Monday 17 July 2017
Land's End to St Just
Distance: 6 miles
Start: 10:20am
Finish: 5:00ishpm
Weather: Sunny and warm
Today was not an auspicious start.
I got a local bus from Penzance to Land's End this morning. I had heard horror stories about Land's End being this unbearably gaudy fairground, but it really wasn't that bad as far as tourist attractions go. I saw of bunch of people walking down to this one headland in particular, so I hiked down there too. I'm not sure whether it was the actual Land's End headland or not, but it was pretty. After that, I found the official Land's End signpost, got someone to take my picture, and headed off.
The South West Coast Path is a continuous series of steep climbs and drops. It is vague in places and badly waymarked. I actually lost the path somewhere in the vicinity of Sennen Cove, barely a mile past Land's End. I followed country lanes and farm tracks for a while, figuring "This is okay. It's more direct and I can't go far wrong as long as I keep the ocean on my left side." But after encountering my first dead-end farm track (after doing about three laps around the same potato field), I began to get nervous.
Eventually, with the help of some fellow walkers, I found the SWCP again. What followed was the most abjectly miserable mile and a half I have ever walked.
The name of the game with the SWCP is VIEWS. It wants you to experience the VIEWS, which are admittedly gorgeous. However, this means that it follows every headland and meandering beach slavishly, and makes a journey that should span one mile span three. It switchbacks down cliff faces seemingly for the hell of it. It couldn't care less about where you *actually* want to go. By about 4pm, I was exhausted, sunburned, and very afraid that I would be physically unable to climb the next cliff, and I was still not quite at Cape Cornwall, barely halfway to my goal for the day of Pendeen.
If you ever need proof that guardian angels or Trail Magic exist, go on a trip like this. When I finally rounded a headland just south of Cape Cornwall, I saw the most beautiful sigh I've ever seen: a parking lot with cars in it. This particular parking lot was for a very lovely and remote beach. I wanted to climb down the rocks and go for a dip, but the very real fear that I wouldn't be able to get back *up* the rocks prevented me. Anyway, a parking lot meant people, and people meant salvation. I was able to hitchhike into St Just with a very nice lady and her two children, and from there I caught a bus to Pendeen, where I am now ensconced in the North Inn.
So, decisions. I've already decided to take a B-road to St Ives tomorrow, rather than the SWCP. It's much more direct, with about three miles less to walk. My experience today, plus the horror stories I've heard about this section of the path in particular, decided me. After that, I'll decide things day by day.
Now I need to figure out how not to feel like a fraud right out of the gate. I didn't write down any hard and fast rules for myself, but maybe now's the time to do so.
1) This is a walking holiday. Walk, but remember you're on holiday.
2) Any form of transport that makes sense for the situation you find yourself in is appropriate.
3) Don't sacrifice safety for hubris.
So today was humbling. But I'm trying to absorb the lessons and move on.
**********
Tuesday 18 July 2017
St Just to Zennor
Distance: 8 miles
Start: 10:30am
Finish: 4:00pm
Weather: Windy and overcast in the morning, clearing in the afternoon
To make up for yesterday's shortfall, I began the day by taking a bus from Pendeen back to St Just and starting my day there. After one false start (in which I began walking toward Cape Cornwall rather than St Ives), I got on the B-road connecting these towns and commenced road-walking.
This went well at first, and I made it back to Pendeen within an hour. But then the miles of pavement-pounding began to tell on my feet. It was quite windy today, and unfortunately I was walking into it for most of the day. And then the sun came out. Ordinarily this would be welcome, but all it did today was aggravate my sunburn.
I hobbled into Zennor and caught a bus the final five (uphill) miles to St Ives. I'm sunburned, chafed, blistered, and in pain. Unless something drastic happens overnight, I'm not sure I can walk to Gwithian tomorrow. I certainly can't backtrack to Zennor and do all those uphill miles back to St Ives. So what do I do instead? Plans are formulating. Stay tuned...
**********
Wednesday 19 July 2017
I spent the first part of the day exploring St Ives. It's a very attractive seaside town on a hill sloping down to the water. It might almost be in the Cinque Terre, in Italy. I had my first-ever Cornish pasty (lamb and mint) and sat by the harbor, people-watching. I also found a Boots pharmacy and bought some sunscreen and aloe.
At around 2:30pm I caught a local bus to Gwithian, my next planned stop. The B&B where I'm staying is extremely nice, but Gwithian is a rednecky little place, with at least two caravan parks to its name. I had a dinner of softshell crab burger at a little local dive.
I've been thinking all day long. There's a bit in Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods where he realizes he is never going to finish the whole Appalachian Trail, and with that realization comes freedom. Freedom to do the sections he wants to do, and not any of the sections he doesn't.
The SWCP is not what I expected. It's tough going and vague. It's a poor choice to start a long journey with, especially in the height of summer. I didn't enjoy the bit of it I attempted. Neither am I enjoying road-walking, as it's very hard on the feet.
