SouthWest Coastal Path-Penzance to Plymouth-2023: June 2023

Friday, June 30, 2023

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

Coming into the town of Looe

Bridge on the way into Looe

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

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

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

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!

Monday, June 26, 2023

DAY FIVE - Falmouth to Portloe

DAY 5 - Falmouth to Portloe

Today’s hike to Portloe began with 2 Ferry crossings out of Falmouth, the first, crossing the Carrick Roads Estuary to St. Mawes and the second, crossing the Percuil River to Place. These Ferries were a little larger than yesterday’s and went at specific times so we had to be a little more organized today. St. Mawes was a nice little Port village with a bakery right beside the Ferry dock so we picked up lunch snacks between Ferries.

After the crossings we started hiking up the coastal cliffs again, passing a lighthouse and watching the Royal Navy Frigate stationed at Falmouth steam out of the harbor. The hike today was mostly moderate with a few strenuous parts taking us through some coastal villages and finally heading up a small road into Portloe to our accommodations, the Lugger Hotel. This hotel was a little more posh than some of the other pubs we have been staying at so we treated ourselves to a little fine dining tonight. Excellent food and wine! Total distance today, again around 14 miles.