life on the road

Penberth and Lamorna Cove….

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A very wild night and through most of the day but a bit of sun around and dry.

Note to self don’t try to put the pop top roof down in high winds with the side door open! You need two pairs of hands and as per, Poppydog is no help – as fast as I was pulling the sides in whilst holding the roof down (actually swinging off it at times) the wind was blowing the sides back out! I did eventually manage to do it and then about 5 minutes later realised what an idiot!! Still we live and learn.

Initially we drove and parked up in Treen, planning a fairly long walk along the coastal path to Lamorna Cove, but on looking again at the map with no real circular route back, I realised this was possibly a tad ambitious. Instead we wandered down across farmland to Penberth Cove.

A completely stony or should I say rocky, as not even suitable for Poppydog to run around on, cove at the bottom of a sleepy hollow valley. The footpath disappearing up the steep cliff to our left did not endear me to the idea of progressing any further along the coastal path.

Instead we wandered up the valley. Nicely sheltered from the wind with a vibrant stream running through and a few houses (for once they looked to be homes as opposed to holiday lets) nestling in rather exotic gardens, it was a very pleasant walk. We passed this rather impressively decorated tree adorned with a multitude of different shaped, size and colour of fisherman’s buoy.

So after barely a couple of miles we are back at the van, next stop the Merry Maidens….

Yup a pretty impressive standing circle. From here a string of footpaths across farmland eventually leads us down into Lamorna – another leafy valley. We had to deal with a couple of path closures which prevented us from going via Tater-du Lighthouse (another day maybe?) but eventually made our way down the steep incline into Lamorna.

The sea was pretty rough but a nice bit of sand was still exposed inside the harbour wall, though no longer in the weak sunshine.

We enjoyed the solitude with the crashing waves our only soundtrack, as there was hardly a soul about.

Soon enough, with a last look back, it was time for us to begin the gentler but quite long route back up to where we had left the van, under the watchful eye of the Merry Maidens.

I’m glad we did this in two hits as we still managed to cover 7 miles and we are ready for food and putting our feet up!

A fouro (one more than a trio!!) of stunning beaches…

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Another lovely sunny day, a bit more cloud about but less breeze so all in all a win. Today we made our way to Treen where there is a parking field (£2 all day), you can also wild camp in there with fab sea views, not sure of charge though, a couple of fields away from the cliff top so definite sea views and a busy looking pub in the village a short amble down the hill.

Today though, we take the footpath to Logan Rock a big lump of rock amidst beautiful turquoise seas.

Logan Rock

From here we are heading west towards Land’s End along Treen cliffs and soon have a fabulous birds eye view of this stunning beach….

Pedn Vounder Cove

What an absolute beauty even as the tide is quickly on it’s way in. Beach access is quite tricky with a very steep scramble down and so we continued our way along the coastal path. This stretch of the path is quite narrow but I found that everyone I met was considerate and socially distanced aware, not that it was any hardship to find a little gap and admire the view to allow others to pass safely.

A bit further along we encountered this pyramid demarking the original end of the transatlantic cable, more information about which is available in the Telegraph Museum a bit further along in Porthcurno.

Soon we had our first glimpse of Green Bay and Porthcurno beach and the Minnack Theatre beyond….

Then a closer look down onto Green Bay, accessible at low tides from Porthcurno or via a very steep scramble from above.

The footpath continues down onto Porthcurno beach, which as per was quite busy though the best views are from the ascent towards the Minack Theatre.

Porthcurno Beach

The stony steps up to the Minack Theatre are not for the faint hearted but are one of the few sets of steps that it is probably better to be going up than down, as you are less aware of the sheer drops you are climbing up!! Please note there is an easier walk up the lane if you don’t fancy it!

I have a great memory of sitting on these steps with a friend waiting for her husband who was running in the Classic Quarter Race from The Lizard to Land’s End, a gruelling 44 miles along the coastal path. We assumed we would see him and other runners ascend down the other side and have plenty of time to meet him at the car with water and snacks – hah not so he was by this point the front runner by some distance and suddenly just appeared up the steps – it was then our turn to run back to the car to get his water, so as not to delay his run. I’m pleased to say he still won and indeed broke the course record which he held onto for quite a few years – madness!

We continued along the coastal path to our final stop Porthchapel Cove at St Levan another stunning sandy beach which was fast disappearing under the incoming tide.

Not confident of our ability to safely get down and more importantly back up from this beach we settled midway down, enjoying the sun, solitude and view.

Porthchapel Beach

And Poppydog enjoyed a good wallow in amongst the rocks of the stream….

