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Day 26: Home!

2008-09-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, Phew!
Well, I've done it! I can't quite believe it now, I've walked around the coast of Cornwall?? I certainly feel tired enough to have done that, but now I'm back home it doesn't seem like I did - weird!
Stars : )
Thank you everyone who's helped, encourged and supported me on my way, it's been great. I've met lots of friendly and kind people on the way round - so Thank you! : )
and thanks to all the lovely people who've sponsored me too - I've yet to tot up the total of everyone's generosity, but thank you - every little bit helps to improve people's lives.

Day 25: Portscatho to Falmouth

2008-09-26T05:05:00.001-07:00

The home straight
(more of a wiggle really!)

Day 24: Dodman to Portscatho

2008-09-26T05:04:00.001-07:00

Day 23: Porthpean to the Dodman

2008-09-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Day 22: Fowey to Porthpean

2008-09-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you Lucy, for tea, toast and the lift down into Fowey. Feeling really quite rough this morning and hard to get going so treated myself to fruity breakfast in a great little cafe - Pinky Murphy's. Eventually after a trip to the chemist, managed to get going, albeit slowly. Had a nice walk around Gribbin Head and then revived myself with tea & biscuits at Polkerris. Quite a bit of road walking round to Charlestown, have to say Par beach and around were nicer than I expected. A lovely welcome at my B & B and a bath certainly helped me to start to feel better : )

Day 21: Looe to Fowey

2008-09-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

SunDaze
What a wonderful stay on the island - thank you so much Jon and Claire and Dave the boatman : )
Bit of a choppy ride back over to Looe. We were still a bit shattered from yesterday's marathon walk (somthing like 17 miles!) so revived ourselves with coffee and toast before setting off for Polperro. Again, a beautiful morning and really nice to walk with Liz, a bit ot a baptism of fire - sorry Liz. We both walked a bit dazed, probably not quite taking all the lovely views in. Had to say goodbye to Liz at Polperro, so staggered on towards Fowey very slowly on my own. Feeling quite rough - the cold kicking in I think. Had a refreshing swim at Lansallos and then met Gavin on the cliffs a bit later and he accompanied me into Polruan. Had my 6th ferry ride of the walk across to Fowey, the estuary looked lovely in the early evening sunshine.

Day 20: Cawsand to Looe

2008-09-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Chewbacca
A marathon day's walk ahead today. Had another luxury night's stay in a lovely B & B with a great breakfast that set us up for the day. It was a beautiful morning, slightly hazy over the water, but great views over Plymouth Sound and then round into Whitsand Bay. Went through lots of gates that all sounded like Chewbacca from Star Wars (or maybe the walking was getting to us!). Had a welcome break at a Freathy with coffee and bagel which sped us on to Portwrinkle. Luckily we met the support team (Gavin) at Downderry and were able to empty most of the stuff from our bags as we were starting to flag! Arrived in Looe with half an hour to spare before getting thr boat over to St George's Island. Truly a mad day's walking!

Day 19: Bude to Cawsand

2008-09-23T06:19:00.001-07:00

Just Chillin'
Decided to have a chilled out day today and got the later bus from Bude. Lovely sunshine made the bus journey quite pleasant. Met Liz in Plymouth and then caught the Cremyll ferry - a lovely ride across sun dappled water and then a lovely walk through Mount Edgcumbe and on to Cawsand - all very gentle......

