Tuesday 25 July 2017
I spent the 23rd and 24th in Newquay, mainly hanging out on Towan Beach and exploring the town. The tides continue to be very extreme: at high tide, the waves crash violently against the harbor wall, while at low tide, they recede by about half a mile.
I drank wine and ate crab with my hostess last night, and have been feeling somewhat under the weather for most of the day today. Catching the bus to Padstow was straightforward. But then there were waaaaay more people hanging around Padstow harbor than I expected. I'm honestly not sure what the draw was, other than being another seaside town in Cornwall in high summer.
The next stage of today's journey was to get the ferry across the Camel estuary to Rock. It was low tide, the crossing took less than five minutes, and honestly I probably could have just waded across. As it was, after being put ashore, I had to walk a considerable distance to the nearest inhabited beach, Daymer Bay. Then I had to walk up the hill to Trebetherick, the nearest place on the bus route. I've had a fantastic run of warm, sunny days, but I was praying for a cloud and/or breeze today. Eventually I made it up the hill, shambled into the Mowhay Cafe, and promptly downed two pitchers of water.
Somewhat restored after the water and a brief lie-down in the stone bus shelter, I caught the bus to Port Isaac. After a couple of further adventures, including being given incorrect directions to my accommodation and then being unable to get in because I didn't realize the ring on the courtyard gate turned, I'm now safely ensconced in my Airbnb.
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Wednesday 26 July 2017
A low-key day in Port Isaac today. I got up, had breakfast with my host Martin before he headed out to work, watched an episode of Frasier, and promptly went back to bed. It was a rainy morning, what can I say?
When I woke back up, the rain had stopped and I was famished, so I headed out and had lunch at one of the numerous little teahouses in town. Then I walked the quarter-mile into Port Gaverne and out onto the bluff immediately opposite the house where I'm staying. Yesterday evening at high tide, I watched some daredevils jump off it into the water below. This afternoon the tide was out (though rising), but the views from the bluff were still very pretty.
I had pizza from the Angry Anchovy for dinner, and now I'm winding down for the evening. Tomorrow, Tintagel!
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Thursday 27 July 2017
I'm writing this sitting on a bench outside the Tintagel churchyard. A brisk wind has been blowing all day and it's been raining at regular intervals, but for now it's dry and the sunset promises to be picturesque.
Tintagel is supposed to be the birthplace of King Arthur, and it is a very airy-fairy New Agey sort of town. But after more than a week of alternating between sleepy coastal hamlets and heaving beachside resorts, this is actually a welcome change. Tintagel has good vibes, and I'm feeling a sense of wellbeing that's been absent for a while. Not that I've been feeling bad, exactly - just kind of directionless.
I decided to spend this extra week in Cornwall, rather than hopping a train for Bristol from Newquay, mainly because I need to establish credibility with Airbnb and cancelling ALL of my bookings would look very bad. I'm not exactly sorry for this decision, but it has meant kicking my heels for an extra week, feeling restless. I've tried to be outdoors as much as possible, but I still feel like I've seen more of the inside of guesthouse rooms than I would like.
But that's about to change! I'm headed for Bude tomorrow, and from Bude I will be making my way to Bristol and thence to Sedbury to begin Offa's Dyke. I'm leaving things open-ended from there at the moment, but I do know that I'm going to begin with shorter days and see how they go.
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Friday 28 July 2017
Four pounds and fifty pence (around $5.75) for a single load of laundry - highway robbery. But I have clean clothes and a clean towel again, courtesy of the launderette in Tintagel.
Laundry sorted, I caught the midday bus to Bude. On the way, we passed through such towns as Boscastle, located at the bottoms of the narrowest and steepest valleys I've encountered yet on this trip; so narrow and steep they're practically ravines. I'm grateful I'm not hiking them.
Bude so far is a rather unsightly town, its appearance helped not at all by the unrelenting drizzle and high winds that have been today's weather. Maybe it'll improve when the sun comes out? At least my Airbnb is cozy.
I have lost my raincoat. I realized in Port Isaac that I hadn't seen it in a while, but I figured it was just stuffed somewhere in the depths of my rucksack. But I searched it thoroughly just a few minutes ago, and it's definitely gone. Oh well. There was no money or anything in the pockets, just my SWCP map (LOL), and it was getting close to needing replacing anyway.
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Saturday 29 July 2017
I explored Bude this morning, while it was overcast but not yet raining. The beach is small and not as picturesque as the other beaches I've seen in Cornwall, but there were still plenty of people out there today, determined to have fun. After the beach, I took a walk down the high street. I found a Mountain Warehouse and bought a new raincoat, plus a small pair of gaiters. On Monday I need to visit the post office and send some stuff home.
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Monday 31 July 2017
After a quiet final day in Bude yesterday, today was a day of travel. I got the midday bus from Bude to Exeter, then the train from Exeter to Bristol. My hotel room is pretty grim - the lighting is pretty poor. But the bed is comfy. Time to start planning Offa's Dyke in earnest!
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