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Posts Tagged With: Hiking in England
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Categories: My books, Reg’s Books, Scottish Highlands and beyond, South West Coast Path, The Way of Saint Francis, The Way of St Francis, Tour du Mont Blanc
Tags: adventure, Adventure/Memoir, Crater Lake National Park, England’s Longest National Trail, European long-distance trails, European trekking, hiking, Hiking in England, long distance trekking, South West Coast Path, The Way of Saint Francis, The Way of St Francis, The Way of St. Francis, Tour du Mont Blanc, trekking, Trekking Book, West Highland Way
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South West Coast Path: The Checkered Flag is in Sight
As pleasant as the above scene looks, Sunday morning brought horrendously strong winds to the area, foiling the plans of any walker in his or her right mind. Our host was kind enough to keep our packs for us until we could catch the afternoon bus to Pendeen, our stop for the night.
The photos really don’t do the wind justice, but trust me, it was howling. Fortunately, St. Ives is home to the Tate, where we wandered through 10 galleries of modern art, pretending to understand what we saw.
The mine closed in 1990, but a museum and underground tour (complete with hard hats), are both available to the public. We skipped past the big ticket items and wandered down to check out the ruins of the original North Levant mine.
Tomorrow we will arrive at Land’s End, our stopping point and the end of our South West Coast Path adventure. We really hope to walk the last section…rain or shine. We’ll see what the morning brings.
Categories: South West Coast Path
Tags: Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, Cornwall, Geevor tin mine, hiking, Hiking in England, landscapes, Long Distance Hiking, long distance trekking, Pendeen, photography, Photos, seascapes, South West Coast Path, St. Ives, travel, Walking in England, Walking The South West Coast Path
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South West Coast Path: Making Memories
There are so many more memories to capture beyond the beautiful scenery of the South West Coast Path. Here are a few of our favorites.
Categories: South West Coast Path
Tags: England, England’s Longest National Trail, hiking, Hiking in England, Long Distance Hiking, long distance trekking, Making Memories, photography, Photos, South West Coast Path, travel, Travel in England, Walking in England, Walking The South West Coast Path, walks
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South West Coast Path: Porthcothan to Newquay
We expected rain, but today was a beautiful day for a walk.
South West Coast Path: Old Friends and New Friends
We enjoyed a spectacular afternoon today with our friend Ian, who just happened to be on holiday, visiting with longtime friend Julie and her family in the big white house pictured above. The photo on the right is the view from the front room. A gorgeous setting that is situated right along the South West Coast Path.
We took a short walk to Polzeath Beach, a popular surfing beach. Then, Julie treated us to a delicious home cooked mid-day meal, a wonderful treat after 2 weeks on the trail. We felt terribly spoiled as Ian later drove us (through the pouring rain) to our B&B in Padstow. A great big thank you to Ian, Julie and her family for sharing the afternoon with us!
South West Coast Path: A Ten-Hour Workout
We hit the trail at 7:30 this morning in anticipation of what our guidebook described as “one of the hardest days of the path.” We left Hartland Quay just as the sun was rising, and set our sights on Bude, 15 miles away.
We continued on, racking up a total of 10 major descents, crossing creeks that flowed into the ocean. For every drop in elevation, the path climbed right back up the other side of the ravine, leaving us huffing and puffing most of the day.
At the end of the day, according to our guidebook, we had conquered 4,500 feet of ascent… and as everyone knows, what goes up, must come down! The math makes my feet hurt. We have never, on any of our treks, experienced such elevation gain and loss in any one day. But we did it today, and now that this day is nearly behind us, we will sleep well, hoping that this was the hardest day for us.
South West Coast Path: Who Cares About All Those Stairs?
Especially when we can enjoy the cute little village of Clovelly this evening!
South West Coast Path: Westward Ho!
No, we’re not heading home just yet. Westward Ho!, our stop for the night, was named for Charles Kingsley, the 19th century author of the novel Westward Ho!. The exclamation point is always included, punctuating the seaside resort town with an expectation of excitement.
We’ve passed many harbors and rivers at low tide, so we were excited to finally see the effects of the high tide. As the tide came in, the River Torridge water levels rose, floating all the boats and creating an idyllic scene…at least until the tide raced out again, leaving boats grounded, waiting for the cycle to begin again.
Today was the last of our easy, flat days for near future. Tomorrow we will again follow the contours of the coastal cliffs. The guidebook warns of steep ups and down. Can’t wait!
South West Coast Path: A Mad Scramble for a Room
Our restful two nights ended in a flurry of anxiety when I discovered an email last night buried in our junk folder. Our reservation for tonight (Saturday), one that had been confirmed last February, had been canceled! Madly searching for an alternative proved fruitless Friday night, everyplace we called was booked. Finally, this morning, after some determination and creative problem solving, we found an alternative and managed to avoid a night on the park bench.
This morning the path led us out of Braunton, upstream alongside the River Taw to Barnstaple where we stopped for tea, then crossed the river, where we turned and followed the same river back downstream to Instow. Not the most inspiring walk, but the sun was shining and we knew we’d have a roof over our heads at the end of the day.
I suggested we grab a bottle of gas station wine and some KFC from the takeout next to our room. I was tired, but while I was showering Reg made other plans. “We’ll have to walk about a mile, he said, but I found a pub that looks like it might be a little better than Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
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