80 Trebarwith Strand - Tintagel - Boscastle

Trebarwith Strand

We set out from Trebarwith Strand: the tide was in and no beach was visible, just a large slab of rock. Gull Rock continued to dominate the horizon. We then made the steep climb up to the cliff-top, seeing our first Painted Ladies of the day, and soon had an impressive view back.

The route now continued at a comfortable cliff top level and we continued to see more Painted Ladies. At the end of this section we passed above a series of quarries, one of which had left behind an impressive column of rock. But why? 

We passed behind the two Penhallic Points (Lower and Higher), noticing the white sails of some boats out to sea, the first we have seen on this trip. Approaching Tintagel, we saw the imposing spire of the isolated church of St Materiana. Pevsner calls it the best small Norman church in Cornwall.

Soon after that we had our first view of the great rocky island, linked to the mainland by a narrow footbridge. 

We made a visit and learned that the great castle of Richard Earl of Cornwall from 1233 was in fact in two parts, one on the mainland and the larger on the island. The association with King Arthur is even older and goes back to Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the English kings of 1133. 

We saw a seal in Tintagel Haven …

 … and several Scarlet Tiger moths flying around on the hillside.

There was also a great view of the next headland, Barras Nose, notable for being the first piece of coast to be owned by the National Trust. From this angle you can begin to see why it might be called Barras Nose.

After we finished our exploration of Tintagel, we resumed the Coast Path, passing behind Barras Nose and following the cliff round to the next headland Willapark, with the Two Sisters rocks just off it (the smaller sister is hidden behind the larger one). Beyond this a pleasant bay opened up with Firebeacon Hill and a large rock (Long Island!) at its end. The coast here was quite indented and we wondered what it would be like.

Soon we descended a little, but still passed high above the exquisite Bosinney Cove.

After a short climb we followed a broad grassy path towards Rocky Valley. This turned out to a well-named and absolutely beautiful winding river valley flowing into the sea. as it wound its way inland the valley opened and became picturesque rather than dramatic.

After a long steep climb up from the valley bottom, we continued at a high level. Soon a view towards a second headland called Willapool opened up. The white lookout station was clearly visible on top of the headland. I liked the large rock on the right, which seemed to me to suggest a dog or bear sitting upright. It appears that no-one else has spotted this.

A wide grassy path descended to another inlet and after a steep climb we passed inland of the second Willapool and its lookout station. I loved the pony to the right and imagined that the lookout had ridden to work. A notice explained that ponies were being grazed on the headland, so perhaps that was the explanation.

I had thought the Boscastle lay just beyond this headland but the path continued relentlessly onwards towards a sort of inlet. What could it be?

As we turned the corner, we discovered the good news: it was the mouth of the long, narrow harbour.

As the harbour ended a river began. It was as though we had suddenly been transported to the Cotswolds. Boscastle of course suffered terrible flash flooding in 2004 as the result of heavy rain. Happily, physically at least, it is now restored.

Conditions: Warm and sunny - a beautiful day to on the coast. Others clearly thought so too and this was the most crowded section of the coast path we have yet walked on.

Grading: Moderate.

Map: Explorer 111 (Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel).

Distance: 6.8 miles. Distance now covered 489.1 miles.

Rating: Five stars. One of the best and most varied sections.

59 Praa Sands to Penzance

We rejoin the Coast Path at the lovely Praa Sands. (We pronounce the name as Pra, but our taxi driver, Ian, tells us the locals pronounce it Pray.) As we climb up away from the beach there is a nice view back which includes one of last time's surprises, Pengersick Castle. The RNLI lifeguards can also be seen on the beach getting ready for another day's work.

We pass round the back of Hoe Point and the wide sweep of Kenneggy Sand lies before us.

On the left is what seems to be a large private house, unusually positioned right on the shoreline. We walked around the back of the cove, past some holiday cottages and behind the large house to then pass Bessy Cove. A little further on we were delighted to see Fulmars nesting in the cliffs above Piskies Cove.

We were now seeing lots of Gatekeeper butterflies: the first of the year. We also saw five or six examples of the rather splendid Magpie Moth.

Soon we reached Cudden Point which offered a good view back along the rocky coastline. 

The next section followed a cliff top path with the same sort of rocky ledges below and as we approached Perranuthnoe we had our first clear view of St Michael's Mount under increasingly cloudy skies.

We paused for an early lunch at the excellent Victoria pub in Perranuthnoe and continued, now in drizzle, towards Marazion. St Michael's Mount and its causeway became progressively clearer, but the weather showed no sign of improving.

Probably the most interesting view was from Marazion, with the tide coming in and the narrow causeway mostly under water. St Michael's Mount was given to the Benedictines, the same order as had possession of Mont Saint Michel in France by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. There are still remnants of a 12th abbey and castle. The abbey was sold after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, passing into the hands of the St Aubyn family in 1657. The family still live there, although the property is now owned by the National Trust. 

It remained only to walk the 2.5 miles to Penzance along the footpath at the back of the wide sandy beach. This was not enhanced by the poor state of the footpath or by the increasing gloom and drizzle.

We passed the Jubilee Pool on the way to our B&B. It dates from 1935 and is in restrained art deco style. From the outside the white painted concrete seems excessively functional and rather ugly.

