carbis bay to portreath

September 12, 2020 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

sunday, 6th september 2020

The weather forecast for the whole of this week looks to be pretty good and today should be sunny and warm with a chance of rain first thing. What’s not to like?!

St Ives high tide 08:12

St Ives low tide 14:33

Whoooooop! What with one thing and another I haven’t been out on the south west coast path for almost an entire year. I leave our apartment in Carbis Bay early in the morning and follow the road downhill to reach the beach at Carbis Bay.

There are three swimmers in the sea and a couple of dog walkers but other than that I have the whole beach to myself.

The Carbis Bay Hotel dominates the shore line here.

I amble along the beach before regaining the coast path by climbing up some steps at the headland of Carrack Gladden where I have a last view of Carbis Bay.

I round Carrack Gladden and now have lovely views over Porth Kidney Sands. I came around this way yesterday afternoon at low tide when I had a vast expanse of sand to explore but today at high tide there’s very little sand left.

The tide is too high for me to be able to drop down to the beach so instead it's now a pleasant walk alongside the St Erth to St Ives railway line, considered to be one of the most scenic of railway lines. It’s too early on a Sunday for the trains to be running but usually the train runs every half hour between St Erth and St Ives.

Eventually I find a path through the sand dunes which takes me down onto the beach and I amble along the beach for a while before an exit point at the end of the beach takes me back to the coast path.

I pass through the West Cornwall Golf Course avoiding any stray golf balls and head under a railway bridge.

I wander into the grounds of St Uny's Church and then explore the lovely, and deliberately overgrown churchyards.

The churchyard is being managed for wildlife, while respecting that it is also a special place of remembrance.

I leave the churchyard and head up a track towards the village of Lelant and then follow quiet roads through the back streets of the village where I take photographs of some of the flowers growing in the front gardens.

I pass the railway station at Lelant and pass next to Anne’s Wood, managed by the Woodland Trust.

I come across a lovely garden on the opposite side of the road to the houses called ‘Le Petite Jardin’.

I pass the park and ride car park (no longer used) at Lelant Saltings and then turn into a new estate on the way towards the B3301.

I follow the coast path to Griggs Quay, passing Birdie’s Bistro and where the Old Quay House (@margaret_oqh) can be found.

I follow a stinky road towards Hayle where it begins to rain. The Causeway continues alongside the mud of the river estuary although the tide is so high that there is very little mud left.

I come across a south west coast path sign pointing to my left which seems to be a new part of the coast path and follow a narrow path behind houses on the edge of the estuary.

The church bells start up over at St Uny’s and I hear oystercatchers piping away and disturb a little egret.

The path returns back to the road next to a railway viaduct and passes the newish Asda superstore.

I follow the road through Hayle enjoying the flowerbeds here.

I pass a memorial to Rick Rescorla, who lost his life in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center although his body was never found.

I pass the Royal Standard Inn and Philps Pasties before passing a mural painted by the children of St Piran’s School, Hayle, showing Godrevy Lighthouse.

I walk over Copperhouse Gate and then along North Quay which I thought had been developed the last time I passed through here but is now the subject of more redevelopment by Corinthian Homes. Hayle is never going to win a beauty contest but it has been much improved in recent years.

I can see back over towards St Uny's Church on the other side of the estuary which I left an hour or so ago.

The River Hayle is known locally as the red river, a reference to its colour during the days of intensive mining when the waters were stained red by the washings of tin ore but those days are long over.

I pass though a car park but the tide is too far in for me to climb down on to the beach at Hayle Towans next to the lifeguard station so I follow the path through the sand dunes behind the beach.

It has turned into a glorious day and I think I’ve seen the last of the rain. From here the official coast path meanders through the dune system behind the beach but there's no way I'm going to waste the opportunity of walking along the stretch of sandy beach at Gwithian so I find a path at Mexico Towans which takes me down onto the beach.

I amble along the beach for a while before the tide forces me back onto the sand dunes at Upton Towans where I follow slate coast path waymarkers.

I drop back down to the beach at Gwithian Beach and then cross a footbridge over a river before climbing up onto the cliffs.

I now have stunning views across the vast expanse of sandy beaches stretching around St Ives Bay. I head along the coast path above Godrevy Cove and I've now got decent views of Godrevy Island with its lighthouse built in 1859 following outcry at the loss of all hands aboard the SS Nile, a 700 ton steamer wrecked on the rocks here on the 30th of November 1854. The light was moved from the lighthouse tower to a new steel structure on the adjacent rock in 2012. The lighthouse was immortalized by Virginia Woolf in her novel 'To the Lighthouse'.

