pendeen watch to porthcurno

June 11, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

TUESDAY, 9TH JUNE 2015

I have another decent weather forecast today. This is becoming repetitive! It looks like I'll have sun all day long and although the temperature won't be breaking any records again, at least it will be warm and there's no chance of rain.

St Ives high tide 10:54

St Ives low tide 17:05

I start today's walk at the car park above Pendeen Watch lighthouse. One of my favourite walks today despite the fact that it goes through the stinky dump that is Land's End!

I've learnt from previous walks to head up the road a bit rather than start walking straightaway on what looks like the coast path but soon peters out on a gorse infested, scrubby slope.

A granite stone points me in the right direction - at least it should do but it's so worn that I can't make out any of the lettering anymore. The path rises and falls gently over valleys set back from the cliffs on the route to Trewellard Zawn.

Stretched out in front of me is Cornwall's tin mining country.

Just inland can be seen the buildings of Geevor Tin Mine (@geevormuseum), the last working tin mine in the area and only closed in 1990. Today Geevor Tin Mine is a museum and heritage centre, covering an area of 67 acres.

The landscape ahead is littered with ruined buildings, chimneys and engine houses of the tin mines that long ago were abandoned.

I continue through this wasteland to reach Levant Beam Engine, a restored steam powered Cornish beam engine. Levant Mine was established in 1820 and closed in 1930 and was mined for tin and copper.

Levant Mine has been owned by the National Trust since 1967. Two closely situated engine houses can be found here. The larger, roofless engine house was built in 1835 whereas the smaller, restored engine house dates from 1840.

Littered in the vicinity of the engine houses are the remains of the compressor house and the tiled floor of the count house.

I continue on a track passing more chimneys and engine houses and pass the buildings of Old Crowns Mine perched precariously on the cliffs at Botallack, consisting of the pumping house built in 1835 and the higher winding house built in 1862.

“Chains, pipes, conduits, protruded in all directions from the precipice; rotten-looking wooden platforms, running over deep chasms, supported great beams of timber and heavy coils of cable; crazy little boarded houses were built, where gulls’ nests might have been found in other places.”

— Rambles Beyond Railways, Wilkie Collins

The mine here closed in 1895 before being briefly opened again before the First World War.

Arsenic was a by product of the tin mining process and you can find the remains of the arsenic refining works here.

More walking through tin mining country takes me to Kenidjack, passing West Wheal Owles and Wheal Edward on the way.

At West Wheal Owles, a serious accident occurred in 1893 killing nineteen men and a boy and the mine subsequently closed. A memorial stone recording the names of the victims is close by.

I follow the path high above the cliffs at Porth Ledden before heading towards the hump of Cape Cornwall, once thought to be the most westerly point of Cornwall. Fortunately that is now reserved for Land's End otherwise here would have become a stinky theme park.

A footpath here is closed due to breeding choughs. The baby choughs have fledged but I don't see any.

The path heads inland down a steep valley away from Cape Cornwall before heading back towards the cape on the other side of the valley. Along the way I pass some friendly donkeys.

The wild flowers on the valley sides are looking lovely.

Cape Cornwall Mine, a tin mine, operated intermittently between 1838 and 1883. The mine's 1864 chimney near the peak of the cape was retained as an aid to navigation and stands out on the cape to this day.

I climb onto Cape Cornwall and enjoy the views ahead to Land's End. It's very windy up here.

Cape Cornwall was purchased for the nation by H J Heinz Co Ltd to mark their centenary year and presented to the National Trust on March 25th 1987.

I climb back down Cape Cornwall and shelter in Priest's Cove. Priest's Cove, tucked in to the bottom of Cape Cornwall, is still a working fishery and small fishermen's huts have been built in to the rock for mending nets and storing crab and lobster pots.

An easy path climbs steeply away from Cape Cornwall before levelling out and briefly heads inland before heading back towards the coast at Porth Nanven. A sign here warns of sharp metal left over from the wrecked submarine L1.

Another sign warns me of nesting choughs but I fail to see any again.