I'm doing this trip for my own enjoyment. Not for a charity, and not to please anyone else. So why shouldn't I make alterations? So here's the tentative plan: I'm going to stay in Cornwall a bit longer, then head on up to Chepstow to begin Offa's Dyke. I'll do the Wye Valley section, or maybe the whole southern half, we'll see. And then I'll take things from there! More plans to follow.
**********
Thursday 20 July 2017
I had a leisurely beach day today. After leaving my B&B (and gifting them my tent), I climbed up into the towans, or dunes, directly behind it. I was trying to make my way to the shore and appeared to be doing so. But while the ocean appeared to get closer, the people on the beach weren't appearing to get any bigger. I found out why when I got to the far end of the dunes and found myself at the edge of a small-to-moderately sized CLIFF. Deciding to make lemonade, I stretched out a safe distance from the edge and read for a while.
I was nervous about finding my way back out of the dunes, as the paths through them are quite a maze, but I did find my way out quickly, and proceeded on foot through Gwithian proper and to Godrevy Point. I had a light lunch at the seafood restaurant there, then climbed up to the carpark (the long way round, as it happened), to ask where to catch the bus. Turns out Google Maps lied to me and there was no bus stop at Godrevy. Deciding to make lemonade again, I went and hung out on the beach for a bit. It was a pleasant day and lots of families were there. I saw lots of surfers and boogie boarders in wetsuits, and one brave soul in nothing but swim trunks. I stuck my feet in - it was COLD.
After a while the tide began to rise and the weather began to turn, so I went back to the carpark and took a cab to Porthtowan.
Tomorrow I will walk. It's only 8 and a half miles to Perranporth. I don't regret taking these two days to take it easy and recharge, but it's time to find my focus again. Onward!
**********
Friday 21 July 2017
Porthtowan to St Agnes
Distance: 5 or 6 miles
Weather: Rainy
I've decided not to keep track of my start and end times anymore for the time being. It just creates an artificial sense of pressure that isn't helpful at the moment.
When I woke up this morning it was sheeting down rain. I had an argument with myself over breakfast. Take a bus to Perranporth and call it a day? Walk? Walk partway? Initially I thought I'd take the easy way out and bus it to Perranporth. Then I got to the bus shelter and realized that the only bus of the day wasn't coming until 5:15pm.
Forward march!
The climb out of Porthtowan was rocky and laborious, made more so by the rain. I was practically walking in a creek bed in places. But I made it to the top and then the mile and a half to Chapel Porth, where I was fortified with hot chocolate and encouragement by the cafe and lifeguard staff hanging out there.
The weather began to clear, so I pushed onward. After the climb out of Chapel Porth, the path evened out and was actually quite pleasant for the next few miles. This is the kind of walking I signed up for! Eventually the path descended into Trevaunance Cove, on the north fringe of St Agnes, where I bought a sausage roll and watched the surfers for a few minutes.
As I climbed out of Trevaunance Cove, the dark clouds rolled back in, and by the time I got back to the clifftops, it was bucketing down rain again. This time with wind! The path immediately started descending again into yet another cove...and I stopped. By my reckoning I was more than halfway to Perranporth, but according to the map I had three or four more headlands to get around in this wind and rain. And once I got any significant distance down this hill, I'd be committed.
I turned around.
I had intended to double back to Trevaunance and take the steep road up to St Agnes, but I actually found a branch trail that led from the clifftop right into the St Agnes town center. In true capricious fashion, the weather cleared again by the time I got there. My timing was excellent, because the bus to Perranporth pulled up within about ten minutes.
Perranporth is a funky beach town. It kind of reminds me of Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina. My hotel (a pub with rooms, really) is a bit divey, but it's only for one night.
**********
Saturday 22 July 2017
After checking out of my accommodation in Perranporth, I spent the morning hanging out on the beach. The tides in this part of the world are very extreme, I've noticed. When I first got into Perranporth yesterday, the high tide came all the way up the beach wall and right under the windows of my hotel. This morning, the tide was far, far out - a quarter mile away or more.
At about noon, I caught a bus to Newquay (and slept through most of it, to my embarrassment). By the time I got there, I still had nearly three hours to kill before I could check in to my Airbnb, so I spent the time mooching around. The central part of Newquay reminds me of all the worst parts of Myrtle Beach - tacky, loud, and touristy. Luckily my Airbnb is on a residential street, but still near the high street and the water. After getting dinner in town, I ventured over to Towan Beach. It was a spectacular sight. A lone house sits on a high rock, connected to the mainland by a bridge. The way the evening sun hit the water was gorgeous.
I found myself itching to walk today. Sitting on the beach in Perranporth this morning, I could see where the coast path wended its way up the cliff and disappeared around the headland, on its way to Newquay. It was a surprisingly beguiling sight. And as I sat around Perranporth and Newquay killing time today, I found myself wishing more than once that I'd responded to that siren song.
No comments:
Post a Comment