I pass below Godrevy Cafe at a car park and then round Godrevy Point passing by the lighthouse out at sea. I pass Mutton Cove with its colony of grey seals. There are quite a few seals and pups on the beach today and a few more swimming in the sea. The seals are vey popular and a crowd has gathered to watch them.

I continue along the coast path and walk around the gorse covered headland of The Knavocks. Shetland ponies are grazing on the heathland here, but I don't see any, and the gorse here is usually spectacular but strangely is not in flower at the moment.

I pass above Kynance Cove - not the famous one and then pass trig point S7935 at 249 feet with fine views looking back over to St Ives in the distance.

I pass above Castle Giver Cove and Fishing Cove heading back towards the B3301 where there are traces of North Cliff mine. Lead was extracted from here in the mid 19th century. The cliffs around here seem pretty fragile so I stay well clear of the edge.

I reach the B3301. Just across the road is Hell's Mouth Cafe.

The erosion of the cliffs at Hell's Mouth has resulted in some interesting caves on the east side. These make a loud booming noise as they fill with surging waves. The waves compress air into cracks and cavities in the rock, causing further erosion. The cove, cliffs and two isolated stacks out to sea are popular breeding grounds for guillemots and razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes.

The cliffs here are 290 feet tall and there is a sheer drop down to the sea. Several people have comitted suicide here.

It is now a pleasant walk over the top of the cliffs next to Reskajeage Downs - which I have no idea how to pronounce - where I pass Hudder Cove, Deadman’s Cove, Derrick Cove, another Deadman’s Cove according to my Ordnance Survey map, and then Greenbank Cove. Access to these coves is difficult at the best of times so I don't make any attempt to reach them.

I watch late swallows swooping around, stonechats living up to their name and large flocks of goldfinches tinkling away.

I walk past Crane Islands out to sea and follow the coast path past more coves, this time Basset’s Cove and Mirrose Well Cove. Basset’s Cove was once worked as a stone quarry, with the horse powered winding gear also being used to raise wreckage of the many ships that came to grief on this treacherous strip of coastline.

I continue along Carvannel Downs, passing Samphire Island, to reach a waterfall and stream at Porth-cadjack Cove. It begins to rain briefly before the sun returns.

I continue heading along Carvannel Downs where the scenery is stunning and I pass the inaccessible Ralph's Cupboard, a collapsed sea cave.

Inaccessible that is unless you have a kayak.

Legends abound about Ralph's Cupboard with some linking the collapsed cave to smugglers. Others say it was the home of a giant, known as the Wrath of Portreath, who used to throw rocks at passing boats, steal their treasure and eat their crew.

I round the headland here at Western Hill and pass Battery House where there are fine views overlooking Portreath where I’ve reached my destination for the day.

I amble down the road to reach the beach at Portreath consisting of soft, fine sand with shingle below the shoreline and a prominent stack out to sea. I wander out on to the beach for a bit before heading off to my lift back to Carbis Bay. Portreath is heaving with people so I don’t hang about.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

himalayan balsam
heather
crocosmia
buddleia
red campion
herb robert
knapweed
field scabious
hemp agrimony
red clover
echiums
gunnera
oystercatchers
little egret
gorse
speckled wood butterflies
swallows
goldfinches
stonechats
yarrow
betony

Podcast

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 17.8 miles today which amounts to 39556 steps. It has been magnificent walking in glorious weather apart from the occasional bit of rain and despite stinky Hayle it has to be ten out of ten! It is utter bliss to be back on the south west coast path.

walk details

I’ve given up on using my Ordnance Survey app for showing elevation details as it is clearly incorrect. Instead I’ve started using the myTracks app which does a much better job even if it’s not entirely correct.

map

holywell to portreath

September 17, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

south west coast path

tuesday, 15th september 2015

After yesterday's spectacularly atrocious weather I'm in for a much better day today. The wind has abated and I should even see the sun today.

Perranporth high tide 07:02

Perranporth low tide 13:13

Today I'm back in tin mining country and I'll encounter the remnants of this industry all day long.

I start the day back at Holywell Bay beach where I enjoy the fine, golden sand. It's a much calmer scene today and I can actually stand upright on the beach. I head back into the dune system where a footbridge takes me over the river.

A sign warns me that adders may be basking on sunny days in the dunes but I don't see any.

A now overgrown big, red sign warns me about the dangers of entering Penhale Army Training Area. Odd because Penhale Camp was closed by the Ministry of Defence in April 2010 and partially sold off in September of the same year.