Day 18: Crackington Haven to Bude

2008-09-18T13:41:00.005-07:00

Day 17: Tintagel to Crackington Haven

2008-09-18T13:41:00.004-07:00

Slightly rippled ....
I woke up feeling like I had the beginnings of a cold after a rubbish night's sleep - not a good way to start the day! Had breakfast taking in the amazing view from the hostel, it's right on the cliff edge. Met up with Merlin from the Merlin Project, one of the charities I'm raising money for, to do a spot of publicity. It's amazing the different looks you get when you're walking with a wizard! Thank you to the nice folks at the hostel who gave me some more funds toward my challenge.
Had a few shots taken around Tintagel, then Merlin became Frank and we carried on towards Boscastle. Here we parted ways and I began the hardgoing walk to Crackington. Saw a few seals and the obligatory Kestrel (up very close). At Rusey cliff I started to feel just a bit anxious as it felt like it was getting late and the path was getting quite tricky - (what if I hurt myself - I wouldn't be found till the next morning?) I banished those thoughts and just appreciated the remote feeling of the cliffs. I came upon some goats and then a waymarker saying only 1.6 miles to Crackington - yippee. A headland later and I came across Frank again - he wanted to check I'd made it alright as it was so late when I left Boscastle. Thanks Frank for Merlin, your company and the meal.

Day16: Pentire to Tintagel

2008-09-18T13:41:00.003-07:00

Kevin
Thanks Jack, Harriet & Derek for sorting me out so well with somewhere to stay : ) I'd not been looking forward to today's walk as it's the longest leg (about 16 miles) and quite a few steep valleys to do too. However, a fairly early start made it easier and with Cat to keep me company from Port Isaac, it turned out to be good fun. Again, a very calm morning with a bit of mist and not many people about made it all seem very special. Spent quite a bit of time thinking about Kevin, who used to be the warden for this area. Spotted a couple of lovely coves that I'd like to come back to. Walking with Cat was great, the ups and downs passed nearly without me noticing (really?!). We both nearly slipped over loads of times, even with a walking pole each but it just seemed to make us giggle more. We made it to Trebarwith just in time for tea & cake (thanks Cat), which by then was much needed and then we went our separate ways at Tintagel.

Day 15: Padstow to Pentire

2008-09-18T13:41:00.002-07:00

Bit of a dash
Today I virtually got the all clear for my knee that I dislocated back in March - hooray! Third ferry ride of the challenge to Rock, here I parted company with Mum & Dad, but Gavin carried on a bit further with me. I was on my own again outside Polzeath after a slightly tearful goodbye (what am I like?!) I dumped my bag at Jack & Harriet's and had a lovely dusk walk around Pentire Head and past the Rumps. It was stunning; the sea was calm, there was a bit of mist and the crickets were chirruping away as I caught my first glimpse of the Rumps, definately the best way to see them. Just made it back to the house before it got dark.

Day 14: Treyarnon to Padstow

2008-09-18T13:41:00.001-07:00

Slow down, you're walking too fast!
How nice, I did the first part of my walk, along Constantine & Booby's Bays to Trevose Head with my Mum and Dad. It's been ages since my Mum's been able to walk that far - now that she's got her new knees & her feet are sorted it's great : ) Left them to wander back and Gavin, Jackie & I carried on. Some people were skim boarding at Mother Ivey's - haven't seen it done properly before, I'm sure I wouldn't make it past the first stage of jumping onto the board, let alone into the sea & on to the wave! Got a bit confused at Stepper Point because it sticks out so far and the Camel's a bit wiggly - so mistook Polzeath for suburbs of Padstow at first. Soon realised our mistake as we headed round the little bays and eventually made our way into Padstow to meet up with Mum & Dad.

Day 13: Newquay to Treyarnon

2008-09-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Shades of green, blue & grey
Thanks Nick for excellent accommodation in the shire, it was hard to leave this morning! Headed round Fistral, past the huers hut and on to the harbour for a coffee - a very relaxing start to the day. As the tide was out I was able to walk all along the beaches, which is definately the best way to see Newquay - I'm nearly a convert now! Found the shop in Mawgan Porth that Nick recommended - a great place with a really good range of nice food : ) With a bit of foraging tea was all sorted! Saw loads of Fulmars around the cliffs and round by Diggory's Island the sea was so rough that a wave breaking sounded like a clap of thunder. As I passed through 'wrecking' country (if you haven't seen it, watch Nick Darke's film 'The Wrecking Season') I kept my eyes open for anything good, but didn't see anything. Over half way round now.

