Category: Daily updates

Total miles: 20

Elevation gain: 1,958 ft

Time walking: 10am – 7pm

Miles to date: 82.3

Today was a long, hot slog! It was one of the days I was least looking forward to, and I have to say I’m glad it’s over!

Today was the day of cursing inconsiderate farmers, retracing my steps, scrambles up overgrown banks, bramble scratches, nettle stings and long long long stretches of road walking, without much of interest other than the stories which will probably make me laugh tomorrow but were frustrating today!

It wasn’t all bad, but 20 miles is a long way on any day, and in the heat it was tough. I made good progress for the first 4-5 miles and the paths I’d chosen were good – clear, well-marked and fairly flat. Then I seemed to slow down – I blame the four fields of barley I had to walk along (very grateful it has been dry recently otherwise I would have got soaked!) and the slow uphill walk to the only pub on my day’s route in order to refill my water bottle and use the loo.

On leaving the pub I had about 6 miles of country lanes to tackle, so it was head down and march on, and I made good time. Road walking, especially fairly flat road walking, is much easier on the legs but harder on the feet and they soon began to feel the constant pounding. At one point two cyclists passed me and I saw from their t-shirts that they were cycling LEJOG – they called out “see you at the top!” to me and I replied “sure, race you!”. It was great to see some other people on the same route, albeit for a couple of seconds!

Not long after that a guy slows down in his car next to me and asks me about the charities I’m supporting – he gives me some coins to add to the pot!  I love how open and generous people are. I am wondering whether I should get that sign made that says “notes only please, they’re much lighter” 😉

Having made up some time it’s time to get off the road and back to some footpaths and to start with all seemed well; a nice wide track through farmland, until, suddenly, the path disappears. Laiterally stops dead in the corner of a field, with an impenetrable hedge and a stream, with boggy ground in front. Confused, I check my map, check my gps. Yup, definitely where I think I am and there’s definitely supposed to be a path right there. But no. Nothing. Nadda. I wander along the fence a bit, maybe it’s a bit further along, or at least there might be another gap I can squeeze through. Nope! I reach the far corner of the field and spy a potential way through to the field beyond, only problem is it’s under an electric fence, down into an overgrown ditch, up a head-height wall/bank and along the a bit. Reluctant to retrace my steps (half a mile back to the road) I give it a go. Aside from a few scratches, I make it to the top of the bank. Whoop, go Jen! I triumphantly walk down to the corner only to be faced with a steep drop and more boggy ground the other side. Argh! It was a no go. Problem was, I wasn’t sure I could get back down the way I came up, safely. Hmm. Tip: always check you can get back down before you go up! Cue a scramble down the other side of the bank and across some slightly less boggy ground, into another field completely. And the long trudge back to the road to reassess my route. Oh look, more road walking! I was cursing farmers for not putting better signage up and keeping paths clear, which fuelled me on for a couple more miles until I realised I really needed to rest my feet and eat some food. I found a not particularly glamorous spot on the edge of the road and decided that although it was earlier than planned I’d air my feet for a bit and change my socks. Oh how lovely it is to have a fresh pair of socks on! It’s an amazing morale booster!

A few more miles and it was time to cross fields again. When I found the footpath I eyed it dubiously – the inconspicuous opening in the hedge was at the top of an overgrown bank. Not again! I took a deep breath and up I went. I surveyed the fields ahead. This one was clear, but there were cows in the one beyond. That’s ok, I can cope with cows. As I get closer though, the cows start taking a LOT more interest in me. And I’m not talking like 10, I’m talking more like 50 cows, young male cows in fact, and they are all jostling to get a closer look at me. They follow me up and down the fence and stick their heads through the gate at me while I look forlornly at the stile in the hedge no more than 100 metres away. I look at the young bullocks, I look at the stile. I look back at the bullocks jostling against the gate, sigh, say a few choice words, hike my bag up and turn back for the road. Again!

On the plus side, only another 4-5 miles to go now, and at least along the road it will be straightforward.

