbing slowly out of Porthleven then dropping down onto the shingly Loe bar and then back up onto the cliffs behind the long stretch of Porthleven sands. I had some company for the initial stretch, keeping pace with the two women I’d met the previous day with the Nordic walking poles, and we got chatting; they were walking a few days of the path and staying at b&bs on the way. Sadly today would be their last day, but it was nice to have company for a bit.
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| Saying goodbye to Porthleven harbour: I'll be back! |
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| Heading out of town |
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| Loe bar |
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| Looking back down the expanse of Porthleven sands |
The path traced in and out of several pretty coves, dropping up and down to the sand, but not on too demanding a gradient. At Winnianton farm the women went ahead as I made use of the facilities and enjoyed a breather in Church cove, with its little church tucked in beside the sand. The path soon found Poldhu cove, and I found the women again at the cafe and we sat and had some refreshments together. I was hoping for a pasty for lunch as the locals at breakfast had recommended them, but unfortunately the bakery delivery was running late. After waiting for a fair while and enjoying people-watching on the busy beach, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer as I still had a long way to walk. I hoped to get something for lunch at the next village a mile or so away.
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| Good cliffs |
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| Poldhu cove |
I was getting pretty hungry by the time the path dropped me down into Mullion cove, although I was somewhat distracted by the white pony that was swimming around in the little walled harbour, with its rider swimming alongside, a surprising sight! I managed to get a pasty in the little cafe in the village, and said goodbye to the two women who were at their final destination for the day. I took the steep hill up and out of the cove, and found a spot with a view to eat the pasty, propped up against a comfy rock.
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| Mullion cove, aquatic pony not shown |
From there, the path headed up onto some stunning high cliffs, and included some drops into steep rocky valleys. The weather was very warm by this point, and the landscape very exposed with little in the way of shade, so I was starting to really feel very tired and overheated. The rocky craggy terrain was also starting to hurt my feet; lots of pointy rocks sticking up to tread on and trip over. The beauty of Kynance cove was lost on me as I was feeling throughly fed up, and the too busy cafe and precarious path down to the beach did not improve my mood. There were hoards of people on the beach relaxing and enjoying the sun, and I hated them in that moment, wondering why I was making myself walk, and why they were all in the damn way.
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| Stunning scenery |
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| High cliffs (spot the small people on the top!) |
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| Steep valley, sore feet |
I found the steep steps back up from the beach to the carpark, quite surprised by just how many people there were to dodge on a random Tuesday in June. The path seemed to go right through the carpark, with plenty of idiots driving around too fast trying to find spaces and kicking up dust, and when I found the toilet block I offloaded my backpack in a huff, making use of the little shade given by the building.
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| Lizard point finally in view (a little blurry as my phone was rather sweaty!) |
After a little break I made myself carry on, knowing I only had another couple of miles and one small valley left to go. At 5ish I finally made it to Lizard Point, and it was all worth it. It is such an amazing spot, with fantastic views, and for some reason hitting the southernmost point of the UK felt even more special than when I had passed through Land’s End. I made it to the cafe on the point just in time to get a big jacket potato for dinner-with-a-view, and some cake to take away.
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| Polpeor cove at Lizard point |
I had decided a couple of days previously that instead of camping, I would give the Youth Hostel a go; my first ever hosteling experience! I was a bit worried it would be really busy and rowdy, but of course that was a bit silly, as a hostel in such a remote location doesn’t really attract the partying types. The host was really friendly, and I was able to make use of the laundry facilities to get my long-overdue washing done. I stayed in a dorm room, and all the other guests were fellow (female) hikers, all of us walking the path in different ways, in sections and alone and in groups. For the same price as I paid at the campsite the night before, I had use of the excellent communal facilities, great company, a comfy bed I didn’t need to build myself, and all in an absolutely stunning location. Watching the sunset over the point is something I will remember for a long time.
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| Worth the effort! |
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