PHILLACK TO PORTREATH

Remember the song with the line about the mist rolling in from the sea?*  It’s not just a nice lyric, on this day’s walk, we literally saw it happening as we crossed an area just past Navax Point.  Incredibly atmospheric, though we weren’t experiencing the usual amazing views due to the thickness of the mist.  It was also obscuring the sun, as we had anticipated a warm, sunny day, but it was grey and muggy instead.

We’d started the day with a mile long journey to rejoin the Coast Path from our accommodation.  Following the previous day’s unpleasant encounter with brambles, when we got to the road to the holiday park, we ignored the sign that said “no pedestrian access” and carried on down the road, past the caravans and mobile homes and a picnic area, through a gate onto the dunes.  If we thought the dunes were frustrating before, it was doubly so now.  There were so many tracks, it was difficult to identify the official route; Paul was using Komoot to help us, but there was a lot of scrambling up deep sandy hills!  Our walk had commenced at 9.40, but it was 11 o’clock before we found our way to Gwithian Towans, in sight of the coast again.

The going was pleasant as we made our way up to the popular Godrevy Point, with its lighthouse sited on a small island just off the coast.  We sat on a grassy bank in the car park for rest, refreshment and use of the facilities.  We then continued onto National Trust property, The Navax, more of a heathland character here, I would say.  Our next target was a lunch stop at Hell’s Mouth Cafe, so named after the nearby rocky inlet with cave, looking extra creepy today with the mist.  My photo doesn’t do it justice, but I’m not prepared to risk my neck on a dodgy cliff top for the perfect shot!  We ordered a ciabatta [watch out for the resident seagull] and a large cider each, but after a good half hour or so, I noticed a couple who’d arrived later than us had been served their food.  I asked the staff to check on it and we had been overlooked, though we did get a free cider while waiting for our order.  This meant we ended up spending an hour there in all, longer than ideal, as we still had over 4 miles ahead of us, and no other facilities until we reached Portreath.

The actual walking became rather tedious as we continued along a compacted sandy track on heathland, though the cliffs were more dramatic here; the sound of surfing waves on a large beach had given way to a gentle lapping onto rocky coves.  The mist had still not dispersed, it looked set in for the day, though there were occasional clear patches too.  We had made some good progress, but, oh, how our moans about boredom came back to bite us; we had to descend a vertiginous cliff which made me feel like a mountain goat, minus the agility!  At this stage, not only had my proto blisters become fully fledged, the bases of my feet were hurting too [this was something quite new, and extremely annoying after we had zero foot issues on our last leg] but Portreath was in touching distance, so it was time to grit the teeth and push on, as we tackled the steep ascent that followed.

The final push through the village was grim for me.  My feet were hurting and my legs were extremely tired, I was, as the saying goes, running on fresh air!  It had been a long section, 11 miles covered, and I was really struggling as we made our way down the street that never seemed to end in search of our accommodation.  My language was deteriorating at the same rate as my body, and my grumpiness was only assuaged by a shower and a lie down.  When I got up to join Paul in the lounge, I had really stiffened up.  Paul took one look at my hobbling form and started talking about getting a bus to our next stop, but a good night’s rest can make a huge difference, I was nowhere near giving up!  From here on, I knew each day’s distance would be shorter, and I’ve walked through blister pain before.  However, I did leave it to Paul to go and buy a Chinese takeaway for dinner!

*Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney and Wings

Stats: Time 4hrs 15mins.  Distance 11 miles.  Pace 2.6mph.  Ascent 800ft. 
Descent 925ft.