Polzeath to Pentire Glaze

We parked the car at New Polzeath and followed  the South West Coast Path towards Pentire Head.  There were beautiful views  all along this walk and it was not too strenuous, although up and down at times, particularly where the path had to be diverted inland due to cliff falls.  In total we walked about 6 miles.

Polzeath beach as seen from New Polzeath

 The first bay we came to after a short walk was Pentire Glaze Haven and we were surprised what a lovely beach this was that as deserted,

There was gorse growing on the cliff edges making the walk even prettier.

When we approached the Rumps we thought it looked like a dinosour.

Along the way we had seen the occasional bluebell, just coming out, but they were more prolific after we had walked past the Rumps, and the bluebells were out further.

There were clear signs from the coast path to the National Trust car parks and when we reached the sign to Pentire Glaze we followed this path inland back to the car park, then walked down the road until we came to a footpath that took us down to Pentire Glaze Haven.

When we got back to the car we carried on walking down to Polzeath beach.  Having crossed the beach we had a cup of tea a the TubeStation overlooking the beach before heading home.

Par to Charlestown

We took the train to Par, then walked from the railway station down to the coast path.  The first part of this walk was through Par village then the industrial area, with the china clay port to one side and not very attractive.  But once we had left Par it was much more scenic.

As soon as we had left the industrial area we came to a lovely isolated beach where we stopped for lunch.

Looking back to Par Beach

We then walked along low cliffs by the side of a golf course.  At times the path had to go into the golf course because of cliff  slips.  Eventually we could see Carlyon Bay below, but we did not go down to the beach.  We continued on walk across green fields.  There were some gentle ups and downs, but nothing severe, it was an easy walk compared to others on the South West Coast Path.

As we approached Charlestown we came to a Coastwatch station.  The volunteer manning this explained about their work.  There was a wonderful view of all St Austell Bay from this hut.

Carlyon Bay from Coastwatch Station

As we walked down to Charlestown harbour we saw how busy it was.  We realised that this was because filming was taking place for Poldark.  We spent a pleasant hour wandering around the craft shops and art galleries in the village and eating ice cream while sitting in the sun.  It seemed a very nice village.  We then walked up to the bus stop and caught the bus to St Austell railway station for the journey home.

Babbacombe to Maidencombe

We caught the train then buses to get to St Mary's Church from where we walked down to the South West Coast Path.  We had been here before, when we walked  to Torquay, but this time we went in the opposite direction.  There were some lovely glimpses of the sea, but we were too far back from the edge to have a view all the time.  Some of this was our chosing as we went on a parallel path further back through woodland rather that up and down the cliffs around Shag Cliff.

Looking towards Torquay

 After Watcombe we climbed through the Valley of the Rocks.  The description of this in the SW Coast Path guide had put me off doing this walk in the past, but the "ledge hacked out of the cliff" was not as bad as it sounded.

Again when there was a choice of two paths we took the inland path through woodland, but headed back to the S W Coast Path after a while.  When we reached Maidencombe we knew a bus was due shortly so hurried straight up to the main road - a steep hill.  Next time we will start walking the next section of the Coast Path from Maidencombe and explore the beach before we walk to Teignmouth.

View of the Jurassic Coast

Boscastle Farm Shop to Forrabury

It had been many years since we visited Boscastle so thought it was time to re-visit this Cornish village.  Searching the South West Coast Path website I found a new walk starting at the Boscastle Farm Shop and Cafe.  This looked a very nice place and so we decided to  follow this walk.  It only took 1.25 hours to get there and we were very impressed with the setting.  There were wonderful views out to sea and up and down the coast from the cafe.  Two sides of the building were windows to make the most of the panoramic views.  It was a pity the service was slow, but you can't complain with the views.

It was only a short walk to the coast path.  Initially we walked away from Boscastle as I wanted to see the waterfall in the next valley.  However, it was a very steep climb down and back so, after going half way we decided to return and leave that for another day.  We continued along the coast path and before long came to a point where we could look back and see the waterfall.  It was not very impressive and so we did not regret not walking further to see it.

