A trip to St Ives….

Well at least it has stopped raining and in fact we even saw a bit of sunshine. A different sort of day for us today as we are off to St Ives to meet up with friends. It was a bit busier than I expected and the main car park was already full so up to the Rugby Club for us it was – still a bit cheaper up there at £6 for the day (still daylight robbery in my opinion!).

The town itself was way to busy with the main shopping lane thronging with people (why are they not at work / school / college?) so we gave that I wide berth, instead heading along the harbour wall looking across at the town, the tide was still quite high at this stage.

We wandered round to Porthmeor Beach and beyond – surfers paradise with hundreds of little black ants out there bobbing on the waves.

After a very pleasant lunch sat on the Harbour beach in the sunshine we walked along to Porthminster Beach, this was less crowded and Poppydog could at least have a run around and dunk in the sea – though too many footballs on the beach to allow her any serious freedom alas.

Across the water Godrevy Lighthouse always appears to be glittering in the sunshine, starkly white against the black rock on which it is perched.

A final walk back along the harbour front, mainly to pay a visit to the cute old fashioned bakery at the far end for goodies for later, before the long haul back up to our cars.

A lovely day spent with friends and at least 6 miles walked.

From Newlyn to Penzer Point….

A mostly grey day today and becoming increasingly windy though importantly, remaining dry.

Provisions are required, so a quick trip into Penzance first and then we followed the road around Newlyn to find a convenient spot to park up in a lay-by on the coastal road. After an initial attempt to use the concrete path just above the rocks failed as it has been washed away in parts and is no longer passable we rejoined the footpath which runs along the road above the shoreline, affording glimpses across Mounts Bay.

Shortly we passed the former Penlee Lifeboat Station and it’s memorial garden, standing proud as a memorial to the Lifeboat Solomon Browne and all its crew who were lost in outrageous seas on 19th Dec 1981 attempting to rescue the crew and passengers of the Union Star. The lifeboat crew had successfully rescued 4 people before both boats, the lifeboat crew (8) and remaining 8 crew and passengers of the Union Star were lost. The current Penlee Lifeboat is located in the safety of Newlyn Harbour.

Rooftop of Penlee Lifeboat Station

About half a mile later we arrive in Mousehole a pretty cluster of cottages running down a valley and around the infamous harbour (the Christmas Lights display draws people from all over).

Mousehole Harbour

Wandering through the narrow cluttered streets of white washed cottages the coastal path steeply works its way back up onto the cliff tops giving the occasional glimpse back down onto the harbour.

At the top of the hill the path narrows and is enclosed either side by hedgerow which though providing welcome relief from the increasing breeze, unfortunately makes for a bit of a dull walk.

Unsurprisingly we didn’t meet many other walkers and after a mile or so we chose Penzer Point and it’s gap in the hedgerow to be our half way marker and set off back the way we came.

Only about 5 miles today but enough.

Back to Nanjizal and along the coast to Porthgwarra….

Some cloud around but still plenty of sunshine. Today we have a little gap in our journey along the coastal path to fill, so we ventured off in the van and found a handy lay-by on the Porthgwarra road. There is actually a good sized car park down in Porthgwarra but the access road is long and very narrow and I decided not to risk it in the van. Quite by chance I had ended up parking right by the entrance to the footpath which took us over farmland and eventually down to Nanjizal – ideal.

Nanjizal or Mill Bay

We then clambered up the steps to the top of the cliff heading south. The higher we got the more stunning this bay looked with a fabulous white sand bank visible and in some places just breaking the low tide. the white buildings at Land’s End just visible on the skyline.

Once we had got our breath back the path levelled out following the rock strewn cliff tops for a couple of miles. The sun was shining and the sea our turquoise ever present companion – all is well.

Life is good

Soon in the distance we could see the Lookout Station on Gwennap Head, tucked away beyond which, according to Mr OS (Ordnance Survey App), sits Porthgwarra.

Stony inaccessible Porth Loe

We rounded the headland passing the two way marks (navigational) wandering how fab it would be to walk this walk when the heather is in bloom – when is that?