Turns out the B-road I now have to walk along is a pretty fast road and I’m constantly having to jump up on the verge as cars whizz past. Not fun walking! It was even worse when the verge disappeared from time to time! I had to walk about a mile and a half along that road and it was a bit hairy at points. I was grateful for my high viz jacket!

Eventually I reach the turn off for the one bit of the walk I was looking forward to – the  walk up and over Castle-an-Dinas, an Iron Age hill fort with amazing views in all directions. It was beautiful, and refreshingly cool. I could see all the way to St. Agnes Beacon where I had been yesterday afternoon, and out to the sea at Newquay, then looking east I got my first view of Bodmin moor which I’ll be tackling in 4 days’ time. It looked moody! After a quick Facebook live to show everyone the view and to give myself a lift from seeing everyone say hello, it was time for the last easy-looking mile and a half into Tregonetha. I should know by now that easy-looking on the map does not translate into easy in reality. The first bit downhill was great, a clear obvious path, but then I had a missed turn (third time retracing steps) , more fighting through brambles and nettles, horse flies and lots of prickly gorse.

My oh my was I glad to make it to my accommodation for the night! And Sharon, my host, was cooking a massive roast dinner for all of her guests. Now that was worth walking for! Time for a quick shower, lots of amazing food, and a very pleasant evening swapping stories with the other guests. It had been a challenging day, so it was lovely to end it laughing and joking with some great people. Every day I am meeting amazing people, it’s fantastic!

So, a long day over, and one that resulted in a surprisingly high elevation gain (only 500ft less than yesterday!), and sore (but thankfully not blistered) feet. I’m satisfied as that is a good chunk of miles crossed off, and for the next week or so my days are mostly shorter, whoop!

But for now, sleep!

Total miles: 15

Elevation gain: 2,475 ft (more than climbing Snowdon!)

Time walking: 10am – 7pm

Miles to date: 62.3

A misty start today! I was very glad after the heat of yesterday! It was quite surreal walking along the cliffs and hearing the sea but not being able to see it, with the mist rolling up over the edge and hiding the way ahead. It was very peaceful and although it is harder to get an idea of distance when you can’t see where you are, there is something quite relaxing about it – I could just settle into my pace and just ‘be’. The gorse and heather were scattered with dew-laden cobwebs, so pretty!

I was thankful for the cooler start to the day as the majority of the day was up and down, up and down, in true Cornish coast path style. 15 miles along the coast path is tough! But beautiful, as always! There were some stunning little coves, and lots of birds today – the falcons are around a lot (really must find out what they are!), I think they are nesting in the cliffs.

I had regular stops today throughout the day, thankfully there were lots of opportunities to fill up the water, have a loo break and enjoy the little coves along the way. Indulged in coffee and cake in Porthtowan, my halfway point, before heading on towards the lovely St. Agnes’ Head, which had been on the horizon since St. Ives. It was highly satisfying to finally get there!  Lots of people stopped and asked me about my journey and wished me luck, which was a real morale boost after a morning of up and downs and helped me beat the mid-afternoon energy slump.

I took another long-ish break at St. Agnes Head as the sun came out and I found a lovely rock to lie on while I gave my feet some air. Could have stayed there all day! But alas I still had another 5 miles to go so it was soon time to press on. Two more down and ups, then thankfully the last 3 miles were fairly flat, even so it felt like a long 3 miles. Rounding the final headland and seeing the youth hostel perched on the cliff was a very exciting moment!

The hostel is small but cosy, and has the most incredible view over the beach (which is vast when the tide goes out!) and out across the sea, perfect for sunset! The sunset wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the one I saw in St. Ives, but it was still pretty cool.

After checking in and showering I had a quick (well, nearly another mile I think, but sans-pack it’s much easier) walk down into town to see the beach from ground level, and to pick up some food for dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed cooking my own meal!

They are friendly bunch in the hostel, lots of interesting stories. One of the reasons I love staying in hostels, you never know who you’re going to meet! Unfortunately it means another later-than-planned night, but I have some shorter days coming up so hopefully I can catch up on sleep then!

