Sampling the South West Coastal Path - Part Two.
by Alan Johnson
Day 3 :Penzance to Porthleven - 13 miles
A quarter of a mile of (noisy) road walking and then more beach walking towards Marazion. Here
we could not pass St Michael's Mount without a visit. The tide was out so we walked over the
causeway. A former Benedictine priory with a history going back to the Bronze Age, it now
belongs to the National Trust. During our extended visit the tide came in, so we returned to
Marazion by one of the many smaIl ferry boats which ply their trade here. There is no safe
footpath out of Marazion so a further 400 yards of main street walking was required to re-gain
the coast path which ran along field edges and tracks, descending twice for no good reason to
the beach. Skirting Perrannuthnoe, the path now followed the coast proper, along Trebarvah
Cliff and past Trevean Cove where, at low tide, one can see the wreck of the SS Yeweroft which
ran aground in 1956. The tide, however, was up. We then rounded Cudden Point with magnificent
views in both directions, went through Prussia Cove and Bessy's Cove, where smuggled brandy used
to be landed, then along the edge of Kennegy Cliff where access to the beach forty feet below is
only by means of a knotted rope (not for the faint-hearted). Andrew climbed down, but I
preferred to remain a craven spectator. We then continued, after a couple of welcome pints at
the Wellock Rock Pub, along the top of sand dunes which run the whole length of the Praa Sands,
a long (for Cornwall) beach with beautiful clean white sand. The path then took us across Rinsey
Head, an area once worked for copper as evidenced by the ruins of an old engine house. Here
there were signs of recent landslides so we took the advice of a passer-by to keep well away
from the edge. And so to Porthleven and the establishment of Mr Hallam of Peverell Terrace for
our overnight stay.
Day 4 : Porthleven to the Lizard - 13 miles
Fuelled by one of the largest and most sumptuous breakfasts I have ever enjoyed, we set off
along by the harbour and along Cliff Road for half a mile until we emerged on the open cliff.
Half a mile further brought us abruptly to Loe Pool, the largest stretch of fresh water in
Cornwall. Loe Bar is a 500 yard stretch of shingle which separates Loe Pool from the ocean and
the contrast between the gently rolling green hills with groves of trees surrounding the placid
stretch of water on one side of the Bar and the waves crashing in on the other side of the
shingle remains a cherished memory. A path cut into the sloping cliff side led to Gunwalloe
Fishing Cove and, for the next few miles, cliff falls caused some diversions to the route
including some road walking until we reached Church Cove with its 15th century church and its
detached belfrey built into the rock- and-tamarisk-fringed church yard. A few hundred yards on
brought us to Poldhu Cove and the start of the "hotel belt", three cliff-top hotels all built at
the turn of the century. Immediately past the Poldhu Hotel is the Marconi memorial commemorating
the first transatlantic radio signal sent from here in 1901. The next stretch is one which sets
guide book writers searching for superlatives with steep climbs on serpentine rock for the first
time, cliff edge walks with the clamour of sea birds from Gull Rock and Mullion Island in the
background and the final descent to Cornwall's most famous Kynance Cove. The beauty of this
cove with Asparagus Island and Gull Rock was enhanced, I must selfishly add, by the lack of
tourists on this early May day. We lingered a while, then climbed again from Caerthillian Cove
to the coastguard lookout at Lizard Point, "a bold and precipitous promontory" and looked
south-west enthralled by the knowledge that nothing but ocean lay between us and Brazil.
Half a mile on we gained the southern-most part of mainland Britain, with its two cafes and
plethora of cabin/shops where the serpentine rock is carved into green, grey and red-veined
souvenirs such as bowls and model lighthouses. Here we stayed the night at "The Most Southerly
House" with nothing between us and the cliff edge save a lawn on which rabbits nibbled,
ignoring with equanimity the hordes of tourists passing by.
To be continued.....
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