I pass mine shafts and cross footbridges to reach a National Trust sign at Nanjulian where the path becomes rugged. I clamber around the rocky Aire Point and have lovely views over Whitesand Bay.

There are planes in the sky everywhere, presumably taking off and landing at Land's End Aerodrome.

I ignore the coast path signs and clamber over rocks to reach the beautiful beach at Gwynver Beach, with its soft, fine sand.

If the tide is out you can walk directly into Sennen Cove but it's in too far today so I climb out of Gwynver Beach and climb down onto Sennen Cove, ignoring the coast path signs again. I trudge along the sandy beach. Life doesn't get much better than this!

At the far end of the beach is the village of Sennen Cove and walking through the village I pass Old Success Inn (@oldsuccessinn), The Old Boathouse village shop (@theOldBoathous1) and at the far end of the beach the lifeboat station.

There is a tiny fishing harbour here and a tractor is making an awful lot of noise.

I pause for a while in the village knowing that Land's End is just around the corner and then leave the village via the car park at the harbour end of the village, climbing up a flight of steps and then follow a path to a clifftop lookout. This is Pedn-men-du and there are fantastic views over to Longships Lighthouse.

The views back over Sennen Cove are lovely but I can't linger any longer.

I leave Sennen Cove behind me and walk past the iron age Maen Cliff Castle and suddenly there are people everywhere. I cross a fiddly area to reach Land's End. Have I mentioned, by any chance, that I dislike Land's End.

I don't hang about and quickly pass Greeb Farm and leave the crowds of Land's End behind me and the walking quickly becomes pleasant again. I pass the Armed Knight, an impressive rock feature and arch stuck out in the Atlantic and walk around Pordenack Point to reach Mill Bay, otherwise known as Nanjizal Bay. The colours of the sea around here are amazing shades of blue, turquoise and green, completely different to the grubby brown sea of home.

The beach here is always delightful and because there is no direct access by road, is usually deserted. Today is unusually busy. Rock pools, arches and caves abound but unfortunately the tide is too far in to expose the sandy beach.

I climb slopes to reach the point at Carn Les Boel which is home to an iron age promontory fort. There are people everywhere which is very unusual as I usually find the place deserted. The rocky cliffs are covered in sea thrift.

I walk along the cliff tops to reach the National Coastwatch Station at Gwennap Head and then pass some daymarks to reach the beach at Porthgwarra.

Porthgwarra is an old fishing hamlet and there are still a few boats which launch from here and there is a small shop and cafe.

I walk through the tunnel here to explore the beach and then leave Porthgwarra via a track at the end of the road and walk along the top of the cliffs before steeply descending. I should pass St Levan's holy well but the coast path has been diverted.

On the slopes above Porth Chapel I hear a cuckoo calling.

It's a steep climb down to the beach at Porth Chapel, too much for these weary legs. The sandy beach here is lovely and usually completely deserted. Not today!

I walk around the headland of Pedn-men-an-mere. From here it is a short walk to my destination for the day, Porthcurno.

I pass behind the Minack Theatre (@minacktheatre), an open air theatre cut into the rock with shows taking place throughout the summer. There's a show on today so the theatre is closed except to audience members.

I climb steeply down steps in the cliff to reach the lovely beach at Porthcurno. After enjoying the beach for a while I walk up the beach and pass Cable Hut, part of the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (@ThePTM) just behind the beach.

I reach the car park where my lift awaits.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

rabbits
horses
chaffinches
great tits
chiff chaffs
buzzards being mobbed
painted lady butterflies
a crab
a cuckoo
donkeys

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 17.1 miles today which amounts to 40133 steps. It has been magnificent walking in glorious weather for a third day on the trot and I was even getting sweaty! Ten out of ten!

st ives to pendeen watch

June 11, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

SUNDAY, 7TH JUNE 2015

“Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me”

I have a decent weather forecast again for the day. It looks like I'll have sun all day long and although the temperature won't yet be breaking any records at least it will be warm and there's no chance of rain.

