St Ives to Morvah : Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October 2019
This stretch of the SWCP, 12 remote miles, is generally described as the hardest of the whole path, with rocky and boggy terrain as well as the customary ups and downs; Dad concurs, although he of course walked further, getting as far as St Just (17 miles). My guidebook describes this section as ‘an arduous…
Morvah to Seenen Cove: Wednesday 9th October 2019
I left St Ives on the bus back to Morvah to pick up the SWCP where I left off yesterday. It wasn’t a great forecast, brisk winds, showery, but at least the sun was shining as the bus wove it way down the tortuous road from St Ives towards Land’s End. From Morvah, I was…
Seenen Cove to Lamora: Thursday 10th October 2019
Dad made few observations about the scenery along the coast from St Ives to Lands End, but did comment on the ‘almost impossible beauty’ of the seascape shortly after leaving Lands End, which he likened to a poster for a Greek island. So I had high expectations for today. It turned out to be varied…
Lamorna to Marazion: Friday October 11th 2019
Today I wasn’t walking in Dad’s footsteps. His diary states that having arrived at Lamorna Cove he followed an inland route to Penzance and the next day caught a bus to Marazion and commenced walking from there. Although pleasant enough and relatively easy, there’s no real scenic splendour on this stretch so he didn’t miss…
Marazion to Porthleven: Saturday 12th October 2019
To avoid rushing for the bus at Porthleven and taking into account the forecast rain later, I left Penzance for Marazion on an early bus so I was walking by 9 am. The wind had dropped significantly overnight, with a consequent much more moderate sea state in Mount Bay. It was a grey day but…
Porthleven to Lizard: Sunday 13th October 2019
Being a Sunday, buses back to Porthleven were less frequent than usual and I had a choice of 8.10 or 10.05. Plumping for the latter based on the forecast (rain initially then fine sunny weather) meant a leisurely start but with 14 miles to walk, time was then against me and I probably walked too…
Lizard to Coverack: Monday 14th October 2019
After a good dinner and 8 hours’ sleep, I felt much better this morning. Today’s section of the path was of a moderate grade and shorter than yesterday but I made myself walk more slowly than yesterday anyway to ensure I arrived in Coverack in a good humour. After yesterday’s lovely weather it was a…
Coverack to Helford Passage: Tuesday 15th October 2019
After days of dramatic coastal walking, today’s walk revealed a gentler side to the Cornish coast. After an initial boggy low-level path from Coverack out to Lowland Point the route skirts round the coastal side of a quarry. A sign warns that blasting may occur between 10am and 6pm but at 9:55 there was a…
Helford Passage to Falmouth: Wednesday 16th October 2019
My final day on the SWCP this year and another relatively easy walk through a gentle, attractive land and seascape. I caught the bus back to Trebah Gardens and walked downhill to the little collection of houses that is Durgan. The path then contoured through woods and fields above the Helford estuary to Rosemullion Head…
Walking in my Dad’s footsteps: the South West Coastal Path 