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Saturday 11 July 2020

SWCP Day 41: Sunday strollers

Other SWCP posts:

Introduction
Day 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 41

Polperro to Seaton

Approx. 8 miles, 550m ascent

19,435 steps


We managed to get up at a reasonable hour and get the caravan packed up, then headed to Looe to leave the vehicles, with a taxi back to the path at Polperro. Polperro was nice a quiet on that grey morning; quite a contrast to the sunny afternoon the day before. We made our way back down to the harbour and found the path edging around the entrance and back out onto the cliff. The low green cliffs made for very pretty walking, and we were soon in the little bay at Talland, with crystal clear water showing the red stony seabed below.


A cooler morning
Looking towards Talland
Clear seas

Around the next headland we were in sight of Looe island, standing prominently a little way offshore. The path was fairly easy going today, with only a few small valleys to contend with, and thankfully much cooler that the previous day, with a blanket of cloud lying low above us. We were soon approaching Looe and finding the Sunday strolling crowds, with a veritable queue to get up the last small hill on the approach to the town. 


Green cliffs
Lugger regatta

The bay was filled with square-sailed boats, and it became clear we had coincidentally timed our walking to coincide with the Lugger Regatta. The event celebrates the fishing heritage of the area, with many two-masted traditional Lugger sailing boats taking part. Around the final little headland and we were in suburbia, along the long approach road into Looe proper. The harbour was filled with boats and many people but we weaved our way through and found the car and a nearby pub for lunch. 


Looe harbour front
Not real unfortunately!

After another excellent ice-cream I was re-united with my big backpack, and parted ways with my Aunt and Uncle who were now heading back home. I had another couple of miles to cover to find my campsite for the night, just short of Seaton. I made my way back to the harbour front and wandered around a little trying to find the path up the cliff, finally getting pointed in the right direction by a fellow path-walker. The couple of miles left to walk weren’t very exciting, mostly following residential roads on the outskirts of Looe, then lanes and finally a quiet tree-lined road to avoid a recent landslip.


Heading through Looe

Those last couple of miles were not enjoyable walking. I was too full and tired from an over-sized lunch, and the sun had come out so I was very quickly overheated again. Having the big pack back on was a bit of the shock to the system after several days without it, and the bitey flies were back too. Grumble grumble. 


On arriving at my campsite I quickly realised I had made a bad choice, but without any real alternative I had to stay put (I wish I was brave enough to wild camp!). I had called ahead and all sounded fine, but it looked like it was a CC club site and was therefore very expensive for me as a non-member. There was no one around when I arrived so I called the reception number again and the owner I spoke to seemed very grumpy, although did point me to which pitch to use. I pitched and used the showers, which weren’t too bad although in a somewhat a spider-filled shed. When I got back to the tent the site had been invaded by sheep so there was plenty of muck on the ground. I didn’t see the owner all evening, so wondered if I wouldn’t need to pay, but going for a last pee at 11pm I was accosted by the caretaker who was very glad to relieve me of £15 for the night; the most expensive site since Porthleven!

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