Saturday 8th October

 

 Porthcurno to Mousehole

Caught the big blue coaster bus at 10.38.  It is packed and takes us to Porthcurno where we ended up in August. We are on the path by 11.25.  We chat to two guys who have come from Mousehole (our destination) yesterday.  They warn us about a very muddy bit we will encounter.  Oddly, instead of heading directly towards the Minack Theatre, they come with us in the opposite direction.

“There is a bit down to the beach which we didn’t do last night” they say.

“We have taken a few short cuts” I reply. “No one cares”.

“Yes, but you will go to your grave knowing that you didn’t really walk the whole path”

That’s me told.

This is a long hard day, although the weather is beautiful.  We managed the mud hazard well, meeting there a guy who says he lost a shoe in it last time.  Much more problematic was a beach near Lamorna.  Not really a beach – more of an extent of large boulders by the sea. I lost my balance and had a fall, badly grazing my elbow, although luckily no other damage.  There is a distinction, someone pointed out later between ‘having a fall’ (old people like me), and ‘falling’ (everyone else).

By the time we get to Lamorna Cove we are pretty tired, and it is past four o’clock when the little café closes.  In Greece, they would welcome late arriving customers – but in Cornwall, the door is shut in our face – and we are not the only ones looking for a cup of tea.

Chris says we should stop and get the bus.  I point out that it is a steep climb of at least a mile to the nearest bus stop, and we don’t know when the big blue bus will be arriving there.  It is not much further than a mile to Mousehole.  Looking at the map, it doesn’t seem too hard, either.  The last mile into Lamorna was very rough.  Chris concedes, and we head off.  In fact, it is a lot harder than I thought, although the last bit is OK and along a lane.  I say I am sorry.  But I still think it was the right decision, because we are all teed up for an easy flat walk tomorrow.  We flop into the Mousehole bus at 18.31.  The ’easy’ walk from Lamorna has taken two hours.

We go down Creeping Lane for dinner at The Film House.  It is excellent.  It is one of several first-rate restaurants in Newlyn which take full advantage of Newlyn’s status as Cornwall’s premier fishing port.