Day12: Perranporth to Newquay

2008-09-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

Towans & Sea Spray

At Perranporth I caught up with Eve and we had an excellent walk along the beach. As we headed off the beach, she showed me the old iron workings, amazing cave / adit and pool. Walking along the headland was quite wobbly because of the strong wind, but great pounding sea with white horses further out and bright sunny patches. Holywell was lovely and sheltered, here Eve and I went our separate ways, thank you Eve, really nice to chat with you and lovely lunch! It was like a silent movie coming into Polly Joke seeing the crashing waves but not hearing them because of the wind direction. I had great fun in the waves at Crantock, particularly when it rained on me too! The day was made even better by coming across the little ferry that took me across the Gannel, it all seemed so magical!

Day 11: Portreath to Perranporth

2008-09-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

Ups, downs, mines & drizzle
A bright and blustery start to the day as I left Portreath, all quite quiet and not many other walkers around. There's quite a few valleys between Portreath and Porthtowan so lots of steps, but that was fine on fresh legs. Stopped for the obligatory coffee and cake at Porthtowan and then headed on to 'my patch' again over to Chapel Porth, all the heathland was looking great. Lots of nice generous folk at Chapel chatted and sponsored me so I left on a high, heading round the now very blustery Wheal Coates and St Agnes Head. Popped into SAS, Finisterre (makers of my fine and cosy fleece!) and Atlantic FM on my way past. Thank you to Victoria at Atlantic FM for fitting me into her scheduling and giving me a live interview on the radio! The downside of stopping was that I had to set off in the drizzle which made the mining landscape to Perranporth seem quite spooky! Thank you to Emma for a great evening and really cosy night's accommodation : )

Day 10 : Hayle to Portreath

2008-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

An emmet on my own patch!

Day 9: Zennor to Hayle

2008-09-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Pisky led

Day 8: Nanquidno to Zennor

2008-09-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Mud, glorious (?) mud

Wow SUNSHINE! It was hard to leave Ali's - it was just so nice sitting and chatting in the sunshine. I had a nice walk down the valley to the coast and then along to Kenidjack & Botallack. Popped into the Botallack Country Fair and met up with lots of colleagues from work. Again hard to leave but I knew I had a hard walk ahead of me. Lucky that the weather was so nice otherwise I might have cired towards the end, I could see Gurnards Head but it seemed to take forever to get there and then there was still more. Eventually got to Zennor by 7.15pm, I was just so glad to leave the mud and granite boulders behind.

Day 7: Treen to Nanquidno

2008-09-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Swallows for company
A lovely burst of sunshine hit me when I reached Porthgwarra and there before me was a little cafe with a bench in the sun - how could I resist stopping for coffee and a bit of cake?! It was a lovely walk along the cliffs through the heathland accompanied by the swallows. At Gwennap Head I was able to shelter from the rain in the lookout, thanks to the nice people in the NCI. I stopped at Nanjizal for lunch where there was an amazing hole in the cliffs that the sea was splashing though. I had a really nice surprise in Sennen - I bumped into my friends Ele & Anthony who I discovered were down for the weekend - so nice to see friendly faces in the drizzle! I then had a luxury night's stay with Ali and co at Trevegean - thank you for looking after me so well : )

Day 6: Penzance to Treen

2008-09-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Sensory delights & lighthouse nights

Nice walk through Newlyn - loads of fishing boats! Saw some interesting allotments on the way into Mousehole, unfortunately couldn't find the way out quite so easily. As the landscape got more rugged, the walking got harder (not helped by getting a blister on my heel). So many different smells; the sea, seaweed, damp woodland and different textures too; squelchy mud, hard rock, tree roots. It began to feel like I was never going to make it to Treen, but eventually Gavin to the rescue, as I reached the top of the steps out of Penberth he appeared and carried my bag up to the campsite where a hot drink and food were waiting : ) In the evening there were great views of the lighthouses - wolf rock, tater du and lizard.