I round Penhale Point, taking one last glance back over Holywell.

I avoid the mine shafts and continue along the cliffs above Hobblyn's Cove.

Penhale Camp is now the home to the Penhale Military Adventure Training Centre and offers a broad range of military adventurous training.

I round Ligger Point and have magnificent views along Perran Bay. I can see that the waves are crashing against the cliffs in the distance so I won't be able to make it all the way along the beach to Perranporth. I think I can make out an exit point about a mile down the beach so I should be able to make it onto the dune system.

I wander down the path to reach Perran Beach and I now hopefully have a one mile trudge along fine, golden sands before clambering back onto the sand dunes to reach Perranporth.

Behind the beach is Penhale Sands, the most extensive system of sand dunes in Cornwall.

About a mile down the beach I come to the exit point next to the lifeguard station and I clamber up the steep concrete path and then wander through the dune system to reach the beach at Perranporth.

I wander along the beach front at Perranporth, passing the Black Flag Brewery (@blackflagbrews) and the Tywarnhayle Inn (@tywarnhayleinn) and climb up Cliff Road passing above the Seiners Arms (@SeinersArms) to leave Perranporth, where I have fine views back across the town and beach.

I pass a sundial thing pointing north and loads of flowers and memorials including this rather sad one …..

“An angel in the book of life
wrote down our baby’s birth
and whispered as she closed the book
too beautiful for earth”

I walk behind the rather ugly Droskyn Castle and pass the youth hostel on Droskyn Point. I pass a memorial bench and next to it is a pile of stones. I assume the two are related somehow.

I'm now firmly in tin mining country and I walk through a scarred landscape of capped mine shafts, crumbling buildings and spoil heaps.

The gorse and heather is making the top of the cliffs very colourful.

I head across Cligga Head and amble along the crumbling cliffs next to Perranporth Airfield, now home to Perranporth Flying Club but once a Second World War airfield. I don't see or hear any planes. The British and Colonial Explosive Works, opened in 1893, used to exist here but were largely destroyed by the construction of the airfield.

I pass some concrete bunkers and I can now see the village of St Agnes climbing up the valley above Trevaunance Cove.

I head down into the valley at Trevellas Combe, where there is a shingly and stony beach. The valley here was heavily mined and various remains of Blue Hills Mine, which closed in 1897, can be found here, including the crumbling engine house.

I head inland next to the road and river to reach Blue Hills Tin Streams. The valley floor here once contained extensive tin stream works, used to recover any tin that could be gleaned from the river.

I cross a road bridge and then trudge up a steep track before descending to Trevaunance Cove, at the foot of the village of St Agnes.

Five attempts were made to construct an artificial harbour here to serve the mines in the surrounding area but all that remains are a pile of granite blocks at the bottom of the cliff, once part of the breakwater.

granite blocks at the bottom of the cliff

I wander back up to St Agnes heading slightly inland but not quite reaching the Driftwood Spars (@driftwoodspars). I follow the road out of Trevaunance Cove which leads me to Trevaunance Point where I have a lovely view back over the cove next to some dahlias.

I follow the path to St Agnes Head, on the way passing the remains of what was once Polberro Mine. I walk underneath the National Coastwatch station and then follow the cliffs in a southerly direction and have magnificent views back to Penhale Sands and forward over Chapel Porth and Porthtowan.

I pass Tubby's Head, home to an Iron Age promontory fort before passing below the photogenic and much photographed (and that includes by me!) Towanroath pumping engine house at Wheal Coates, built in 1872 and now owned by the National Trust.

The coast path eventually leads me to Chapel Porth, home to the Chapel Porth Beach Cafe. I wander down to the beach and enjoy the sand before heading inland past the cafe and next to the stream.

Inland slightly can be found Wheal Charlotte, opened in 1806 but with a ropey mining history and now owned by the National Trust.

I cross the stream and then walk inland up a gentle path before swinging sharply back round again and climb uphill on to the cliffs where I come across more spoil heaps. I amble along the cliffs, admiring the views over Porthtowan.

I drop down to the village, walking past the Blue Bar beach cafe, and head out on to the large sandy beach. This is one of the best surfing beaches around and there's a bit of action out on the waves today.

Within the valley leading down to the sea at Porthtowan can be found Wheal Ellen with its distinctive castellated chimney stack, Tywarnhaile Mines and United Hills. In the heart of the village can be found Wheal Lushington, built in the 1880s, but the company building it went bankrupt before the engine could be installed and it is now a residential house.

