Perranporth – Watergate Bay
With the previous day’s hurdles behind me, I set forth just after dawn determined to get one of the two remaining walks in this region of the path done. The Port Isaac – Rock stint was calling me, but five hours return on a bus didn’t sound fun, and here I had before me an unwalked section of the swcp. It was a no-brainer, really.
So, I set forth north on the wide sands of Perranporth beach. I had just over two hours before the tide would turn, and thus just over four hours to get to the Penpol bridge. Onward Penloper!
The beach really is a beautiful sight in this early morning light…
Curious caves in the wildly folded strata…
Up and through the dunes…
…where one of the first surprises I came across was this little spring and pond…
Then around and over multiple headlands that seemed to generally be reserved for MOD use.
Any guesses what this thing is?
It came with a warning…
I’m going with a huge meringue mixer – there was certainly enough wind around to feel like I’d been churned all morning. The wind was so fierce, and the ocean so rough, that sea foam was being blown high up onto the clifftops!
Eventually, the path had to turn east into The Gannel’s estuary. Here was the moment. Would I have made it in time to cross the famous Penpol tidal footbridge?
Maybe…
Yes!
That milestone past, I meandered up through Newquay, looking for a likely coffee and lunch spot…
…mmmmm. Thanks Box & Barber cafe…before heading further north for the rest of this grand day’s adventure.
Newquay hasn’t been my favourite town to visit, but it does have some hidden-in-plain-sight delights. Take Trevelgue Head, just north of the main drag. Here is a tiny island with roman, bronze age, and iron age settlements. You have to use your imagination a little, but they’re there. (Apologies for no photos, my phone ran out of juice.) The most spectacular part of it was the raging ocean that ripped through a blowhole that you could only see from the burial mound at the far eastern tip of the island.
I’m really glad I persisted in walking all the way up to Watergate Beach. The irritation at having to wait over an hour for the very infrequent bus service turned into a joy when I figured a visit to the local Wax pizza bar was in order. Totally yum, and more than enough left overs for breakfast the next day.
Stats: 40908 steps; 291 floors; 28.41 km
Sightings: 1 chattering of starlings; 1 scampering mouse; 1 shy slug (the poor thing sensed me and started a veeeeery sloooooow uuuuu-bennnnd)
PenLoper 