Wild Weather
Saturday 3 November, 2018
Today was divided into three sections and I could have stopped at either Porthcurnow after 11 km, or Lamorna after 19 km; but I got a case of the stubborn and walked right through to Mousehole. Tired doesn’t really cover it, but I was determined to walk into this beautiful village on my own feet (for the uninitiated, it’s pronounced Mowzle!).
The path today turned the corner pretty early on: from Sennen Cove, it’s only about 2 km to Lands End, so from then on I was pretty much heading East and North for the first time. I’ve still got to pass the Lizard on Wednesday – that’s the southernmost point on the mainland of England.
It didn’t feel too windy to start with, but by the time I had got to Penberth, in the mid-afternoon, the sea was rising and it was quite gusty. Porthcurno is supposed to have lovely beaches, but they were swallowed up by the tide and the southerly gale pushing the water across the beaches. No surfing today!
All the little fishing villages are much diminished and are now surrounded by lovely houses, many of them holiday homes. Penberth still has the capstan that was used to haul the boats up the slip. It’s now replaced by a powered winch: not enough men to man the bars.
I ended up staggering in after 24 km of walking and I really felt it after the last few kilometres. Where I am staying is lovely and one minute from the pub, which is all you would imagine a Cornish pub would be. A shout out to St Austels Lager: if you see it, drink it. A much easier Sunday beckons, past Newlyn, hunting pirates in Penzance and on to Marazion and St Michael’s Mount.
