Sat - May 5, 2007

Sat - March 10, 2007

Sat - January 27, 2007

Fri - December 15, 2006

Sat - September 30, 2006

two golf courses and a cliff

PoE 15 - Rock - update

The morning's rain gave way to sunshine by midday. After a bit of hassle finding the right route by which to enter St. Enodoc golf course the pace picked up and it wasn't long before the crooked steeple of St. Enodoc church broke the horizon.

This is the site of John Betjeman's burial.

Polzeath, calm after the tourists' departure, was fresh and delightful. I paid £2.50 - more than I've paid anywhere in my life - for a coffee in a cafe with a view. There are wonderful views from the coast path back to Rock -



- with oyster catchers perched on some of them



The rain began to fall gently as I left Daymer Bay and a double rainbow had formed by the time I got back to Rock.

Posted at 02:02 AM    

Thu - September 21, 2006

river crossing

PoE 15 (rock) re visited

Something of a sea breeze was blowing by the time I got to Rock and I wondered if the ferry service to Padstow might get cancelled later in the day. As this eight involves a river crossing this would create a watery gap between loops a and b. The clever plan seemed to involve checking out loop b before embarking on loop a.
It would be exaggerating to describe the fine gritty sand blowing along the beach as a sand storm. The ferry bucked a bit as it approached from Padstow. A dozen people, me amongst them, embarked and the outward journey went quite smoothly until the ferryman told me that due to a severe weather warning the service would terminate early. I had an hour to complete loop b.
This wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't needed a coffee. Reluctant to take the risk of becoming stranded on the wrong side of the Camel river, I wandered around noting the names of some streets, had a coffee and returned to the ferry departure slipway.
We bucked a bit on the return journey. It was all quite jolly. Someone started to sing 'A Life on the Ocean Wave'. The waves cascaded over the gunwales and we all got soaked - much to the amusement of all concerned.
I found walking in wet clothes uncomfortable so I paused for another coffee and went home.

Posted at 12:10 AM    

Sun - September 17, 2006

sun sea and cliff erosion

photos from PoE 17 Treyarnon Bay

Constantine Bay



cliff erosion near Porthcothan



Treyarnon Bay



sunset

Posted at 01:54 AM    

Thu - September 14, 2006

a church and the village pump

revisiting PoE 18 Carnewas

This walk is now revised and walkable without risk of trespass.



Loop b involves some miles of walking on tarmac. Much of this is of considerable visual interest.
St. Eval is only one vowel removed from something dark. Patrolling the chain link perimeter fence that encloses the one time RAF St. Eval is a strange experience. Tall aerials, pinned like tent poles, share the space with sheep. In the distance a tower of dark granite looms. It is the tower of St. Eval church and from one angle it could almost be mistaken for a world war 2 pill box.



Contrasting images have been woven into the landscape here and the affect is an odd mixture of the eerie and the re assuring.
Further on - outside Bedruthan farmhouse - stands the village pump. It looks as though all it needs to make it work is a handle.



A peculiar and satisfying eight.

Posted at 10:13 PM    

Mon - September 11, 2006

granite and grass

photo diary of a stroll on bodmin moor.

The four peaks of Roughtor.



Cheesewring on Showery Tor.



Gorse struggling for a foothold.



View through a deeply cilled window on Little Roughtor.



A startled sheep.



Brown Willy from Logan's Rock.



Roughtor.

Posted at 12:29 AM    

Sat - September 9, 2006

sharp light and dodgy access

Experiments in re routing PoE 18 Carnewas

The sunlight was piercing and the breeze, though capable of extinguishing a lighter, was not cool enough to take out the heat of the day. I'm not fond of too much heat - I seem to cook quite easily. The worst thing though was the light. It created harsh shadows and an excess of highlights.



This rock is called Samaritan Island.
Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but I thought islands - literal islands - were surrounded by water. It was that kind of a day.
I met a very pleasant Irishman somewhere between Bedruthan and Porth Mear. He looked a bit drowsy. I'm not sure if he was affected by the sun or the scenery but he had this far away look in his eye as though his whole being was loosely focussed on ecstasy. We chatted for five minutes and shook hands. I resisted the opportunity to inform him of thewrightline.com - thought it might distract him from whatever dream formed that everlasting smile on his face. Anyway, good luck to you and I hope you found Newquay.



Tamarisk trees are quite prolific on the north coast of Cornwall. I'm told they make excellent wind breaks and imagine people grow them for that purpose. These two, I thought, framed Park Head quite prettily.
Porth Mear is a lovely spot with a shingle beach and a cluster of rocks called Trescore Islands perched at its mouth. I guess it must be Spring tide time of month because Trescore Islands were pretty much sitting on the beach.



Beyond Porthcothan the job of re routing began in earnest so I paused for a coffee and to study a map. It went well - all the fields and all the roads were in just the right place.
I watched a huge cat stalk a crow and wondered briefly if it might be the Bodmin Beast. But I think it was a domestic moggy with big bones and a silky black coat, because it ignored the sheep.
Then it happened. An open gate, a stile, a sign hung on both : Private road. No access without permission. I examined the map - about 10 yards of footpath was missing.
Thus demoralised, I returned to the car and went to visit my friend Peter. We spent a couple of hours at the Mermaid Inn, Porth and watched dusk fall.



I shall, of course revisit PoE 18 another day. I have the will and there will be a way.

Posted at 12:29 AM    

Thu - September 7, 2006

sunshine and a cool breeze

Revisiting PoE 10 Treknow.

