Par then Fowey This morning Chris, the boys' cousin, arrived in Mevagissey after travelling down from London on the night train. We all met up after breakfast and walked through the town looking for food to take with us for our lunches before setting off along the path. At the start of the walk the weather was grey and it got progressively worse as we made our way along the ups and downs of the headlands and valleys. We took a welcome break at lunch time and made sure that we topped up our fluid levels - there's nothing worse than becoming dehydrated when you're exerting yourself. By the middle of the afternoon the mist had thickened, a strong wind had started to blow and it started to rain. Once we had reached Par it wasn't a difficult decision to make for us to finish the walk from Par to Fowey by bus. Grey and wet. Another down and then another up. The old guy on another steep climb up. At the end of the day a celebratory pint was appreciated by all. Once we arrived at Fowey we settled in to our accommodation and then went out in search of a place for our evening meal. After finding a suitable restaurant and having enjoyed our meal Gareth and Chris went off to explore some of the local watering holes while Kristen and I went back to our rooms in the B&B. Later I went down to the bar to find a WiFi connection and ended up spending an interesting an fun evening chatting with two ex-pat Americans from New York and two band members who were performing in town.
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Father & Sons - Mevagissey Caerhays Castle As was promised, I got a ride to Mevagissey. Roger drove me by a scenic route so that I could see more of this area's rural settings. Caerhays has been lived in since 1370 in various forms. The present castle was built between 1807 and 1810 and the castle grounds house a spectacular garden with over 600 varieties of plants. Inner harbour Outer harbour After I arrived in Mevagissey I spent time exploring the harbour area. I visited the town museum and the harbour side aquarium both of which have kept their focus on displays of very local interest. The aquarium only exhibits the sea life that can be found in the local fishing area and the museum sticks mostly to the activities from the past that took place close to the harbour and on the sea. Both were definitely worth a visit. This notice was posted on the locked public toilets along the side of the harbour. I encountered this problem in many places in Cornwall and I completely agree with the sentiments expressed in the notice. The reason that I had to be in Mevagissey on this day was because my two sons had decided to join me on my walk for two days to give moral support and to support Hazel's cause. This was amazing when you know that Gareth flew to Gatwick from Calgary, Alberta and Kristen flew in from Toronto, Ontario both leaving Canada on June 8. When they met up at Gatwick they rented a car and drove down to Mevagissy arriving at 7:30pm. Their plan was to walk with me for two days and then drive back to Gatwick when we reached Looe on June 11 and then to fly back to Canada on June 12. Obviously when they arrived we had to celebrate with a pint in one of the local pubs.
Portscatho Portscatho When I arrived at my accommodation I spent some time talking with Roger, the landlord, and Helen, his wife, about Hazel and what I hoped to achieve with my walk and the difficulties I was having trying to find accommodation. As a result Roger offered to drive me to Mevagissey when he had to go there two days later. I had to be in Mevagissey on June 9 for a special reason and if I stayed in Portscatho for the day I could relax and do some work updating some of my blog. So today I stayed put and enjoyed the opportunity to relax, work on my blog and socialise with other guests at The Plume of Feathers.
Portscatho Today was the day of ferry rides. After a short walk from the pub down to the inner harbour front I took the ferry from Falmouth to St. Mawes. The weather was windy and grey but the estuaries are so protected from the open sea the trip across to St. Mawes was choppy but not at all rough. The Falmouth ferry dock is in the inner harbour which is a safe anchorage for the many pleasure boats that make Falmouth their home. The second ferry took me from St. Mawes to Place (Yes, there really is a place called Place). The ferry boat was much smaller and the choppy sea occasionally splashed over onto the passengers sitting on the windward side. From St. Mawes all of the way across we could see Place House tucked in to the small bay that was our destination. Place House has been in the Treffey family since the 13th century and the family had an important influence on both Fowey and St. Mawes. After leaving Place I walked along the coast path to Portscatho where it was easy to find accommodation at a local inn.
Coverack and then to Falmouth After a good breakfast I headed off along the coast path. The wind was still blowing strong but the sun was shining so it was a good start. You can tell it must have been a storm deserving respect when you see an ocean freighter anchored out at sea to ride out the wind and waves (See above). Unfortunately, since starting the walk along the south coast, it has been difficult to find accommodation on short notice. It would be better if I could have made my reservations well in advance but when you are walking the whole length of the path there are too many variables that can affect your ability to arrive at the reserved accommodation on the scheduled date. With this in mind I decided to continue on from Coverack by bus to Falmouth where there would be lots of available accommodation. Coverack The bus journey that I had to take at that time of day was circuitous to say the least. First I had to take the bus from Coverack to Helston where, after a short wait, I got the bus to Redruth. In Redruth I had to wait for a while at a local bus stop hoping that it was the right place to catch the next bus to Falmouth. Much to my relief the right bus arrived and more than two hours after I had started I arrived in Falmouth.
