Day 13 Portwrinkle to Plymouth 13

Our final day of walking this session and the sun was still shining. The only dark cloud was Margaret's back that was still giving her problems.
First we had to descend the steep hill into Portwrinkle itself that we hadn't had the energy to see yesterday.

Portwrinkle

Portwrinkle was a bigger place than I had expected it to be  with plenty of parking spaces for visitors. The path then crossed a golf course on it;s way to Tregantle Fort. Fiona had warned us that the red flags were flying today and we would be unable to take the path through the fort area. Luckily the alternative path alongside the road was a slightly less undulating experience.

Tregantle Fort

We managed to find a cafe at Whitsand Bay holiday centre where there are many holiday chalets. We didn't linger too long as sitting was still uncomfortable for Margaret so we pressed on to Rame Head. I was now on familiar territory as I had walked all the next part of the walk before so I didn't climb Rame Head to see the chapel on the top, been there done that, although Margaret did. You just can't stop these 'A' walkers!

Next the neighbouring villages of Cawsand and Kingsand where I had my last ice cream of the holiday.

Seen on a wall between the two villages. Plastic waste is becoming a big problem.

 All that remained now was a stroll through Mount Edgecombe Country Park, a cup of tea in the Orangery and a trip on the Cremyll Ferry taking us out of Cornwall and into Devon.

Mount Edgecombe Country Park

The Orangery

Cremyll Ferry

Another mile to find our hotel for the night and then we could flake out on the bed, order a taxi to the station tomorrow and tick Cornwall off the list.
Margaret had walked over 155 miles and I had walked about 105 miles. Somerset, North Devon and Cornwall done, only South Devon and Dorset to go next year!

Day 12 Polperro to Portwrinkle 12.5

We were awoken this morning by the sound of a song thrush singing away outside our window. A pleasant change from squawking gulls. This was to be my last time for taking the bus and only the first 5 miles  as far as Looe where I would be joining Margaret for the rest of the walk.
After leaving Polperro the first place you come to is Talland Bay where Richard and Judy have a house.

Talland Bay

On the approach to Looe you pass Looe Island which was bought by two sisters in 1965. They lived there for rest of their lives and both lived into their 80's. The island was left to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

I hadn't been in Looe very long when I spotted Margaret arriving across the river.

We had realised that we had been in Cornwall for 12 days and hadn't yet had a cream tea so Margaret found online Daisy's Cafe and we went there for a cream lunch! Even the scones were daisy shaped and it was a lovely, friendly cafe situated on the SWCP but slightly away from the main shops. Do go there if you are ever in East Looe.

Afetr leaving Looe we nearly got held up by a highway man as we climbed a steep hill out of Millendreath..

Looe

Millendreath

 When you reach Seaton there is the option of walking along the sea wall and then the beach to Downderry. There are signs all the way along the sea wall telling coastal walkers not to use this but to walk up the road instead. Of course we turned a blind eye to these signs and had an uneventful walk managing to overcome 'the uneven surface!' without any problem.

We then had a lovely tea stop in the memorial garden overlooking the coast before walking along the cliffs to Portwrinkle.

At Portwrinkle we were staying in The Bungalow which we knew was a five minute walk up a very steep hill. We could see it from some distance away even though I thought it was a stable!

Annette and Graham were staying there too and were already there when we arrived. It was a lovely place to stay and the owner, Fiona is a lovely lady.

Cheers!

Day 11 Par to Polperro 14

Margaret woke with a bit of back trouble this morning. OK when walking but sitting was a problem and putting on socks an even bigger problem!
There were no staff around when we went down to breakfast and all we had was cereal and orange juice that we had been promised yesterday.. I had to search for somebody to pay before we left and yes I was sorely tempted to walk out!
I went with Margaret to see her off on the bus to Par and who should get off the bus in Fowey than Annette and Graham. They had had a miserable night in Par and decided they needed time to see Fowey, a wise decision. I acted as tour guide for them and told them where to buy the best saffron buns in Cornwall.....the Quay Bakery of course. After a coffee sitting by the river at The Galleon they crossed over to Polruan in the ferry to start their day's walk.
Meanwhile Margaret, who didn't have any missing sections walked from Par to Polperro where I joined her later.

Polkerris

daymark at Gribben Head

Polridmouth

Readymoney Cove Fowey

Point Neptune House

This is where Dawn French lives at Readymoney Cove, Fowey.

Crossing on the ferry to Polruan

Polruan

Lantic Bay

There are several steep ascents and descents between Polruan and Polperro which I have walked many times in the past. This time I took the local community bus to Polperro which is quite an experience. The driver Alan was born in Rotherham where I was born and takes his dog on the bus with him. All the locals know each other and get dropped off outside their houses. It is all very friendly and uplifting.

I duly arrived in Polperro and had the customary ice cream before climbing up to the coast path to await the arrival of Margaret. Of course who should I see but Annette and Graham again as they finished their walk for the day. They were getting used to me reading my book on various seats on the coast path and I think they were quite convinced that I wasn't doing any walking at all!

Polperro

The Shell House

 Polperro is a delightful place to be on a sunny evening when all the crowds have gone home and this was the first time I had been here in the evening. We had a lovely meal at 'The Green House' and managed to avoid the battered seagull advertised elsewhere!

We were staying at Penryn House Hotel which was very nice and a very reasonable price.

Day 10 Mevagissey to Par 10.5

Honeycombe House B&B in Mevagissey has one of the best views on the SWCP from the breakfast room overlooking the harbour and the sea. It is set on the hill away from the crowds and is a great place to stay.

Once again Margaret set off by herself, in much better weather this time, to walk as far as Par. I spent some time in Mevagissey before catching the bus to Charlestown where I would meet Margaret for the last 3 miles.

Harbour with the tide out doesn't look so good!

Margaret;s path to Pentewan was fairly straighforward but after that there were a lot of ups and downs. The first time I did it I vowed never to do it again but I must have done it at least four times in the past but not on this occasion! These are some of my photos from 2004 when I walked about 20 miles from Fowey to Gorran Haven......those were the days!

Pentewan

Black Head

memorial to the Cornish poet A L Rouse

Porthpean

By the time Margaret reached Porthpean I had arrived at Charlestown where I sat and waited for her. I saw Annette and Graham again just before Margaret arrived.

Charlestown

There are always old wooden sailing ships to be seen in Charlestown Harbour and if you have the time you can pay to go on board and have a look around. We didn't have the time as we had another three miles to go to Par. Perhaps the least scenic miles of the whole walk as you have to negotiate first Carlyon Bay which used to be a lovely beach which they have been trying to develop for years and then the china clay works in Par.

Carlyon Bay 2004

It doesn't look quite as bad in 2017 but they still haven't made any progress.

China Clay works Par

We weren't staying in Par as I had been unable to find anywhere to stay so after introducing Margaret to the confusing one way system we caught the bus to Fowey to stay at the delightful old Ship Inn. Well what a disappointment that turned out to be. This is what I expected it to look like.

However we had a bit of a shock as we got off the bus and saw that it was covered in scaffolding and dirty plastic sheeting and looked as though it didn't have a roof on! It did have a roof but didn't seem to have many staff and we were informed that we couldn't have breakfast until 9.00 am which was a bit unfortunate as Margaret was catching the bus to Par at 9.15.
Anyway after a meal at Sam's and a look round Fowey we had a reasonable night;s sleep apart from being far too close to the church clock that strikes every quarter of an hour!