We continued along the coast path, with good views up and down the coast all the way.  Unfortunately most of the plants like heather and sea thrift had finished flowering, I am sure it would have been really prettier earlier in the year.  I had also read that there are seals around this coast, but we did not see any.  However, we did spot a peregrine falcon on Penally Hill, which we climbed to get a good view of Boscastle Harbour as we approached it.

We wound our way down to Boscastle Harbour and then explored the shops in this pretty village before climbing up the other side, eventually rejoining the coast path and continuing up to Willapark.

 The white tower at the top of this drew us and we climbed the hill to reach the top and admire the views up and down the coast.

We returned to Boscastle along the coastal path and after an excellent ice cream we followed the 'Panoramic Path' along the side of the valley, which came out at the road down to Boscastle.  There was a public footpath through fields parallel to the road and this took us directly back to the Farm Shop and Cafe.

Lansallos to Pencarrow Head

We drove to Lansallos and walked from the National Trust car park down to the coast through a pleasant green sunken path beside a stream.  At West Coombe we walked west towards Pencarrow Head.  The path went up and down steeply at times but the views along the coast were great and we were able to look down on coves and beaches.

Once we had walked around Pencarrow Head we continued on the South West Coast path until we came to the path that led up to the road and car park at Churchtown Farm.  We then walked back along the road until we came to a footpath that led across fields and through woods back to Lansallos.

Many times during this walk we had to go over walls.  Stones had been set in the walls to act as steps, but nevertheless it was not easy with big drops.

This was not an easy walk

Perranport to St Agnes,and around Lands End and Bedruthan Steps

These are walks that we did at the begninning of August.  I wrote about it in my Holiday blog, but forgot to put details in this blog.  So although I am adding it in September it is over month out of date.

From Perran Sands Caravan Sit we walked across the dunes into Perranporth and then followed the South West Coast Path along to St Agnes.  There was a lot of remains of mine working and the path was was rough with stones some of the time.  The heather and gorse was out and the colours were vibrant and made the coastline even more attractive.

  The walk was mainly flat until near the end, where there was a steep hill down, then a steep climb up the other side and we had to climb up a hill to get to St Agnes village to catch the bus back.

The next day we caught the train to St Ives then the Open Top Bus to Lands End.  From there
 we set off  to walk along the south of the Coast Path.  Again there was heather and gorse to make the scenery even more spectacular.  We walked until we came to a slope heading down a valley.  We could see a steep climb up the other side so decided it was time to turn around.

On our way home we stopped at Bedruthan Steps and walked from the car park in both directions along the coast path.  There was not any heather on the path towards and around Park Head but in the other direction there was a lovely display.

Weymouth and Portland

A holiday in Weymouth allowed us to do a new part of the South West Coast Path.    This was different to other parts in that it was mainly flat.  The weather was good for 3 days of our holiday but after the second day visibility was not good so unfortunately we could not see far down the coast.

On our first evening we walked around Weymouth itself.  The central beach was lovely and sandy and I was pleased to see sand sculptures which Weymouth is famous for. There was plenty of activity in the harbour, with a ferry off loading cars.

The next day we walked from Weymouth to Portland. On the outward journey we took the inland route of the Rodwell Trail, which followed an old rail track.  This met the South West Coast Path by Sandsfoot Castle.  We walked across Ferrybridge into Portland and then along the coast until we had passed the sailing centre.  We then turned around  and walked all the way back on the south west coast path.

After a wet day when we visited Abbotsbury we did another part of the coast path the following day.  Initially we walked eastwards from the centre of Weymouth along the beach until we came to the Lodmoor RSPB reserve.  We walked around this and then turned back to Weymouth.

After a quick rest we caught the bus to Portland and got out at the end and walked down to the South West Coast Path.  It was unfortunate that the poor visibility meant we could not see down the coast.  We walked around the coast until we came to the lighthouse at Portland Bill.  After lunch we continued walking down the other side of Portland.  This was a different kind of walk as we picked our way along the stony path past quarries of portland stone.  Eventually we came back to Southwell to catch the bus back to Weymouth.

On our way home we stopped at Hive Beach and walked along the coast for while.  We then went on to Charmouth and Lyme Regis.

Hive Beach

Lyme Regis Cobb