I head back up the beach and pass the Unicorn before following the road up to what was once the Beach Hotel but where apartments appear to have been built.

I continue along a track set back from the cliffs and pass Gullyn Rock and Sheep Rock, next to the fence surrounding what was once Portreath Airfield on Nancekuke Common. Warning signs keep telling me that I'm walking next to MOD property and should KEEP OUT. Quite why the MOD needs so much land sitting idly I do not know.

The walking towards Portreath is pretty uneventful except having to climb down and up steps at a couple of steep valleys.

I walk along Lighthouse Hill with views over the harbour and the beach at Portreath.

The road takes me down to The Square where I find the Portreath Arms and Portreath Bakery. From here it's a short walk past the harbour and The Waterfront Inn (@beachpub) and up to the car park above the beach.

That's my walking finished for the week.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

heather
gorse
bracken
gulls
hemp agrimony
oystercatchers
wrens
robins
red admiral
hawthorn
dahlias
red and white valerian
apples
large flowered evening primroses
hydrangeas
crocosmia
small tortoiseshell
swallows
goldfinches

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 18.5 miles today which amounts to 41534 steps. After yesterday's terrible weather it has been lovely walking today and the views have been magnificent. Nine out of ten!

portreath to st ives

June 08, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

SATURDAY, 6TH JUNE 2015

May has been cold, wet and windy but all of a sudden I have a decent weather forecast for the day. It looks like I'll have sun all day long and although the temperature won't break records at least it will be warm for a change and even the wind has died down a bit.

St Ives high tide 08:16

St Ives low tide 14:24

I start the day at the beach in Portreath. The beach at Portreath consists of soft, fine sand with shingle below the shoreline and there is a prominent stack out to sea. I wander out on to the beach for a bit before heading up Battery Hill.

I pass Battery House and climb up a track onto the headland here at Western Hill where there are fine views overlooking Portreath.

I head along Carvannel Downs where the scenery is stunning and I pass the inaccessible Ralph's Cupboard, a collapsed sea cave.

Inaccessible that is unless you have a kayak.

The wild flowers around here are looking lovely.

I continue along Carvannel Downs to reach a waterfall and stream at Porthcadjack Cove. I pass Samphire Island and round Basset's Cove. The cove was once worked as a stone quarry, with the horse powered winding gear also being used to raise wreckage of the many ships that came to grief on this treacherous strip of coastline.

I walk past Crane Islands out to sea. Next up is Reskajeage Downs - which I have no idea how to pronounce - where I'm high up over sheer cliffs and below me are the tiny, sandy coves of Greenbank Cove and Deadman's Cove. Access to both coves is difficult so I don't make any attempt to reach them.

Noisy colonies of nesting seabirds spoil the peace on the way to Hell's Mouth.

Did I mention that the flowers are looking rather lovely at this time of year?

I see three hummingbird hawk moths flitting between the flowers but they are flying too fast for me to photograph them.

I walk above the dramatic, rocky inlet at Hell's Mouth where I spend some time watching the sea birds swooping and soaring around the cliffs and offshore rocks. The cliffs here are 290 feet tall and there is a sheer drop down to the sea. Several people have comitted suicide here.

Just across the road is Hell's Mouth Cafe.

The cliffs around here seem pretty fragile so I stay well clear of the edge.

I continue along the cliffs to Fishing Cove and Smuggler's Cove where there are traces of North Cliff mine. Lead was extracted from here in the mid 19th century.

I continue along the coast path and walk around the gorse covered headland of The Knavocks. I come across a herd of cows blocking my way along the path.

Shetland ponies are grazing on the heathland here, but I don't see any, and the gorse here is spectacular.

I've now got decent views of Godrevy Island with its lighthouse built in 1859 following outcry at the loss of all hands aboard the SS Nile, a 700 ton steamer wrecked on the rocks here on the 30th of November 1854. The light was moved from the lighthouse tower to a new steel structure on the adjacent rock in 2012. The lighthouse was immortalized by Virginia Woolf in her novel 'To the Lighthouse'.

I pass a trig point at 249 feet with fine views looking over to St Ives in the distance.

I have fine views overlooking the long sandy beach towards Hayle.

I know it's becoming a bit boring and repetitive but the wild flowers around here are amazing.

The sea thrift in particular is looking at its best.

I pass Mutton Cove with its colony of grey seals. There are a few seals on the beach and a few more swimming in the sea.

The seals are vey popular and a crowd has gathered to watch them.

