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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Lamorna Cove is, I am sure, a beautiful place. But this morning it is shrouded in fog. I look back across the cove, trying to make out the route that I walked yesterday. The path winds treacherously above the shoreline. In the distance is the craggy mass of Carn-du.
I set off from Perranuthnoe in brilliant sunshine. My plan for today is to walk through Penzance and Mousehole and to finish my walk in Lamorna Cove. It is a long way. I’m using an Explorer OS Map – more detailed than my usual Landranger Map – and the distance seems huge. I’m nervous already.
The BBC weather forecast today is ‘wet’. The BBC rarely lets us down.
But it is still dry when I start walking along the side of Porthleven Harbour. I stop to take photographs and to allow a group of walkers go on ahead of me. There are around 10 of them and they seem to have an official leader. I rather hoped they would be heading the other way, but no, they were walking the same way as me. I prefer walking alone, so I hang back to get some distance between us.
The sky is grey. My husband drops me off in the small car park at Predannack and I walk through fields, past cattle, to pick up the South West Coast Path again.
I rejoin the South West Coast Path next to The Housel Hotel, standing and taking photos from the exact same place as last time. The rock at the end of the promontory is called Bumble Rock. It looks like a cat to me.
I wake up early to the noise of roaring traffic. What are all those cars going at this time in the morning? Then I realise – the sound I’m hearing is the crashing of waves beneath my window.
Getting to the start point of today’s walk is easy. I walk out of the Paris Hotel and I am on the South West Coast Path, heading southwards towards Chynhalis Point. The only place in Coverack closer to the sea is a house, ahead, perched by the water.
Today the forecast is good – intermittent sunshine and no rain. Yippee! Below is the view from my bedroom window in the B&B at Porthallow.
Last night I slept with the window open to hear the sound of the sea. Continue reading
It took me seven hours of travelling time and four different trains, but I am down in Cornwall for another three days of coastal walking along the South West Coast Path.
But I am on my own. This is both exhilarating and anxiety-provoking.
Without my husband, and with no public transport service operating along my route, I am entirely reliant on my two legs to get me from A to B. I’ve planned the itinerary more carefully than normal, with shorter walks than usual and pre-booking a series of B&Bs along the way. My luggage is being transported by http://www.luggagetransfers.co.uk/.
What could possibly go wrong?
Hmmm. Let’s see. What could go wrong? Continue reading
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Ceredigion Llanrhystud (21 day emergency closure from 15 October 2026) Presence of dangerous cattle on the path near Tregynan, Llanrhystud. en until 05-11-2026 Above is the detail given for the emergency closure of a section of the coast path in Wales. The decision was taken by Ceredigion County Council according to press reports, but there […]
Incident No: 1319Date: 14.08.26Site: 51.6221725, -2.5476959 Near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire1 cow, 1 walker, no dogDescription: “I was going to walk across the field, it was open with no warning signs. A cow was staring at me, I didn’t think much about it and just kept my distance. It took a few steps towards me so […]
ncident No: 1318Date: 13.10.26Site: Timberscombe Common, Timberscombe near Minehead, Somerset1 horse, 1 pony and rider. Group of cows. Sophie’s Report : “I was hacking my horse back along the bridleway across the centre of the common towards the village, when the cows saw me and charged at me. My horse and the pony I was […]
