Crackington Haven – Boscastle
Get this. First thing I had to do was catch a bus to Crackington Haven (awesome name). The bus driver who picked us up spent 10 mins driving around Bude looking for a woman who’d left her handbag on the bus. No luck, unfortunately, but everyone on the bus was impressed by his unfailing patience.
I was feeling pretty perky. I’d left my b&b fed and watered and well-rested. I was lugging The Beast, but all I had was 10.8 km of ‘strenuous’ path to cover. Not easy, but totally doable. Right?
Wrong.
Rarely level, the path was a roller-coaster and, no matter which way I turned, it felt like the fierce wind was in my face pushing me this way and that. Thank goodness for my poles. Have I told you, fellow lopers, how much I love my walking poles? Sheer adoration.
Anyway…me any my two poles were like an uncordinated zimmer frame trying to scale cliffs. That I made it up the first major rise to Cambeak was a minor miracle. I was whooping for joy (apologies to the dogs I scared) as I reached the top.
And then I looked at the fine print on the map and realised it was only 98 m high – a dwarf compared to the 223 m peak aptly called High Cliff that was barely 2 km in my future. This is also the highest point on the entire swcp.
Here’s a pick from the other side of High Cliff, just to prove I made it up and down and up the next peak which was ‘only’ 222 m high. The green patch in the distant left is Cambeak.
The ups wouldn’t be so bad if the downs weren’t so far doooowwn. Gorgeous walk though. Whenever I got a chance to look at anything but my feet, I noticed a wild array of hardy low plants, clinging to the raw, wind-swept slopes. Adding to the wilderness were wild goats and wild ponies, and a few cows that seemed to have run wild too.
Check out those curly horns!
One of the kid goats got on the path between me and a couple of ladies. The poor thing was so terrified it dashed back and forth between us till eventually it figured out maybe sideways would be a good idea.
Eventually I arrived in the sweet little port town of Boscastle, 5 1/2 hours later (shocking, I know!). Just in time ti check into the lovely YHA (my dorm looked like the Seven Dwarves’ room), and head up the valley to a likely pub with a fine selection of ale to choose from.
Stats: 27370 steps; 283 floors; 15.43 km
NB: today was my one week anniversay on the swcp in 2018. Woohoo!
PenLoper 