This is a short and easy eight that can be completed in 4 hours. Today it took me 8 very enjoyable hours.
The original cottages of Treknow were built by and for miners who hacked slate, with which to make a home, from the nearby cliffs. Some of them employed oak salvaged from ship wrecks to support the upstairs floors. The sap in oak reacts with sea water, making a rock hard solid of the erstwhile sticky liquid. Many a domestic high speed drill bit has snapped against such beams.
Mining has left scars on the surrounding coastline. Not all scars lack beauty:



I encountered a couple from the flat lands of Norfolk near the coastal Youth Hostel and shamelessly pushed thewrightline.com. They appeared quite interested in the project and we shared a mile or so of the path discussing varieties of terrain along the south west coastal path.
Nice to meet you both - happy walking.



A waterfall tumbles onto the beach at Tintagel. It blows inland on a strong on shore breeze and can briefly be mistaken for incongruous rain.
I noticed Bill's car as I began loop b and popped in to say hello. Couldn't stay long though as I'd arranged to meet Ray.



Ray's garden overlooks the Atlantic Ocean at Trebarwith Strand. He lives there with his partner Franki. Their garden is bisected by the south west coastal path and there was a time when people strayed from the path to examine the extraordinary collection of driftwood decorating the garden. Ray contained the path and protected his garden by building low slate walls to maintain his privacy. Local legend has it that he then realised he'd cut off his own access to the seaward end of his garden. Fortunately, he'd been an engineer in a previous life and had worked on extending London's Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. So he created a tunnel under the path and now enjoys easy access to all of his garden.
Thanks for the coffee and biscuits you two.



I popped in to see Liz on the return route. Liz gave me lots of support in planning Pieces of Eight and accompanied me on the project's early exploratory expeditions. The route of PoE 10 loop b is one that she showed me and it was the germ of the whole idea. So here's an image from that route for Liz



That's it for today.

Posted at 11:48 PM    

Sun - September 3, 2006

update on PoE 9

revisiting loop b

Had I been more diligent yesterday, I could have completed the eight without problem. The route of the footpath had been moved 100 yards or so.
I had anyway thought of extending this loop slightly as it didn't make much of a walk in itself. So, PoE 9 loop b is now revised.
An elderly gentleman sprang past me as I left Bossiney Bay. He commented on the beauty of nature in general and of this area in particular. As I was about to descend to Rocky Valley he sprang back into view commenting that I hadn't got very far. He hopes to transform his garden into an image of Rocky Valley for his goldfish. Light footed and ever smiling he disappeared as I took a detour to see the River Trevillett meet the ocean. I watched for a while as the thrust of the Atlantic Ocean challenged the flow of the river.



A little further inland is a series of small waterfalls that have carved out their own kieves, making beautiful arched curves in the soft slate. This is how the same river carved its bowl or kieve at St. Nectan's Glen.



Further up the valley a cluster of plants grew on the slate valley wall about 8 feet from ground level. They had succulent leaves and delicate flowers shaped like a paper lantern.



Pretty, aren't they?

Posted at 08:14 PM    

Sat - September 2, 2006

PoE 9 Rocky Valley

Report on today's walk

Rain has some advantages for the walker. I pulled on some waterproofs and set off. This is a beautiful walk with a fair chunk of coastline, refreshments in Boscastle and a visit to St. Nectan's Glen.



As you can see it is a beautiful place. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of it is the sense of peace it offers - a feature better experienced than admired in a photograph.
There is a cottage above the glen called the Hermitage, where St. Nectan once lived. In years gone by there was a tower reaching higher than the surrounding trees. Nectan would watch the sea from this high perch and sound a warning bell to sailors whenever the weather turned dangerous.
Barry and his wife now live in the Hermitage. They sell tea and tickets for the waterfall. I paused for a chat with Barry who keeps a cockatoo and an Amazon parrot in an aviary alongside his tea rooms. He told me a touching story of a group of young men who had recently turned up with the ashes of a friend. The deceased had requested in his will that his ashes be scattered at his favourite places, one of which was St. Nectan's Glen.
Legend tells that the remains of Nectan himself lie beneath a slab under the waterfall. His sisters diverted the River Trevillett to complete the task.
The rain was light but persistent and it tested the waterproof properties of my over trousers to destruction. Half way across a field somewhere between the glen and Boscastle I got wet.
I paused for a coffee at The Old Manor House in Boscastle, and couldn't help thinking that the following image was apt in view of the rebuilding after the 2004 flood.



There was quite a swell out to sea fading to a distant mist. I had to tie my hat on.


The coastal path is exhilarating in this kind of weather - personally, I prefer it to the heat of a sunny day.
There are carvings of labyrinth on the valley wall at Trevillett. They are said to have been fashioned during the Bronze Age, though this claim is regularly challenged.



Loop b didn't go so well. Someone has closed the path. I'll need to re route it.

Posted at 11:28 PM    

Thu - August 31, 2006

PoE 8 North Lodge

Notes on today's walk

So I set off a bit late. By the time I arrived the weather was dry and cool with a dark cloud lingering over St. Juliot's and I dithered over whether to take a coat. With some considerable arrogance the decision not to carry a map had been taken earlier in the day.
All went well until I noticed a large bull amongst the cows. I retreated and found an alternative route.
The Valency Valley is healing after breaking its banks and wiping most of Boscastle out to sea a couple of years ago. There are various simple stone monuments carefully arranged on the far bank of the river. I assume they have some restorative or protective power.




The rebuilding of the village continues, and businesses are now open again. I sensed a light and optimistic air.
As I walked up the coastal path out of Boscastle the blow hole was belching out sea water -initially as a fine mist then in a short jet of white brine.
Swallows played over Pentargon and as I rose towards Beeny Cliff the sun was low in the west, its light making patterns in the dark clouds.



I got briefly lost on loop b. Perhaps I wouldn't have if I'd taken a map.

Posted at 12:35 PM