St Ives high tide 09:03

St Ives low tide 15:11

I start the day back at Porthminster Beach in St Ives, overlooking the beach. It's completely empty.

I walk along The Warren and explore some of the narrow streets and alleyways of St Ives. The church starts up a rather noisy peal of bells which seems to go on forever. It's only 8 a.m. so the people of St Ives must be early risers. I pass the lifeboat station and the Lifeboat Inn (@lifeboatstives) before reaching the harbour.

I duck behind the harbour and cross Porthgwidden Beach before climbing onto the grassy slopes of The Island (or St Ives Head) - it's not an island as it's joined on to the mainland!

The restored St Nicholas Chapel can be found here.

“This ancient chapel of St. Nicholas, which has stood on this site since time immemorial, partially destroyed by order of the War Office in 1904, was rebuilt and restored to its former condition by Sir Edward Hain in 1911 being the coronation year of King George V.”

I enjoy the views over Porthmeor Beach before dropping down onto the beach, where Tate St Ives (@Tate_StIves) can be found but I'm way too early for opening time and I have some serious walking to do anyway.

I wander along the beach and then leave St Ives via a tarmac path. The path becomes stonier and muddier as I approach Clodgy Point. I pass some tadpoles in a pathetic amount of water. I've no idea how they will survive.

Buzzards are calling and circling above me in the thermals. I walk past Hor Point and along some boardwalk at Pen Enys Point.

Walking is fiddly along the cliff tops but the wild flowers, including common spotted orchids, are amazing.

I pass some flat rocks where, in 1941, a ship called the Bessemer City was shipwrecked. The crew was saved, but her cargo of tinned food spilled into the sea. People came from miles around to collect tins. The labels had washed off so they never knew whether they were opening tinned peaches or corned beef!

I soon reach the 318 feet trig point at Carn Naun Point where I can make out the lighthouse at my destination for today, Pendeen Watch.

I now feel completely isolated and the landscape has suddenly become a lot more rugged after the admittedly, fiddly, start to the day. Let the roller coaster ride to Pendeen Watch begin!

I drop down into a valley and then cross a stream pouring from the valley mouth as a waterfall. There are rugged rocks below and out to sea are The Carracks, home to a colony of grey seals. I don't see any today.

I pass headlands and coves before dropping into another valley and cross a stream above Wicca Pool which is reached by a difficult scramble down rocks. Granite was quarried and shipped from here for St Ives church.

I climb out of Wicca Pool via some granite steps and it's then a bouldery walk towards Zennor Head, crossing a couple of streams. I'm now high above Porthzennor Cove.

I walk around Zennor Head and there are now magnificent views over Pendour Cove and towards Gurnard's Head. The Tinners Arms at Zennor is a short walk inland for thirsty walkers.

I climb down granite steps and cross a footbridge over a stream.

I climb uphill and walk around the inaccessible Pendour Cove, linked to the myth of the Mermaid of Zennor who supposedly lured local boy Matthew Trewhella to a watery grave through her beauty and singing, and the more accessible Veor Cove before rounding Porthglaze Cove.

I finally come across some habitation in the form of a couple of houses and pass below an old engine house, once part of Gurnard's Head mine. The engine house has definitely seen better days.

A copper mine on Gurnard's Head was in operation before 1821 initially under the name of Wheal Treen and was later worked under the name of Gurnard's Head Mine. By 1877 it had fallen into disuse. The ruined engine house and mine buildings are now all that remains.

I pass the rugged promontory of Gurnard's Head and, do you know what? From some angles it sort of does look like a Gurnard. The headland is the site of an iron age promontory fort known as Trereen Dinas.

I pass ponies grazing the slopes.

I continue along the coast path to reach Porthmeor Cove where I cross a stream using a rock slab footbridge. The foreshore is made up of rocks and boulders but the tide is going out and just starting to expose a small sandy beach. Porthmeor Cove is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on account of its geology.

I pass large clumps of common spotted orchids, much more identifiable than the pastier ones I passed earlier in the day.

