To a Long Steep Hill

 Friday 17th March Time to go home.  It hasn't been our most productive session. I thought we would at least get to the Helford River, maybe even Falmouth.  We are definitely slowing down.  At least we have hit two important milestones: The Lizard and the Halfway.  I wonder if we will ever finish. 

  Thursday 16 th I collect pasties ordered from the village shop.   Ann’s pasties are delicious.   Possibly the best ever, beating even St Agnes bakery. It rains continuously.   We drive to Newlyn for supper at The Mackerel Sky.   Delicious as ever, and we get seating inside.   I had red mullet.   Chis had hake.   Afterwards we went to the Newlyn Film House to watch ‘Luther’.

  Wednesday 15 th It turns out that Lynette lives next door.   She sends her husband, Andy to fix the TV.  T heir TV wasn’t working either.   Satellite link problem.   He gets it going quickly.   We drive to Porthoustock to walk to Porthallow.   Weather terrible.   The walk is entirely inland. Porthallow is another important milestone because it is exactly halfway.   Halfway! Only!   It seems like we have been doing this forever.   Our current rather slow rate is 8 miles a day.   Do the math.   We have 75 walking days ahead.   Generously assuming three visits to Cornwall a year with 30 walking days, we might get to Poole in 2027.   I will be 83.                                                                   ...

  Tuesday 14 th Surprise! It’s a beautiful day. We set out in the opposite direction towards St Keverne.   The path is boggy after all the rain.   St Keverne is slightly inland, but there is a bus which can take us back to Coverack.   We get there by lunch time and eat our sandwiches on a bench outside the church.   We go into The Three Tuns and get coffee which we drink sitting outside in the sunshine.   If only the weather was always like this.   We visit the church which is very old and interesting.   In the graveyard is a mass grave of passengers and crew from the SS Mohegan which sank on the Manacles in 1898 with the loss of 106 lives.   The ship struck the rocks as passengers were sitting down to dinner. The wreck inspired the noted Scottish poet William McGonagall.  Here is a flavour of his verse: And on board there were 133 passengers and crew, And each one happier than another seemingly to view; When suddenly the ship receiv...

  Sunday   12 th We had arranged with Telstar to meet in Cadgwith, where we planned to leave the car, and be taken to The Lizard.   This is a half day walk, which we planned to do in the afternoon because the forecast said the rain would clear.   Checking the forecast, we see that it’s now actually the other way round.   That’s Cornwall weather for you.   Unpredictable or what?   We leap out of bed and head   by car to the Lizard, intending to get to Cadgwith in time to meet Telstar to take us back to the car.   Although not raining, it is very foggy, and the Lizard lighthouse foghorn is booming.   We do the compulsory photo shoot at Lizard Head and continue for the walk to Cadgwith.                                                                ...

  aturday 11 th We decide to do our first walk backwards and head from our front door towards Cadgwith and The Lizard.   First, the 4 x 4 parked next to us has gone, so I am able, with difficulty to turn and drive down to the sea front where there is free parking.   It is damp and miserable with thick mist.   The first section is a boulder fest like St Ives to Zennor.   Fortunately there is an inland detour which we find eventually.   It goes through a sculpture park dedicated to the work of Terence Coventry.   We stop and take some pictures.   I quite like the sculptures.   Access to the park is free.   Coventry died in 2017 and apparently lived here working as a pig farmer.   No pig sculptures, as far as I can see, but quite a few other animals. We eat our sandwiches on the beach at Kennack Sands and pause at xx to take pictures and read about the Serpentine industry.  Serpentine is a stone which they used to carve a...

                                                        Coverack in a brief moment when it wasn't raining Friday 10 th We were up and away by 09.20 and got to Becky’s by 13.10 after long hold up in the Blackdown Hills due to roadworks.   Usual stop at Starbucks on Salisbury Plain.   John donated two large bags of logs. We were in Coverack by 18.00.   It’s raining.   Coverack is a pretty fishing village, as far as we can see.   Being positive, let’s start with a big shout out for out Airbnb at the Old Carpenter’s Shop.   It has been most beautifully converted.   There’s a large double bedroom and bathroom on the first floor with comfy bed and very modern bathroom - with bath.   Apart from the hotel in Newquay, all we have had up to now is showers.   What you need after a long d...

  Thursday 9 th We are off again.   This time we are staying in Coverack on the Lizard.   We have joined the Southwest Coast Path Association (HQ in Royal William Yard, Plymouth).   They have sent us their SWCP guide.   It looks useful, in fact more so than the official path guides which we have been using up to now.   I am very critical of the current guide XX to Falmouth.   Very little help with path navigation.   Association guide and website are full of cheery young people.   It doesn’t relate to the toil and tears of oldies like us. Weather report is not great.   We are packing wet weather gear.