The Southwest Coast Path, England

The Southwest Coast Path, Cornwall, England, 2015

Day 12 — Walk from Perranporth to Portreath

Please remember that each picture is a link to a larger version!

After a restful nice and a splendid breakfast at the Saint George Country House, we set off toward the path, just downhill from the house. We carried on until we got to Trevaunance Cove. We eyed the high path on the cliffs, and elected to walk across the rocks at the base of the cliff to St. Agnes Beach. The tide was out, and we got across with no problems other than some slippery footing.

I've commented before on the amazing variety of flowers which grow in the climate. The ones in the third picture were planted, but lots of them grow wild.

The geology of the area is quite varied. The rocks often have names, like the ones in the fourth picture, called Bawden Rocks, or, more familiarly, Man and his man.

Today was just one beach after another, some of them miles long, many with people in wet suits in the chilly water surfing. The color of the water in the sunshine along this stretch reminded several of us of the Bahamas, and the contrast with the wildflowers was just amazing — sometimes it killed conversation, as all of us were saying, "Wow! Look at that," simultaneously.

We also passed two military airfields today, one abandoned, and one with very minor use, which included a model airplane club flying high-performance models. One of the them, with jet propulsion, sounded like a rocket.

We stopped at the beach cafe at Chapel Porth for sandwiches and coffee. There was a chapel there at one time, and it was the sight of a well-publicized shipwreck.

We carried on, and reached Portreath at around 3:00, after 11.4 miles and 3740 vertical feet. We engaged in our usual afternoon routine — a beer in the garden, shower, laundry, naps for some, dinner, after-dinner drink, and off to bed.

Tomorrow is our last day of walking, and it's a long one — 13 miles, and probably a bit more, as the distances quoted in the guidebooks have often turned out to be a bit short. But we will have an early start, and the weather will be good.

The adventure continues — but not for long!

St. Agnes Beach
Headed for the rocks...