The end of my first full day in Cornwall – and what a lovely day it has been. I chose the right week to go away. The Sun has been shining and I felt like I was in Greece today. I even took my shirt off on the beach – shock horror!
I had an early morning alarm call, I think at around 5am, when one of the cats was meowing outside the door to the cabin. It still being dark, and me being in no rush to wake up, I ignored it. I wasn’t opening the door at that hour!
I got up some time after 7, let the cat in and had my breakfast (the cat sitting on my lap as I ate); I felt obliged to give the cats (by this time the other had turned up) a saucer of milk while I did the washing up. They appreciated that. 🙂
Then it was time to turn my attention to today’s walk. At the weekend Dad said I’m technically walking the coast twice, becaue I have to do my coastal walk, then walk back to the car. Actually no – Busses do exist! With this in mind I have got my week’s worth of Day Tickets loaded on to my phone through the First Bus app.
I drove to Praa Sands – about a 15 minute journey – parked up, and got the bus from there to Marazion. Once in Marazion, I organised a ticket to go over to St. Michael’s Mount, and visited the gardens and castle. The sea was flat calm today which made every view amazing! The pictures I took on my phone don’t do justice it really.
Back on the mainland, and I set off along the South West Coastal Path towards Praa Sands. It was at this point I realised, I should have put shorts on. (My jumper had long been packed in to my bag – cold start but warmed up by the time I got on the bus).
On a warm Sunny day it was a miracle I made any progress at all really: I just wanted to take photos of the sea views in every direction! After about 40 minutes of walking I made it to Perranuthnoe – actually only a short walk from where I stayed back in March. Perranuthnoe has a a lovely sandy beach. I felt this would be a good stop to sit and have my packed lunch, read a chapter of my book…and I was tempted to swim. Although, I wasn’t suitably dressed for swimming, so I just got my feet in….I’ll be better prepared tomorrow – the water felt surprisingly warm.
It wasn’t busy as in – you can’t move – but there were a fair few people on the beach, swimming, sunbathing, playing with their dogs. I watched a very lively spaniel having the time of his life, playing with a stick as the owner threw it in the water, he’d jump in with a massive splash, and jump up and down as he ran up and down the beach before returning the stick to his owner.
A half hour sunbath at Perranuthnoe, then I continued my walk, enjoying the sights and the sounds of such a calm sea. Certainly a contrast to March when I hardly saw the Sun during my coastal walks! From the tops of the cliffs I could see people had climbed down the rocks to access a very secluded little cove – a man and his dog swimming actually quite far out (considering the dog was with him), and then I reached Prussia Cove. Small but seemingly popular with a few people sunbathing on the rocks, swimming in the sea, enjoying their afternoons.
After this part of the walk I was getting tired, and with no mobile data I hadn’t a clue how far I was before my destination. All I knew is I just wanted to get there! Then I turned a corner and before I knew it I could see my destination: Praa Sands. After 2 hours of walking (3 and a half hours including stops), I reached it.
I dumped my bag of stuff in the car – kept my book with me, and took my chair out the boot of the car. I went to the beach hut to get a chocolate milkshake, and set up my chair on the beach. Time for a nice long sit down after all that walking!
On the way back to the cabin I stopped at Tesco in Helston – to get a couple of supplies for the rest of the week – and after putting my shopping away I then made my way to Mullion Cove where I watched the Sun setting. Now I really felt like I was in Greece!
Tomorrow – another walk – picking up from Praa Sands, and aiming for Porthleven. My cabin doesn’t have a TV but I did watch the local TV news (BBC Spotlight) through my laptop – so I was able to catch the local forecast. The weather tomorrow should be similar to today. Thursday Sunny also but more cloud. Friday – the rain comes in.
Distance Walked Today: 10.83km (6.73 miles)
Total Coast Path Walk: 58.75km (36.51 miles)
Good night,
FH.
