SWCP Day 20 – 3 May 2017

Marazion to Porthleven

The first thing I did on this final day of the SWCP was to get a visual on where I’d landed after my late-night taxi ride to the Glenleigh B&B at Marazion.

After weeks of religiously following my map, and finding my way at foot-speed, it felt otherworldly to step out into the sunshine and have little idea of where I was, geographically. My host’s tip, when he waved me and the beast off, was to walk up the hill to the east and when you see the cemetery you’ll find the coast path. Excellent advice.

I set off in my new shoes…

(did I tell you I got new walking shoes in Penzance? – these will be more appropriate for the flatter/firmer Thames Path)

…walked past the always-tempting bus stop, appreciated the view across Mount Bay where St Michael’s Mount sits proud in the water, and continued on up to find the promised cemetery and the coast path, overgrown with cowslip, that lead back down to the coast. At the bottom I met a little girl who had a lot to say about the slippery seaweed on the ‘beach’ (she had her bucket and spade, and therefore, despite the lack of sand, it was a beach). Her information came in very useful when I had to make my own way across the shore, as the rocks and the seaweed did prove to be incredibly slippery. It was already hard enough maintaining balance with the beast on board, slippery rocks warranted help from my sticks (too slippery to get out the camera, sorry).

Witnessing my awkward, four-legged traverse was an older Scottish guy. We walked together for a fair way, mostly discussing his northern lights sightings and my envy at his northern lights sightings. Parts of the west country are a night light reserve, where there are so few artificial lights that the Milky Way shines spectacularly bright on a clear night. Having collapsed in an exhausted heap most nights thus far on my travels in Devon and Cornwall, I can’t really comment. It sounds good, though, doesn’t it? Apparently, people have seen the northern lights this far south. I wish I could claim to be one of them.

I left my new Scottish friend at a little tea shop in Parranuthnoe and continued on my way. The coast through this section is pretty gentle, gradually rising with the fence line between farms and the sea cliffs.

There were lots of people out walking their dogs, but by the time I got to Cudden Point the path was starting to feel rugged again and my new shoes were starting to rub uncomfortably. Guess I hadn’t quite worn them in during my walks on Scilly. At Cudden Point I met Martin – a Dutchman three days into a five-month End-to-End trek (Land’s End to John O’Groats). I’d met a few End-to-Enders on the north coast – all looking super prepared. Martin didn’t really fit that mould. You can see him on the edge of the second picture (above). He’d been made redundant from his electrical engineer position and determined to use the funds on a grand trek. I hope he makes it.

We passed this little cove where the King of Prussia (pirate extraordinaire) reputably hid his stash in the caves…

 

…and spent a while watching this trio get up the gumption to leap off tall cliffs into the roiling sea. It looked like fun, sort of.

 

On the drop from the cliff tops to Praa Sands, I swiped my whole hand through a stinging nettle bush, getting stung for the first time on the entire trek (an amazing feat). I took it as a sign. Not only were my feet screaming, but now my hand was too. Obviously, it was time to stop.

We grabbed lunch together at a fab little spot overlooking the golden beach at Praa Sands. The clouds started rolling in, and a half hour later I left Martin to his second pint of lager and rambled up the road to the bus stop to catch the bus to Porthleven, where I could ditch my shoes in favour of a pair of flip-flops, knock about town, and try to discover the reasons why artists and foodies flock to the area.

[Surge stats: 14.1 km, 92 floors, 21344 steps]

So, that’s it for me and the beast on the South West Coast Path. By my calculation, I traversed about a third of the path, which leaves a nice little chunk of path ahead for future adventures…