Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)

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 →

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 →

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.

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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.

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I catch the number 10 bus from Penzance to Botallack. The driver corrects my pronunciation. It’s BOW-ta-lack, not Bo-TA-lack.

From the village I try to take a footpath towards the coast but soon end up lost in a field and have to double back, eventually finding the same boring gravel track I walked along yesterday.

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People say that Land’s End is a disappointing place – dominated by a large hotel and shopping complex, and an even larger car park. Yes, I thought the Lizard was more attractive, both in ambience and scenery. But Land’s End is Land’s End and will always have a special significance for long-distance walkers.

I take a photograph of my husband standing in front of the hotel. Then he sets off on the long drive back to Lincolnshire and I start walking, on my own, heading for Botallack.
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