It’s A Wrap!

IT’S A WRAP 

The last day from Downderry to Plymouth was an expedited hiking day.  The girls decided they had seen enough coast line for the trip and opted for a car into Plymouth so they could explore the town and do some shopping.  Don, Pete and Alistair drove to the Rame Head Peninsula just outside of Plymouth, hiked around the Peninsula, then had lunch at the pub across the estuary from Plymouth and took the Ferry from Cremyll to Plymouth.

The girls were a little disappointed with the shopping prospects in Plymouth.   They were left with the impression of a “tired” town in decline.  Nevertheless, we put on the cleanest clothes we had left and went out for our final night on the town before we all scattered.  We started off at a great little Gin Bar.  We were after all in the home of Plymouth Gin!  After tearing through an impromptu Gin tasting at the bar we had a great gourmet dinner at a wonderful restaurant called the Fig Tree @ 36.  That was a wrap for a great hike!

The city of Plymouth

The one and only . . .

The Place where the Mayflower set off

From Tea to Gin!

And our train awaits to wisk us away from the Coast!

DAY NINE - FOWEY TO DOWNDERRY

DAY 9 - FOWEY TO DOWNDERRY

Our hike for this stretch of the coast promised to be strenuous for the first leg and did not disappoint.  We started off catching a Ferry across the Estuary to Polruan and hiked up along the cliffs.  It was a particularly beautiful and more remote stretch of the coast.  Our first destination for the day was Polperro, a picturesque little Cornish village tucked away in a small harbor.  To get there however, we had to hike up and down a seemingly never ending series of crevasses in the cliffs.  The last 2 miles before Polperro seemed like they would never end.  Best cardio workout yet!  We finally arrived in Polperro for a late lunch starting with a cold ice cream cone and finishing with Cornish Pasties and Scones from a little bakery.  Then, back up the coast and heading to Looe, where we would end our walk for today and taxi the rest of the way to Downderry.

Through the window of our Ferry this morning

 Heading into Polruan

One of the many many coastal watch booths along the path

Heather warming up at a playground in Polruan

Looking back to Fowey from Polruan

Looking ahead to our walk for today

Meeting up with Alisdair, one of our fellow walkers for today

Rut Row! Yet another climb ahead!

Getting closer to Polperro but still a few headlands to round

Polperro

Polperro

Polperro

Coming into the town of Looe

Bridge on the way into Looe

DAY EIGHT - MEVAGISSEY TO FOWEY

DAY 8 - MEVAGISSEY TO FOWLEY

Today we had an expanded group with Alisdair, Jonny and Leslie and their dog, Barney joining us.  They are all good friends of Shelagh and Pete and typically join us for a stretch of our hikes.  They will be with us for the next few days.  We had to cover a lot of ground today so we cut off the first part and started in Charlestown Harbor, which you can see in the first pictures below, then up along the cliffs, past Carlyon Bay and eventually to the town of Par, which appropriately had a nice looking golf course.  In Par we had to skirt inland around an old Clay Factory, across some dunes and that back up onto the cliffs to hike around the Gribbin headland.  We stopped for lunch here, then headed past the point with the tall red and white Beacon and onto Fowley, our destination for tonight.  Fowley was a bustling little resort town on an estuary nestled into the rocks.  So, lots of climbing back and forth between our Guest House and restaurants.  Since their were 9 of us for dinner tonight, we found a great little pizza place with good food and wine and refueled our bodies for tomorrow’s hike.

Tall Ships stationed at Charlestown Harbor

Charlestown Harbor

Golf Course just outside of the town of Par

Cove heading out to the Gribbin headland

Man serious about his lunch

Beacon at Gribbin Point

First siting of the estuary into Fowey, our destination for tonight

Cathy on the trail

    

Fowey

 

Regatta seen through a porthole in Fowley

DAY 7 - PORTLOE TO MEVAGISSEY

 DAY 7 - PORTLOE TO MEVAGISSEY

The hike today was described as strenuous, then moderate.  The strenuous part started right out of the gate as we climbed out of Portloe to the cliffs along the coast.  The rest of the day was a series of ascents and descents through heavy vegetation along the cliffs.  We never found the moderate part!  Nevertheless the views were spectacular and we enjoyed a cloudy, dry day, a welcome break from the sun.

Our first village was Portholland, a tiny hamlet, then back up to the cliffs and eventually down to Porthluney Cove where we stopped at a small beach Cafe and cleaned them out of their last Cornish Pasties and Sausage roles for today’s lunch.  On the way our of the Cove you looked back onto the beautiful Caerhayes Castle (see pic below).  Then, on to Dodman’s Point, the largest headland we had to round today, a brief stop for lunch on the cliffs and off to Gorran Haven, the largest village we would pass through today.  After a brief ice cream stop, we continued for the final slog into Mevagissey.

Beach at Portholland

Tiny Chapel and lookout along the cliffs leaving Portholland

Caerhayes Castle just outside of Porthluney Cove

Free roaming horses on Dodman’s Point

Beautiful cottage set into a secluded beach

On our way to the headlands at Dodman’s Point

Dodman’s Point.  From here on a clear day you could see Lizard Point in the west and Plymouth in the east.

The Cross at Dodman’s Point

Heading into Gorran Haven

Festival Night in Megavissey!  Marching bands and people dancing in the street!

At the end of our day we met up with friends from past hikes…Leslie and Jonny from Bath England…and let’s not forget their dog Barney.  All three will be joining us as we set of for Fowey tomorrow!