While I was on my bus travels I was able to book accommodation in Falmouth at a pub that offered dormitory accommodation for only £20 - a great deal. When I arrived at the pub I wondered whether I had made a good decision. It seemed as if I had chosen an establishment that was frequented by bikers and other dubious characters. But you should never judge a book by its cover. I spent a very pleasant evening in the bar and the lounge area chatting with the locals and the bar staff. I had to go down into the lower part of town to get my supper and when I say down I really mean down. The fastest way was down Jacob's Ladder, a very steep passage of stairs. Cadgwith Cove The bus stop at Tesco in Helston When I woke up and looked out of the window the weather had changed dramatically. The wind was blowing at gale force and the rain was blowing sideways like a waterfall. Because I had travelled inland to Helston I had already decided that I was going to travel back to the coast by bus and I was very glad I had made that decision. I checked out of the hotel and walked about 500 metres to the Tesco Superstore where the nearest bus station was located. I checked the bus schedules and found that the bus I needed didn't leave for several hours. As a result I passed the time walking around the Tesco Superstore so that I didn't have to walk or stand in the driving rain. The bus eventually came and we set off towards Lizard with side trips down to small towns along the way. Many parts of the roads along the route were overhung by large trees and their branches were whipping backwards and forwards in the wind, looking as if they could break and fall onto the road or even the bus as we travelled along. The alarm caused by the trees was made worse by the narrowness of the country roads that didn't seem wide enough for a small car let alone a big bus. The driving skill of the bus drivers on these routes is amazing and they should be recognised for the safe work that they do. Unfortunately Cadgwith, my destination, was not one of the villages that was on the bus route so the driver let me off at the road junction closest to the village. That meant a walk of about two miles in the wind and the rain before I found the comfort of Cadgwith Cove Inn. Later on when the rain had abated I went down to the beach and took some pictures and a video of the sea breaking in this sheltered cove. Porthleven Prussia Cove The walk today was from Marazion to Porthleven. The weather was good and the first part of the walk was good but it became a little more strenuous towards the end. When I reached Porthleven I couldn’t find any accommodation but with the help of a manager at The Harbour Inn I found a room in the Premier Inn in Helston. The manager was just finishing for the day so he offered to drive me to Helston, an offer that I gladly accepted. So another night with the help of Premier Inns.
Marazion I left Lamorna with a much lighter load on my back and started off headed for Marazion. I took a public footpath route that cut off some of the distance around the coast path and arrived at a pretty village called Mousehole. Now I know you all think you know how to pronounce Mousehole but most of you would be wrong. The correct pronunciation is mowzəl, a very Cornish way of doing things. By the way, many of the houses in Cornwall fly the Cornish flag, a white cross on a black background now recognized as the "national flag" of Cornwall. Mousehole harbour front. From Mousehole the coast path passes through Newlyn and Penzance both with a low sea front that made easy walking. Both towns are busy centres of industry and tourism. Penzance I stayed in a B&B in Marazion that was just across the way from a small park which gave this great view of St. Michael's mount. When I was walking by the bus station in Penzance I was confronted with a choice of three paths to follow; one by the railway line, one right along by the sea and the third one in the middle. I chose the one by the sea which seemed logically to be the coast path but roughly 100m along the path I came upon some men who were sitting and standing together in a group. As I reached them one of them asked me if I knew that this path ended in a dead end. When I expressed my ignorance they redirected me to the correct path and then started to chat with me about what I was doing. When I told them about Hazel and Hazel's Heroes they all chipped in to donate a total of £7.23. This was a very special donation because it was given by a group of homeless men.
As a present to myself, I decided to take today off as a rest day. I explored the quay area a little and stopped in at the little restaurant near the quay for a snack. Then I wandered back up the hill and on my way I stopped in at an art show of the Lamorna Art Society in the community hall. This group of artists was started before WWll and is still going with some of its members being relatives of the original members. Then at 3pm Martin arrived with all of the items I had discarded along the way and with a smaller backpack that I could borrow. I left all of my camping gear with Martin and just kept the minimum necessary for staying at B&Bs for the rest of my walk. In the evening I went down to The Wink pub and bought Robert a fish and chip supper. Once again it was a really good evening and I even managed to get the group sitting at the next table to us to sing Happy Birthday for me. Lamorna Quay The Wink Pub, Lamorna
I walked from Sennon Cove to Porthcorno and then took a bus to Lamorna Corner where I started to walk down to Lamorna Cove. Part way down the hill a car stopped and asked what cause I was walking for so I told him about Hazel's Heroes. In the course of our conversation I mentioned I was looking for accommodation and Billy, that's who he was, said I could have stayed with him but he already had 5 house guests. But then he told me to jump in the car because he thought he knew somebody who would give me a bed. It turned out that the "somebody" was Robert Fishburn, his landlord. Sure enough, Robert allowed me to stay with him. After a hard hike along the granite coast and passing by Cape Cornwall and Land's End it was a welcome relief to have a place to stay for the night. This was an important day because I had turned the corner and now I was starting to walk along the south coast towards my final destination. Robert was a great host. He provided me with lots of information about the history of the area and the people who live in Lamorna and the current local political rivalries arising from the UK election on June 8. Land's End Me at Land's End The last time I visited Land's End was in 1966 when Jenny and I were attending teacher training college in Exeter and Exmouth. At that time there was one small cafe which also sold tourist souvenirs. That original facility still exists but I was surprised to find the large complex of tourist attractions that has developed providing all kinds of food and attractions that have little to do with the geographic significance of the location. Perhaps I missed something but it seemed to me the change was not a good one.
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Hazel's PoppaI'm a grandfather who lost an infant granddaughter and who wants to help Gillian, her mother, provide support for other grieving parents through Hazel's Heroes. Archives
April 2020
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