The path here becomes quite narrow and steep as we gradually wended our way down into Porthgwarra – with a little sneak preview over the cliff edge….

Oh my word, what a fabulous little cove – the only thing is you want it all to yourself, well I do anyway!

How fab is this little archway as an alternative access to the beach, probably safer too as the slip was very steep.

As well as the car park there is a decent little cafe garden, though I chose to enjoy my pasty on the beach whilst Poppydog had her daily wallow.

To think I was in two minds whether to come here – what an absolute gem and beauty of a 6 mile circular walk.

PS although the walk back up to the van was long and steep and we had to keep squidging up to the hedge to let cars past, I’m glad I didn’t take the van right down. It is doable but I don’t want to scratch my lovely new paintwork!

From Higher Tregiffian to Nanjulian….

From where to where you ask? Ok so from the campsite to a little spot a few miles up the coast. We don’t leave the site until early afternoon as it keeps on spotting with rain but as it appears to be brightening up, we decide to complete the section of coastal path from Gwynver northwards to Porth Nanven (Dinosaur Eggs Beach).

Firstly we wander across the fields and down the steps to Gwynver Beach which is surprisingly busy with surfers (all I can say is they must be mad keen to lumber their boards all the way down and of course back up again to this fab beach).

It is too busy for Poppydog to ‘off road’ but she does still get the chance for a runaround and essentially a splash about in a rock pool….

At the north end of the beach we pick up the coastal path which ambles along just above the shoreline over rocks and through heather strewn grassland. I would imagine this is an even prettier walk during the early summer and sprinkled with wild flowers.

The sun occasionally pops out to join us and we meet the odd walker but mostly we have the rough path to our selves.

In the distance we can see Cape Cornwall and decide to cut inland from the next valley rather than continue all the way to Porth Nanven as we certainly seem to have arrived at Dinosaur egg country!!

Maen Dower

At the bottom of the valley is a nice stream for Poppydog to wallow in for a bit and then we sat just above the shoreline just enjoying the sun for a while, before venturing up the valley to Nanjulian.

Our journey home took us through the tiny hamlet of Nanjulian, past the little airstrip of Land’s End Airport and finally over farmland to site – a nice 6.5 mile circular walk.

From Sennen around Land’s End to Nanjizal…..

A little bit more cloud around today but still a lovely day for a walk. We parked the van at the top of Sennen in a lay-by and wandered down onto the beach – it really is as beautiful as it looks….

Looking towards Cape Cornwall
And away to the south

The village, though now sprawling way up the hill with some rather fabulous glass studded houses is still essentially a cluster of higgledy piggledy small whitewashed terraced cottages, though sadly many of them now appear to be holiday lets. The small sandy harbour behind the newish Lifeboat Station is testament to a small thriving fishing fleet.

We then began to climb up out of the village, along the coastal path towards Land’s End.

Up on the top the footpath is quite wide and certainly well used, though at this time of year you can still enjoy the feeling of being the only soul out there and of course the coastline here is ruggedly beautiful.

As ever Land’s End itself was milling with people so we didn’t linger, just long enough to watch a pod of dolphins dancing around the bay (not close enough to take a decent photo) and to take this photo to prove we have been!

And then moved along to enjoy the spectacular Armed Knight natural arch with Longships Lighthouse in the distance.

Poppydog for once is in the right place at the right time!

Much quieter now the coastal path continues to meander along the cliff top.

After a mile or so and around another headland we get our first distant glimpse of Nanjizal or Mill Bay….

Too pretty to miss…

A series of caves in the making….

The tide is rapidly coming in but you can still imagine what this stunning cove would be like on a hot summers day with the tide out – miles from anywhere but probably rarely empty.

Well worth the walk….

From here we followed a steep path up out of the valley and a series of farmland footpaths back to where we had left the van in Sennen a good 7 mile circular walk.

And a cheeky poser shot in Sennen upper car park on our way back to site.

Living the dream….