2. Janet McKay. The Cornwall Coast Path

Having wanting to return to Cornwall for many years, I decided, being in England last year, that I would walk the South West Section of the Cornwall Coast Path from St Ives to Penzance,  a 7 day walk of 63 kilometres, an average of 11 kilometres per day. Easy, I thought, having regularly walked longer distances with the U3A Hiking group over the previous 2 years. I booked into a self-guided walk with a tour company that organised accommodation and luggage transfers and advertised groups of no more than 20 people, and in May 2019, set off to St Ives armed with maps, trip guide and a compass and whistle provided by my brother in law who was seriously concerned about the venture! (Forget GPS technology!)

However, arriving at St Ives I discovered there was no group. I was on my own, and on rereading the trip notes, noted the statement “track well marked generally, just follow the Acorn sign posts, except where they are missing” He was right to be worried! Undaunted, I set off on the first leg from St Ives to Venner. The path mostly hugged the contours of the coastline, an endless series of ups and downs, clambering across rough and rocky terrain, sometimes going inland to cross fields, but with stunning vistas of windblown landscape at every turn. No, the path  was not well marked but there were plenty of walkers to keep me on track to eventually reach Zenner, a tiny hamlet of a few houses, a church and a 12th Century Inn that was my accommodation for the night. 

So far so good, but the numbers of walkers had dwindled to nil, the next section was described as the most challenging and so, daunted, I hopped onto a local bus for the next section to Pendeen heart of tin mining country. Here, I met up with a couple of German women with the same walking schedule and who happily agreed for me to join them.

  

My two companions.

The three of us set off on a track that at times was rough and rock strewn, and meandered around through landscape dotted with relics and ruins of the old tin mines, hugging perilously close to the edge of crumbling cliffs with spectacular views over the dramatic rugged coastline.   We were having glorious sunny weather but it was easy to imagine how bleak and desolate it would be in winter for the tin miners and their families. We passed through Poldark country but sadly, no Poldark. After clambering over huge rocks, down into valleys and up again, the sight of the sandy beach at Senner Cove was a welcome sight! 

Day 5, from Senner Cove to Porthcurno, perhaps the most spectacular and dramatic of the whole walk. More dramatic coastal views, more clambering up and over huge rocks, meandering inland to the lush verdant Valley of Cot, encountering shaggy moorland ponies, and back to the rugged cliffs. Although only 9.5 kms, it took us 8 hours but apart from tough walking, we did have plenty of stops for photos and to contemplate the views.  So glad to have company, the Acorn signs were few and far between as were any other walkers.   

We reached Land’s End, an iconic spot if you ignore the awful theme park built since my previous visit, and beyond Land’s End, more rock clambering, more incredible views. The final clamber brought us to the stunning and spectacular Minack Open Air Theatre carved like a Roman amphitheatre into the cliff face, the extraordinary life work of one woman, Rowena Cade and still operating with capacity crowds.  

From Porthcurno to Lamorna, A pretty little fishing village and the last two days, through the tourist fishing ports of Mousehole. pronounced mouzal') and Newlyn to the final destination  Penzance, were easy walking in comparison. 

For me, this was a remarkable journey. A lot tougher than I expected, but to experience the incredible beauty and drama of the Cornish coastline, to pass through unspoilt Cornish fishing villages, to stay in historic Inns, and with a few cream teas thrown in, was very special and absolutely a trip to remember.