I round Godrevy Point passing by the lighthouse and pass below Godrevy Cafe at a car park.

I now have stunning views across the vast expanse of sandy beaches stretching around St Ives Bay. I drop down on to Godrevy Cove and amble across the beach.

From here the official coast path meanders through the dune system behind the beach but the tide is out so there's no way I'm going to waste the opportunity of walking along the three mile stretch of sandy beach so I join the beach at Gwithian.

The tide briefly forces me to walk through the sand dunes before I make it back on to the beach, climbing down some ropey looking steps which are completely washed away at the bottom of the cliffs so I have to scramble down.

It has turned into a glorious day so I amble along the beach, passing kite surfers at the far end of the beach.

At the end of the beach the River Hayle presents an impenetrable barrier to continuing along the coast so it's time for a long detour inland around the tidal river. I climb ashore at Hayle Towans passing the lifeguard station and follow a fiddly path towards Hayle.

I can see over to St Uny's Church on the other side of the estuary but I won't get to it for another hour or so.

I've not been impressed with Hayle on previous visits. Let's face it, the place was a stinky dump and I've never been able to find the coast path through Hayle. But things change and development work has started on the various quaysides.

I walk along North Quay which has now been completely redeveloped and it's now a pleasant riverside walkway. Hayle is never going to win a beauty contest but it has been much improved.

I follow the road through Hayle, passing a memorial to Rick Rescorla. I know nothing about him but he lost his life in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The path continues next to a railway viaduct and passes the new Asda superstore.

I follow a stinky road out of Hayle where chaffinches are merrily singing away. Quite why they'd want to live here I do not know. The Causeway continues alongside the mud of the river estuary.

At the end of The Causeway I detour slightly inland to visit a large roundabout on the busy A30 - tempted by the promise of orchids. Here I find southern marsh orchids, early purple orchids still in flower and pyramidal orchids just coming in to flower.

Best of all though there is a large colony of bee orchids, thought to have been brought in accidentally in topsoil when the roundabout was created. I only find two but two is better than none and I risked life and limb crossing the busy road to find them.

Postscript: We drove past the roundabout a couple of days later only to find that it had been mown to within an inch of its life, taking with it the majority of the flowering orchids, including the bee orchids. Quite why people treat road verges this way I do not know. Craziness.

I walk back down to the coast path at Griggs Quay where the Old Quay House (@margaret_oqh) can be found.

I pass some gladioli on the Hayle estuary and then turn into a new estate heading towards the park and ride car park at Lelant Saltings.

I follow the road towards Lelant, passing a lovely garden on the opposite side of the road to the houses.

I should pass The Badger Inn but if I did I completely missed it. I pass the railway station at Lelant where more chaffinches are singing. This is a much better location than stinky Hayle! I follow a minor road to reach St Uny's Church. At various stages of the walk now I hear the train passing me in both directions. The train runs every half hour between St Erth and St Ives.

I wander into the grounds of St Uny's Church and then wander through the lovely, and deliberately overgrown churchyards.

I pass by the West Cornwall Golf Course avoiding any stray golf balls and head under another railway bridge.

It's now a pleasant walk alongside the St Erth to St Ives railway line, considered to be one of the most scenic of railway lines.

I follow the path through the sand dunes next to the railway where I have lovely views over Porth Kidney Sands.

I pass more orchids, this time common spotted orchids, on the way to the headland of Carrack Gladden which I round before dropping down to the beach again at Carbis Bay.

The Carbis Bay Hotel dominates the shore line here and the coast path has been diverted through the grounds of the hotel where a wedding is taking place..

The path continues to follow the railway line and passes The Baulking House, a lookout used to spot shoals of pilchards,

I have lovely views towards St Ives.

The path drops me down on to my destination for the day, Porthminster Beach below the railway station at St Ives. The Porthminster Beach Cafe can be found here. It's been quite a day for beaches which will be in stark contrast to tomorrow's rugged coastline.

It's way busier here than I'm used to! I head up to the railway station where I catch the train back to Lelant Saltings.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

foxgloves
speckled wood butterflies
rock rose
stonechats
skylarks
cormorants
hummingbird hawk moths
cows
painted lady butterflies
cuckoo flower
canada geese
gladioli
echiums
chaffinches
a red admiral butterfly
southern marsh orchids
early purple orchids
pyramidal orchids
common spotted orchids
bee orchids

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 18.3 miles today which amounts to 40161 steps. It has been magnificent walking in glorious weather and despite stinky Hayle it has to be ten out of ten!