Tomorrow I leave the coast and head inland. I’m going to miss being by the sea! I don’t think I’ll miss all the ups and downs and ins and outs, but I’ll miss the fresh sea air and the sense of space you get on the cliff tops. I’ll also miss being able to see where I’ve come from and where I’m going, but I daresay being inland will have its own charms!

And on that note, to bed!!

Total miles: 17.9

Elevation gain: 1927 feet

Time walking: 9:30am – 6:45pm

Miles to date: 47.3

Wow, today was HOT! Great news for everybody on holiday on the beach, less great for this madwoman who is hiking the length of the country! Heat not only means harder walking, it also means a heavier bag! I carried 3 litres of water today at any one time, and if you don’t know, one litre of water weighs one kilogram!

Today was always going to be a long day because of the distance, and although it wasn’t too up and down (once I had climbed the long hill coming out of St. Ives), there were some tough sections. From Lelant to Hayle the coast path loops inland in order to cross the Hayle river estuary, and it’s a long 3 mile loop on tarmac which is not fun on the feet. I ended up taking an earlier than planned lunch break as I needed to take on some calories – I can’t eat them as quickly as I burn them! And there was also a big Asda right on my path which helped. I found a pretty spot over looking some boats (with yesterday’s hill fort in the distance!) and enjoyed taking the weight off my feet for a bit. I ended up taking a bit longer than I meant to as I got chatting to a lovely elderly lady and her carer, the lady was telling me all about her adventures when she was younger and was pleased that I was ‘doing it while I can’

The afternoon brought with it the loooong stretch of sand dunes and beach. Sand dunes are a morale killer! They look pretty, but they are up and down and wiggly and hot and sandy. I decided to head to the beach for a bit for a break from the sand dunes and the beach was gorgeous! I could see right back across the bay to St. Ives and ahead to Godrevy point, my two-thirds point.

Back in the sand dunes briefly as the incoming tide meant I couldn’t make it around the small headland, and then I decided it really was time for a paddle. Two girls whooped as I walked down the beach with my high vis jacket and one called “You go girl!” which was a nice boost! After painstakingly brushing every last grain of sand from my feet (sand is enemy of hiking feet and best friends with blisters) it was back on the coast path for a fairly straightforward, but stunning, section.

One of the happiest sights I saw at that point was an ice cream van! I treated myself to a 99 with a flake and promptly ended up with ice cream dribbling down my hand faster than I could eat it, but ohhh that ice cream tasted so good! The view from Godrevy point was incredible, and I bet it would be another amazing place to watch the sunset.  I could see St. Ives across the bay and it looked a long way away!

The next bit of the coast path is high up on the cliffs, which are incredibly beautiful, with views down to rocky coves, bright turquoise  sea and…..seals!!! They were very small from above, but cute, bobbing around in the sea or sunbathing on the rocks. I also saw a few birds of prey, I think kestrels or some other falcon. I think one was nesting in the cliff!

My feet were starting to tire at this point and I could feel that I was catching the sun despite repeated applications of suncream, but I kept soaking my buff in water and wearing it around my neck which at least helped keep me a little bit cooler. And it was only a few miles to go, along good ground, so I picked up the pace a little. The last 2 miles took me inland to just outside of Camborne, where my hosts, friends of friends, live. I think they probably thought I was quite mad, wanting to walk to the house when they’d offered to pick me up, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about arriving somewhere on foot!

I was incredibly grateful for a delicious home cooked meal tonight, and I’m struck again how lovely people are! I’m really enjoying meeting new people too! Jo has published a book on caring for ex-battery hens and having had a flick through it looks really interesting and informative. I’ll definitely get my hands on one when I get my chickens!

It has been a really lovely day, and my body is holding up better than I had expected. My feet are aching tonight and I am very tired (trying not to nod off while writing this!) but I’m satisfied at having achieved what was a challenging day and knocked a few more miles off!

Now for a good night’s sleep and a 15 mile day tomorrow – my last day on the coast 🙁 it’s supposed to be cooler thankfully!

Much love xxx