The plan
7.5 “severe” miles\526m ascent\average grade 8%\2:45 hours. At least it’s short?!? We’ll collapse into the Tinners Arms.
Reality
Had a lovely rest day yesterday in St Ives. It’s such a pretty place, with a maze of narrow streets and hidden alleyways reminiscent of an old European village. Very much liked the Tregony B&B–it was perfect for a rest day, with a couple of chairs in a bay window looking out over the bay.
We left at about 9am, as usual, and stopped at a tiny food store just up the road. Then on to the path.
A very easy start to the trail as it left St Ives, but it quickly became more interesting.
It’s billed as “severe” more for what the trail surface is like, rather than the extreme ups and downs of the sections we did after Crackington Haven. Part of it is bogginess. I was curious ahead of time whether that would be an issue during such a dry spell. Answer: yes, there are still boggy bits, but no, they aren’t much of a challenge. It would be a totally different game after lots of rain.
There were a couple of sections of boardwalk–greatly appreciated!
Beautiful heather…
And a trig point. We spent some time pondering whether it’s really called a trig point when it’s actually a triangulation point. Makes a change from the four hours we spent a few days ago trying to remember the name of Heathcliff’s love interest!! Ah, the things you do when you can’t reach Google 🙂
I noticed something in the water ahead, and eventually realized it was a seal! This zoomed in photo shows it toward the bottom in the middle. Dave got the drone out and got some lovely video of it playing in the water. I’ll upload that at some point.
Preparing to drone…
Still a novelty to see clouds!
Getting into the section zoned “boulders” 🙂 I didn’t take any photos during the most challenging part…it was all I could do to make any progress.
Dave often has to wait patiently while I toddle along…
The Tinners Arms, Zennor. First time we’ve had a bit of a snafu with lodging. The place was heaving when we arrived (at only 2pm–short day!) Amazing for a Tuesday lunchtime! We had a drink and then tried to check in, but they didn’t recognize our names. Took a while for them to sort it out. In the end, they just decided our booking was just under the wrong name. We keep expecting someone to hammer on the door demanding their room back!
A little reminiscent of the Crown and Mitre in Bampton Grange…
This bedroom has a chair to admire the view too…not quite such a lovely view as the St Ives one, but it’s still nice to have a little alcove.
Off to have dinner in the pub now.
This entry was posted in South West Coast Path Cornwall