Coverack to Helford

The plan

11 miles\518m ascent\average grade 6%\3:55 hours of moderate walking, unless we need to take the high water route around Gillan Creek, in which case 13 miles. Heading for Trevarn (Cs) and Gold Martin (Ls) in Helford. Two ferries today!

Reality

A lovely, varied day, via supposedly active quarries and definitely active fishing villages, and on to memorable small and big river estuaries.

We met up on the harbor front in Coverack and set off…

Our walking instructions said that Dean Quarries were now active again, so we’d divert inland. In fact, when we got to the start of the diversion, the diversion itself was blocked off, and the signs directed us through the quarry on the regular route. There was absolutely no sign of activity from the quarry, so we weren’t too worried about getting blasted! However, it was a bit sobering reaching the other end of the diversion and seeing that it was clearly marked from that end!

We past fields that from a distance looked like lavender, but were some other flower–not sure what!

Seems like Porthallow needs a better spellchecker!

The Five Pilchards was a memorable place, decorated with several figureheads experiencing wardrobe malfunctions, and a really strange mural on the men’s bathroom wall (which, I hasten to add, I did not see with my bare eyes!)

This is the half-way marker for the SWCP, though we are well over half way through the Cornwall-only part.

Tired\happy crew heading out of Porthallow

Tired and seeking shade at Gillan Creek. It was a lovely walk along this section–more river and less sea made a nice change.

If we’d arrived an hour or so earlier, we could have paddled across the river here. But by now the tide was moving in fast, and that channel was quite deep and fast-moving.

So instead we took a little ferry….most fun.

They had us pay for the ferry in the shop at the far end, which I thought was very clever because how could we resist an ice cream if it’s right in front of us?

A look back at Gillan Creek…

Then we walked onward to the Helford river, a much larger estuary with many more people messing about on boats.

Didn’t stop here but rather liked the name. Holy Mackerel!

Delightful village of Helford on the west side of the river.

Then we waited for the ferry. Fun system for summoning it (and the Gillan ferry too): you unlatch a sign which then becomes a large orange rectangle visible from the other side.

Very amusing ride, with the ferry boat captain discussing Trump’s visit to the UK, happening the same day. We’ve get to meet a single person with anything good to say about our embarrassing president!

Once off the ferry at Helford Passage, we called our hosts in Mawnan Smith to come pick us up. We were picked up within 5 minutes or so, the L’s host was a little longer. Fascinating thing about our hosts: the guy used to be a pilot for the royal family! What a job that must be. Both he and his wife were lovely. She mentioned that one of the big gardens we passed (Trebah?) is the site of filming for a new release of Secret Garden starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. Sure wish I could have caught a glimpse.

We met up with the Ls again for a meal at the Red Lion pub, a delightful warren of rooms in a very old building. One of our most fun meals yet. Dangerous for the tall folks though 🙂