27. Leg 7 - SW Coastal Path 27: Portreath to Perranporth

28 May 2019  

For our last walk in leg 6 we parked in Perranporth and took the bus to Portreath. We were particularly looking forward to seeing 'Sally's Bottom' but were also treated to lovely weather, many remnants of the mining industry and spectacular geology. Apparently, we should have looked out for razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes nesting around St Agnes Head!

1. The route

2. Harbour at Portreath and view down the coast. Julian felt a little weak at the knees considering the narrow harbour!

3. Hayle Ulla

4. Out of Portreath

6. Doddering Devil's Guts. We saw a lot of this plant draping over the gorse. It is a parasite and a member of the bindweed family.

7. Sea thrift

8. Approaching Sally's Bottom, Sally's Bottom and leaving Sally's Bottom. This cove caused much hilarity but, of course, turned out to be very beautiful! Apparently ‘bottoms’ is a tin mining term.

9. Cousin Steve was amused to find a shaft on the map near Sally's Bottom ....You can always rely on a Tosh to lower the tone ....

10. Wheal Tye

11. The remains of the dramatic cliff top tin mining buildings of Wheal Coates and Chapel Porth

12. Approaching St Agnes Head

13. Lunch at St. Agnes

14. Looking back at St. Agnes

15. Perranporth airfiled

16. Bright rocks at Crosscombe

17. Cligga Head with mineral stripes in the granite rocks including copper staining in the rocks on the beach below.

18. Hanover Cove: named after the Hanover which was wrecked in a storm in 1763 losing some of its cargo of gold coins. Divers have recovered the ship’s bell, a musket and shot and many iron guns, however much of the treasure is said to be still buried under sand on board the wreck.

19. Approaching Perranporth

 20. End of walk ice-cream.

 26. Leg 7  - SW Coastal Path 26: Portreath to Godrevy Point and back

27 May 2019 

As buses weren't running on Mondays for our next stretch of coastal walking we jumped a bit and did a circular from Portreath to Godrevy Point. We caught a glimpse of the other St.Ives and had lunch in Hell's Mouth which we had visited back in 2015.

'After leaving Portreath the Coast Path follows the cliffs with some beautiful views of rocky coves, such as the wonderfully named Ralph’s Cupboard, apparently a favoured smugglers spot for stashing loot. After just a couple of steep climbs the Path soon levels and walking becomes fairly straightforward. As you follow the sheer cliffs, surrounded by brightly coloured spring and summertime flowers, such as blue sheep’s bit, primroses and yellow rattle, look down to the contrastingly raw, jagged reefs below.

Seals are a common sight around the waters of Godrevy and Gwithian and sunfish and basking sharks have been spotted from the North Cliffs. '

1. The route

2. Portreath and Gull Rock

3. Western Hill and view back to Portreath and on to Godrevey Point

4. Carvannel Downs

5. Basset's Cove

6. North Cliffs

7. Reed Bunting. There are plenty of birds along the way and we are sure the same Skylark has been following us all the way down the coast! It's not always easy to see them well enough to identify them but this reed bunting stayed long enough for this snap!

8. North Cliffs looking back.

9. The Knavocks. The National Trust have brought in a small herd of Shetland ponies to graze at the Knavocks and help maintain the habitat favoured by small birds and butterflies.

10. Godrevey Point. Godrevy Island and octagonal lighthouse (now solar-powered) is three and a half miles across St Ives Bay, and is thought to have been the inspiration for Virginia Woolf’s novel `To The Lighthouse'. The island is covered in bright flowers in springtime.

11. Mutton Cove - there are seals down there ...!

12. Lighthouse Godrevey Island.

13. View to St.Ives from Godrevey Head

14. Turning back

15. View to Reskajeage Downs, North Cliffs.

16. Hell's Mouth and Café

17. North Cliffs rock formation

18. Western Cove and Western Cove back to Godrevey Point

19. North Cliff return

20. Ponies back to Portreath. On the way out we'd met a National Trust volunteer asking if we'd seen the ponies as he needed to count them. We hadn't seen them then but did on the way back.

 25. Leg 7 - SW Coastal Path 25: Perranporth to Porth

26 May 2019  

We parked in Newquay and took the bus to Perranporth. It was rather drizzly so views weren't quite so vivid but still a spectacular walk which brightened up towards the end!

https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/152/ (we did this in reverse!)

'The West Pentire headland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its breathtaking seasonal wildflowers such as the June poppies and corn marigold flowers in the arable fields overlooking Crantock Beach.'

1. Breakfast in the rain!

2. The route

3. Perranporth. Julian used to come here for family holidays as a boy so we took a few nostalgic photos!

4. Perranporth beach from Ligger Point

5. Penhale - Penhale Point has Iron Age defences still visible. There are fantastic views which stretch to St Agnes Head, Godrevy Point and St Ives beyond ... apparently!!!

6. Hoblyn's Cove

7. Holywell Beach and the statutory bridge picture! - 'home to hundreds of different insects'.

8. Holywell Beach - dunes and Carter's Rocks (sometimes known as Gull Rocks .. of which there are many!!)

9. The Kelseys and Kelsey Head to Porth Joke

10. Pentire back to Porth Joke

11. The Rushy Green

12. Crantock Beach

13. Pentire from Crantock Beach

14. River Gannel. Thousands of birds travel here to find winter shelter including Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Dunline, Curlew and Teal. Lucikly the tide was low so we were able to take the shortest option across the bridge rather than taking the longer alternative route through Trevemper!

15. Fistral Beach

16. Towan Head with the tiny white Huer's hut overlooking Newquay Bay. The Huer was a lookout who had the important job of alerting the fishermen when shoals of pilchards were spotted in the bay.

17. Newquay Bay and harbour

18. Towan Beach with a house on an island!

19. Back at Porth Beach before having to retrace our steps through Newquay back to the car!

 20. A welcome beer back at the campsite!

 24. Leg 7 - SW Coastal Path 24: Carnewas to Porth and back

25 May 2019 

May half term holiday. We set off at 4am on Saturday morning to beat the holiday traffic and get a decent walk in. We parked at the National Trust car park at Carnewas Point again and headed down the coast to Porth ... and back!

We camped at a small campsite in Cubert, near Newquay.

https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/151/

1. The route

2. Information boards at Carnewas NT

3. Trenance view to Mawgan Porth

4. Mawgan Porth

5. Bre-Pen

6. I think this could be ;Jasione laevis' (perennis) ‘Blue light’, otherwise known as Sheep's Bit!

7. The Beacon

8. Beacon Cove to Griffin's Point.

9. Watergate Bay

10. View across Trevelgue Head to Newquay

11. Black Humphrey Rock

12. Trevelgue Head info

13. Sea Thrift

14. Watergate Beach return

15. Stem Point return

16. A midnight visitor to our tent!!