I continue along the cliffs passing a headland containing the remains of Bosigran Castle, a simple iron age cliff castle. The cliffs around here are popular with climbers, the most notorious of which is Commando Ridge, so called because of its association with the Marine Commando Cliff Assault Wing who trained here in the 40s and 50s.

There are more remains of mining activity here with two engine houses standing next to the road a little inland. This appears to be Carn Galver tin mine.

The bouldery path becomes grassier on the way to Portheras Cove where I use some stepping stones to cross a waterfall filled stream. A sign on the beach at Portheras Cove warns me that it is dangerous to walk barefoot on the beach due to a submerged wreck. In 2004 the beach was cleaned up but somebody seems to have forgotten to remove the sign. Having said that, there is an awful lot of lethal looking shrapnel next to the sign!

“It is dangerous to bathe or walk barefooted on this beach at any time due to submerged wreck and razor sharp metal fragments.”

Nobody on the beach is heeding the sign! I enjoy the beach here and look out to the Kenidjacks, an outcrop of semi submerged rocks.

From here it is an easy walk to reach my destination for the day, the lighthouse at Pendeen Watch, which has been guiding ships through these treacherous rocky waters since 1900. The lighthouse is still in use but was fully automated in 1995.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

pheasants
buzzards
tadpoles
caterpillars
common spotted orchids
painted lady butterflies
small copper butterflies
ponies
oxeye daisies
foxgloves
navelwort
red campion
bluebells

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 15.2 miles today which amounts to 37571 steps. It has been magnificent walking in glorious weather but it has to be said that it has been a rough, rocky and remote trek. A perfect walk for a birthday. Ten 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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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!

clovelly to hartland quay

May 10, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

thursday, 7TH MAY 2015

After a filthy day yesterday with heavy rain and blustery gales, today's weather forecast looks to be by far the best of the week with some sunshine, no rain and an end to the ever present gales.

Bude high tide 08:17

Bude low tide 14:36

Today's walk is even shorter than yesterday's but there is very little civilization beyond Hartland Quay until you reach Bude so destination Hartland Quay it is!

I start the walk at the top of Clovelly in the car park next to Clovelly Visitor Centre, leaving via the road. The lanes are full of wild garlic.

I walk down the service road heading in towards Clovelly and immediately come across the friendly Clovelly donkeys in a field.

After stroking the donkeys for a while I continue down the road to Mount Pleasant, where I admire the views overlooking Clovelly.

I head back up the service road and go through a heavy, black gate and walk along a grassy track heading towards the woods.

I enter the woods, passing a shelter, leave the woods and then re-enter them. Hang on a sec! It's started to rain already and I've only just started the walk. I put on my waterproofs but fortunately it's just a shower and they soon come off again.

I reach Angel's Wings, a wooden shelter built in the 19th century by Sir James Hamlyn Williams, a former owner of Clovelly.

I stop for a spot of breakfast and then continue through the woods, admiring all of the bluebells.

I cross a field containing a couple of friendly ponies who proceed to pinch my sandwiches!

The path here is a bit fiddly and I've got lost here before but the signposting seems to be better than I remember and I make it without event to the zig zag path that leads to Mouthmill Beach. Here I come across my first orchids of the day..

I cross a stream over what looks like a brand new bridge to reach Mouthmill Beach. I'm in the middle of nowhere and yet three land rovers pass me by the bridge

The tide is too high for me to be able to walk out onto the bouldery beach over to Blackchurch Rock, a spectacular sea stack with two huge natural rock windows.

Some nutters like to climb this rock for fun!

I climb up a zig zag woodland path through Brownsham Woods where the bluebells are looking amazing and then enjoy the views back to Blackchurch Rock.

I cross fields to reach a sign pointing to the small National Trust car park a little inland.

I walk through more wooded valleys and fields and eventually come to a memorial plaque in memory of the crew of a Wellington bomber which crashed here on the 13th of April 1942.