Day 5: Porthleven to Penzance

2008-09-05T04:04:00.000-07:00

Raindodging
A heavy shower tried to soak Jackie and I as we set off along Porthleven harbour, but luckily there was a handy doorway to shelter in. As I was admiring some massive clumps of thrift which looked like some kind of amazing natural sculptures, 2 Choughs appeared on the cliff edge!
Later on we kept coming across a Kestrel - it must be excellent just to be able to hover on the cliff edge like that. A lovely walk along the beach at Praa Sands and then a nice treat at the Sandbar set us up nicely. We soon came across the guys from the council who'd been making our walking easy - they'd been cutting the path - thank you! A quick refreshing swim at Bessy's Cove and then some handy gorse bushes sheltered us from the rain and then a tactical toilet stop and snack at Perranuthnoe meant we missed the next shower too! Jackie headed off at Trenow Cove and I carried on slowly (!) into Penzance.
Thank you Jackie for accommodation and keeping me company on my walk and to Hamish for an excellent taxi service : )

Day 4: Lizard to Porthleven

2008-09-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

Choughed
As I left the Youth Hostel a seal popped up at Polbream Cove to wish me on my way. After that it was a bright & breezy walk, taking in coffe and heavy cake at Kynance Cove whilst watching the sun sparkling on the choppy sea. My next company was some Highland Cattle and then some Shetland ponies grazing on the heathland.
Just as I was about to head down into Mullion Cove I saw 3 Choughs, I was hoping I'd see some and there they were, easy to spot with their red beaks and legs.
I must have looked quite drunk as I walked on past Poldhu with the wind buffeting me all over the place and eventually blowing me over! It turned out to be quite a hard slog along the cliffs to Porthleven, but the sea looked amazing and it didn't rain!

Day 3: Coverack to Lizard

2008-09-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Nettle alleys & blue sky
What a beautiful start to the day - sun streaming in through the window of the dining room at Coverack Youth Hostel and an amazing view of Dolor Point surrounded by blue sea and blue sky. It can't get any better than that! Thanks Phil & Olivia!
I stumbled through a couple of 'nettle alleys' but the day was just too nice and the views from Black Head to Lizard were great. I caught a slow worm by surprise on the cliffs past Poltesco and then had a lovely walk down into Cadgwith. After Cadgwith it was a bit of an effort to get myself to Lizard Point, but I got there in the end and celebrated with chocolate fudge cake : )

Day 2 : Gillan to Coverack

2008-09-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

Wildlife Surprise
I haven't ever really walked much of this bit before so it was nice to explore somewhere new.
At Flushing Cove I followed a wren along the beach, saw a little eagret in the waters edge and then a squirrel running into a tree - all in the space of 2 minutes. After popping into the NCI watch point at Nare Point I came within metres of a Buzzard in the middle of the path. I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or the buzzard! At Lowland Point I added to my wildlife surprise by nearly treading on an adder, unfortunately I think it was probably dead : (
Thank you to the nice man in Porthallow who suggested I take the route up over the cliffs to Porthkerris & on to Porthoustock - it was lovely : )

Day 1: Falmouth to Gillan

2008-09-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Wow I'm actually on my way! Gavin walked with me all the way to the ferry at Helford Passage - where we stopped for a beer to toast me on my way at the Ferryboat Inn - didn't seem like such a good idea once I started walking on the other side!
Finally made it into Gillan after walking all the way round the Creek - tide too high for the stepping stones and too late for the ferry at St Anthony. But on such a lovely evening it was beautiful walking round the creek.

2008-08-31T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm setting off today - Falmouth to Gillan. The sun is shining but that's not what the weather forecast said!

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