From here we made our way past St Levan’s Well into the little hamlet and back to Treen via a network of inland footpaths, oh yes and via this Anderson Shelter at the Porthcurno Museum, looking all autumnal …

A stunning 6 mile circular route and four more beaches to add to our list (some 850 so far!).

A trip into Penzance and Newlyn….

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Having prided myself in streamlining my list of essentials and expertly packing our new abode in record time, last night I discovered that I had left one of those essentials at home – my phone charger! Not just any of those essentials either, probably ranking as number 4 behind car keys, debit card and phone (assuming of course that Poppydog is just an extension of myself so not going to be forgotten no matter how hard I try!).

A sign of the times maybe but for phone read camera, map, sat nav, tv aerial Aligner, spirit level, internet, weather forecast, places of interest guide – need I go on? So essentially after approximately 24 hours the phone charger becomes a life changing bit of kit and so it was that after our morning ablutions we headed back to Sainsbury’s in Penzance to restore world peace as soon as possible.

£15 and a rather snazzy coral coloured cable later we found parking (free) in Penzance and wandered down onto the promenade and beach for a bit of R&R.

The tide is pretty much fully in so most of the normally sandy beach is covered but we were able to find a quiet pebbly section for Poppydog to express herself…

Tucked away from the wind by the sea wall it was deliciously warm and with Poppydog content chasing her ball in and out of the shallows we are now two happy bunnies….

After a short while we rejoined the promenade and heading away from Penzance wandered into Newlyn. I can never quite make up my mind about Newlyn – is it a pretty little cozy fishing village? Or is it a mix of second homes and run down little terraces?

Not sure but anyhow the harbour still looks to be thriving…..

We continued along the footpath heading towards Mousehole, looking in fact for the old Penlee Lifeboat Station but in fact turned back just before reaching it (not having remembered how far along it is) and giving Poppydog a run around on the stony beach outside Newlyn Harbour.

Newlyn Beach

We retraced our steps to the van and headed back to site.

A big decision made….

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With plenty of time to think during lockdown, spurred on by plenty of drives (and walks) along the country lanes down here in Cornwall, I have basically lost the nerve to continue towing! It has been coming for awhile and was part of the reason I stopped heading north at Glasgow, heading east instead to Edinburgh and continuing my travels back down south until being forced to make the epic (420 mile) journey towing all the way from Sandringham in Norfolk to home on the Lizard.

I am going to sell the car and caravan and buy a Camper – yes I really do believe we can live in the small space provided by a Camper, as each year on our return I have duly unpacked stuff that hasn’t actually seen the light of day on our travels.

My journey is evolving also, as at the outset I idealistically imagined ambling in a clockwise direction all the way around the coast of Britain. Whereas, in reality, I have broken my journey at various times (and places) to return home, visit my dad (my biggest fan) and attend family / friend events, as is real life.

So I feel confident that I no longer need to try and pack my whole life into the van as I will be back sooner or later! The fear of hitching and towing has never really left me and always results in a sleepless night and a very anxious journey. Also leaving the caravan in random places whilst I make these trips has not always been easy or cheap to organise.

So from here on forward I shall be living as a snail taking the essentials of life with me wherever I travel!

Freedombird Mark 3……

Along the coastal path from Kynance to Caerthillian Cove….

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A lovely sunny day with a welcoming cooling breeze as we wandered along inland from Lizard village across Kynance Downs. This stretch is mostly along the cliff tops affording spectacular views down onto Kynance….

and then Pentreath….

Back when we first moved here (2005) this was our go to beach, as it is off the beaten track, quite tricky to get down onto and with no facilities it was only really ever used by a few locals and with the tides out the lovely long stretch of greyish sand was never remotely busy. However winter storms a few years later put paid to anything resembling safe access and now apart from the odd brave surfer most of us just gaze down upon it with longing!

A bit closer to Lizard lies Caerthillian Cove a mostly rocky little inlet, hardly ever enjoyed by anyone (apart from from above) and unbeknownst to most, at low tide you can sneak around the corner onto the lush sands of Pentreath. That is to say you used to be able to and I shall certainly give it a go next time the sun is up and the tides are right and report back.

For today however we scrambled down and cooled off in the abundant rock pools and marvelled at the crashing waves beyond.

It never ceases to amaze me the difference between the invariably choppy West Coast and the usual calmness of the East Coast, yet here, they are only a few miles apart – knowing this and imagining the turbulence where east meets west you would never consider it a good idea to swim off Lizard Point!

We ended this shortish 3 mile circuit back on the village green (Lizard) where we had left the car – barely 2 miles from home but not a pleasurable walk along the main Lizard – Helston road.