But the internal view has a kind of stern elegance. The pool is currently shut because of storm damage, so of which can be seen in the picture and there is doubt about whether it will reopen. It is Britain's largest remaining lido.

Opposite is the art deco Yacht Inn.

It's not on the coast, but I can't leave this post about Penzance without mentioning the Egyptian House in Chapel St.

This extraordinary building dates from 1835-6 and was built for John Lavin as a showroom for his mineral and fossil dealership. (Why this required an Egyptian theme is less obvious, although Pevsner implies it was something of a fashion at the time.)

Conditions: mild but grey, later on drizzle then rain.

Distance: 8.9 miles (distance now covered 356.6 miles.

Map: Explorer 102 (Land's End).

Grading: Moderate.

Rating: four stars.

39 Mount Batten to Cremyll Ferry

The Citadel from Mount Batten Point

Now for the final stretch of the Coast Path in Devon. We pick up the route at Mount Batten and pause to enjoy the view across the Sound to the Citadel, with the celebrated Plymouth Hoe on the left. We walk round past the marina and climb to then get a comprehensive view across the area known as Cattewater - the estuary of the River Plym. There is a just-so story to account for the odd name: there was allegedly once a rock formation which looked rather like a cat.

As we entered Turnchapel we saw the first of many variations on the usual methods of signing: finger posts and yellow arrows on low posts, both usually having the familiar acorn symbol. The idea with this older version was presumably that the appropriate directional arrow would be painted white.

Turnchapel has the character of a fishing village, with its neat cheerfully painted houses. Most have a doorcase, although in the case of the one on the extreme left it is painted on.

Passing behind some seemingly abandoned wharves, we followed a creek round to pass a new housing development on the end of Hooe Lake.

The lake itself has an interesting mixture of industrial buildings and hulks of old ships around its edges and at the far end what looks like a small castle. We followed a mixture of urban and woodland paths around the lake, passing another novel sign post on the way ...

... and emerged at Radford Castle, looking derelict and unloved. It sits on a dam separating the tidal Hooe Lake from the freshwater Radford Lake. All I can turn up on it is that it is "an early 19th century folly".

It has to be said that the next few miles were fairly grim: boat yards, light industrial areas, a length of the A379, chemical plants, more light industry. Not like anything previously seen on this scale in two hundred miles of coast! Of course Plymouth is by far the biggest urban settlement we have passed through and the most industrialised.

Eventually, we emerged onto a hedged tarmac path in Coxside which offers a great view back across the Sound to Mount Batten.

In the ivy hedgerow, alerted by a flash of orange, we spotted a Garden Tiger moth: staggeringly beautiful.

And at the end of the path, there is the ultimate signpost-cum-waymark. We saw other less dramatic variants too: red arrows on stone and red metal finger posts high up at right-angles on lampposts.

We pass the uninspiring National Aquarium building, cross the footbridge across the mouth of Sutton Harbour and reach the busy Barbican. It is too crowded and messy to be worth photographing. We continue along the harbourside to pass beneath the massive Citadel.

This picture shows one end. It was built in 1666 by Charles II and incorporated an earlier fort of Drake's time. Charles seems to have wanted to promote Plymouth as a cross-channel port and may also have had it in mind that the town supported Parliament in the still-recent Civil War - the guns were able to fire into the town as well as out across the Sound. It would have been nice to see the baroque Portal.

There was now a great opportunity to see Plymouth's newly refurbished art deco Tinside Lido, albeit looking into the sun. It originally opened in 1935 and was closed in 1992. It reopened after massive renovation in 2005.

Now we reached the famous Hoe. The first thing that struck us was the art deco column on the far side. It is in fact a war memorial to sailors who died at sea. After the First World War an Admiralty committee recommended that the three "manning" ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would also serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, with sculpture by Henry Poole. The Plymouth Naval Memorial was unveiled by HRH Prince George on 29 July 1924. We saw the one in Portsmouth in February 2012 without realising that it was one of a trio.

Walking back towards the sea gives a fantastic view of Smeaton's Tower. This was once the third Eddystone Lighthouse, completed in 1759 and in use until 1877 when it was found to be unstable. The upper part was dismantled and relocated here as a memorial to its designer John Smeaton. The foundations and stub of the old tower remain on the Eddystone Rocks, close to the current lighthouse.

We walked through West Hoe to reach the monumental French chateau-style Duke of Cornwall hotel, which dates from 1863.

We somehow lost our way here and headed towards the Cremyll Ferry by a route that took us past the
imposing Royal Marine Barracks at Stonehouse. It dates from 1784, but the majority is mid 19th century.

At the the end of the walk, by the ferry, was the extraordinary entrance to the Royal William Victualling Yard. It dates from 1826-35 and was the work of Sir John Rennie. The 13 foot high figure on the top of the arch is the reigning monarch, William IV. The victualling work of the Yard is symbolised by the bulls' heads and tools on the facade.

Conditions: clear, sunny and warm.

Distance: 7.5 miles. We have now completed the coast of South Devon. Next stop Cornwall!

Map: Explorer 108 (Lower Tamar Valley and Plymouth).

Rating: Four stars for the best bits, but a lot was very dreary.