More fields, a wooded valley and a footbridge lead to a trig point at 498 feet at Chapman Rock. The various wild flowers are looking lovely.

I walk along East Titchberry Cliff which rounds Shipload Bay and I have lovely views to Hartland Point and for the first time this week I can see Lundy! There's no haze obscuring it.

A grassy track climbs above Shipload Bay and passes on the seaward side of Hartland Point Radar, originally built during the Second World War. It is now used for air traffic control of military and civilian aircraft.

The radar is surrounded by fencing and barbed wire and I can see some orchids insde, tantalizingly out of reach. However, I round the corner and come across some much more accessible orchids just next to the path.

I walk down to the car park where there is a refreshment hut and head towards Hartland Point Lighthouse, a grade two listed building. The lighthouse is still listed on the Trinity House website but was sold in 2011 and is now in private ownership.

The path now changes direction and starts to head southwards and becomes a lot rougher and rockier and the season suddenly seems much more advanced.

I pass a memorial to the ship Glenart Castle, torpedoed by a U-boat in 1918.

“In proud and grateful memory of those who gave their lives in the hospital ship Glenart Castle.”

I head over Upright Cliff before dropping into a valley and crossing a footbridge. I climb out of the valley and drop into another one behind Damehole Point where the views over Hartland Quay and towards Cornwall are amazing.

I climb steps up a steep slope and then drop down into another valley and climb again.

I descend into a valley again - this is becoming familiar! - and walk inland past a house and cross a stone bridge over the Abbey River. A little further upriver can be found Hartland Abbey (@HartlandAbbey), a former abbey and now the family home of the Stucley family.

I head back out towards the coast and head across Warren Cliff where there is a square ruined tower and sheep grazing the grass. I can see inland towards the Church of Saint Nectan in the hamlet of Stoke.

I pass Rocket House to reach a road and from here it is a short walk along a track to reach the Hartland Quay Hotel. I head down the road to Hartland Quay passing the Hartland Quay Hotel and the Wreckers' Retreat Bar.

The quay was originally built in the 16th century but swept away in 1887. My walk is at an end and I enjoy the small sandy beach here and marvel at all of the folded rocks.

I trudge back up past the Hartland Quay Hotel again and head for my lift in the car park above the hotel.

That's my walking over for the week!

There's only one way to end the day and that's with a cold bottle of Sharp's Brewery Doombar.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

swallows
donkeys
pheasants
cows
squirrels
primroses
bluebells
japanese knotweed
chiff chaffs
wrens
chaffinches
wild garlic
holly
speckled wood butterflies
peacock butterflies
skylarks
a wall brown butterfly
sheep

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 11.5 miles today which amounts to 27000 steps. EXACTLY 27000 steps!!

Despite a short shower at the start of the day the weather has been great and the walking has been fantastic. Coast path walking doesn't get much better than this. 10 out of 10.

westward ho! to clovelly

May 06, 2015 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

Tuesday, 5th MAY 2015

Today's weather forecast looks to be a bit on the ropey side again. It was chucking it down when I woke and blowing a gale (again!).

Bideford high tide 07:22

Bideford low tide 14:04

I start today's walk back at Westward Ho! where the blustery winds are much higher than the promised 26mph and there's heavy rain. Westward Ho! looks filthy in the rain.

I follow the promenade passing some modern flats on the seafront before walking past a long row of colourful beach huts and then shelter from the wind and rain in a little hut while I prepare all of my equipment. I stumble out of Westward Ho! on grassy slopes before reaching a tarmac path which was once the track bed of the Bideford to Westward Ho! railway. The gorse is in full flower around here and there are lovely views towards Clovelly - well, there would be if the rain wasn't lashing it down and the wind wasn't blowing me all over the place.

At Cornborough Range the old railway track heads off to the left towards Bideford but my path continues along the cliff top and it's time for a roller-coaster ride.

I walk up and down over Cornborough Cliff, Abbotsham Cliff, Green Cliff and then Cockington Cliff. Suddenly I think that I spot a tiny bit of blue sky.

