Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)

127b Mawgan Porth to Porthcothan

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

I am hungry and looking forward to lunch as I walk down into Mawgan Porth.

Despite the bad start to the morning, it has turned into a beautiful day. Perhaps it’s the weather, or perhaps it’s because it is a Sunday, but I have met an unusual number of walkers along this section of the South West Coast Path.

I find a pub and sit outside, overlooking the beach. Unfortunately the fish cakes are ‘off’, but the cook kindly makes me a children’s size portion of fish and chips. Plenty big enough for me! Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walker | 8 Comments

127a Newquay to Mawgan Porth

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

I wake up to grey skies and drizzle. Having asked for an early breakfast (earning a disapproving grunt from the B&B landlord), I feel I must get up. My heart sinks. Another day of walking in the rain. I can barely face it.

But, by the time I’ve set off along the streets of Newquay, the sun is shining and my spirits lift. The weather forecast was right after all. It is going to be a glorious day.

Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walk | 10 Comments

126 Newquay

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

One of the disadvantages of long distance walking is that you have to keep moving base. The BBC weather forecast warns me it will rain all day and so I have chosen today to move to a new B&B in Newquay.

As soon as I leave the Portreath Arms, pulling my suitcase behind me, it starts to rain. Luckily the bus stop is very close by and it has a canopy. In the shelter I set about texting every member of my family, telling them I am moving and it is raining. (What did we do before the days of smart phones?)

For the rest of the day it pours with rain. The downpour is relentless Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walking | 2 Comments

125 Perranporth to Newquay

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

I catch the bus from Portreath, arriving in Perranporth at 11:00 am. A late start which gives me 5 hours of walking time to cover the 10 miles to Newquay, and a spare 20 minutes in which to find the bus station.

Perranporth Beach looks lovely. The sands have been manicured, flattened and swept clean by some sort of machine. There are chairs, windbreaks, beach volley ball, sandcastles.

Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, photography, travel, walking | 4 Comments

124b St Agnes to Perranporth

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

The walk from St Agnes’ Head to Perranporth is spectacularly beautiful. As I set off along the cliffs, I could see the rocks below were pockmarked with caves. This is a wonderland for divers.

It is difficult to describe the drama of St Agnes. Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, mining ruins, photography, travel | 6 Comments

124a – Portreath to St Agnes Head

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

I set off early from Portreath. The beach is deserted and I can look back at the headland I walked over yesterday. It doesn’t seem as steep as I remembered.

I follow a road that winds as it climbs up the hill, losing the sea view. I am looking forward to branching off on the coast path, but I soon come across a common problem. Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walking | 8 Comments

123 Hayle to Portreath

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

The bus from Portreath to Hayle Towans is a double-decker today and I want to sit in the front seat at the top, to enjoy the views. Frustratingly a man and his child are in one seat and a couple are in the other. Damn. But then I recognise the woman in the couple: an old work colleague from Lincolnshire! Coincidence. We chat all the way to Hayle Towans and neither of us gets to see much of the view.

It has rained overnight and the morning is dull. Hayle Towans beach (3 miles of sand) stretches out in front of me, curving around to Godrevy Point and Godrevy Island with its lighthouse.

Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walking | 5 Comments

122 – St Ives to Hayle

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

I am staying in Portreath and catch the Greyhound Express to St Ives. The ride is wonderful with extensive sea views most of the way. There are only three of us on the bus until we hit the holiday camp at Hayle Towans. After that, it is standing room only.

The tiny bus station at St Ives is perched on a hill and the bus requires careful manoeuvring to get in and out. There is a grand view of St Ives harbour.
I head down and eastwards, away from the harbour and towards the railway station. From Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, hiking, photography, travel, walk | 5 Comments

121 – St Ives (cont)

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

The first beach I come to in St Ives is called Porthmeor Beach. I stop and have a cup of tea and a cream scone in a café overlooking the beach. I opt for a booth out of the sun. It is 4:30 pm but still blazing hot.

Artists come to St Ives Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Cornwall | Tagged coast, cornwall, st ives, travel, walking | 5 Comments

121 Gurnard’s Head to St Ives

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Ruth Livingstone

The number 508 bus should take me back to the Gurnard Head Hotel. Unfortunately, Western Greyhound does not run a service on Sundays. (Why ever not?!) So I have an expensive taxi-ride from Penzance to Treen.

Too excited to look at my map properly, I head off along the nearest footpath, only to find I am nowhere near the sea and about to rejoin the main road. Wrong path! Never mind I take a photo of the hotel across the fields.