I was right! The winds blow away most of the grey clouds and suddenly it's a beautiful spring day. It's still blustery mind!

The views back to Westward Ho! and over to Clovelly are lovely.

I descend down to Babbacombe Mouth with its rocky and pebbly beach and stop for some breakfast. I admire the wild flowers here which include some bird's-foot-trefoil, dog-violet and sea thrift.

I climb steeply up onto Babbacome Cliff and there are more lovely views before reaching Peppercombe, where there is a pebbly beach. I have the whole beach to myself.

The cliffs at Peppercombe are carved from 280 million year old red Triassic stone (unusual around here) and I have lovely views eastward back towards Westward Ho! and grand sweeping views westward towards Hartland Point. I should be able to see the isle of Lundy on the horizon but it's a bit hazy.

Clovelly can now be clearly seen clinging to the cliffs in the distance.

The spring flowers are lovely and I pass primroses, celandines, dog-violets and plenty more gorse.

I climb steeply out of Peppercombe, admiring the views back from where I've come, and head along wooded slopes. The woods are full of bluebells and wild garlic and chiff chaffs are singing their hearts out everywhere. Even the wind has let up a little.

I descend steeply and gingerly down to the tiny village of Buck's Mills.

On the slipway down to the beach I pass Buck's Mills Cabin, used as an artist’s studio by Judith Ackland and Mary Stella Edwards, from the 1920’s up to the 1970’s. The National Trust became custodians of the Cabin in 2008.

I wander down to the pebbly beach and admire the stream tumbling over the cliff before ascending back up to the village. The coast path climbs uphill between houses to reach Buck's Valley Woods.

The path between Peppercombe and Hobby Drive has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The walking is lovely and chiff chaffs, wrens, robins, blackbirds, great tits and many more birds are singing their hearts out and there are bluebells everywhere.

The path continues, sometimes through woods, sometimes besides woods and there are pheasants everywhere. Eventually the path reaches Hobby Drive and I come across a stone memorial bench …..

“The new portion of road measuring 833 yards was added to The Hobby by Frederick and Christine Hamlyn in the year of Our Lord God 1901.”

This area has inspired artists, including the famous 19th century artist Samuel Palmer, whose work 'A study of Trees' captures the characteristic woodland forms still found in this area. Nope, I've not heard of him either!

The path continues downhill through woods and there are now glimpses of Clovelly through the trees. As I approach Clovelly I come across more and more dog walkers.

I reach the ancient Wrinkleberry Lane and the coast path continues high above Clovelly but it's time for me to visit the village and end today's walk.

The village of Clovelly tumbles 400 feet down a steep hillside from the visitor centre down to the harbour. A shower passes over and I gingerly (my walking boots are more suited to rocks than wet, smooth cobbles!) make my way down the steep cobbled traffic-free (unless you count tourists!) street, passing all of the quaint cottages including the oldest cottage in the village, the former home of "Crazy Kate".

I pass the New Inn where the cobbled village street changes from ”Up-a-long” to “Down-a-long” and peak in to the little alleyways leading off to the left and the right. Charles Dickens stayed at the New Inn in 1860 and wrote about Clovelly.

There are lovely views across Bideford Bay.

I reach the Red Lion Hotel at the bottom of the village and the harbour with a small fleet of fishing boats where I rest for a while. The light rain is soaking my camera.

It's a damp end to a lovely day's walking.

I climb back up through Clovelly and leave through the visitor centre where my lift awaits in the car park.

There's only one way to end the day and that's with a cold bottle of Sharp's Brewery Doombar.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

rabbits
sheep
gorse
red campion
bladder campion
bluebells
dog-violet
bird's-foot-trefoil
pheasants
primroses
chiff chaffs
chaffinches
robins
great tits

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 13.5 miles today which amounts to 31347 steps. Despite a filthy start to the day and a damp end the walking has been great today. Possibly one of the best walks on the coast path. 9 out of 10.

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Tuesday, 5th MAY 2015

FLORA AND FAUNA

PODCAST

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

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