In October 2014 several of us spent a week walking in and around Port Isaac in Cornwall. Nine of us stayed in a large self-catering house, with a sea view, while four others stayed in local Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
Arriving on Saturday 25th October, we dropped our luggage at the house before going for a little exploration of the immediate surroundings. We walked down to Port Gaverne and up onto the headland of Castle Rock, where we could see our house on the top of the cliff. Then we walked along the coastal path into Port Isaac for a look around.
We planned to eat out on three nights and to cook and eat in on four nights. On Saturday night we ate out at the Golden Lion in Port Isaac - except for one of us, who stayed in to wait for a very late Tesco food delivery!
Sunday 26th October - Daymer Bay, Polzeath and The Rumps, 10 miles, rugged!
After breakfast on Sunday morning, we made our packed lunches, drove a few miles down to Daymer Bay and parked up by a beach that was sparsely populated with a few dog-walkers and the occasional surfer.
Joining the South West Coast Path we headed northward over a rocky beach to Hayle Bay. This large, sandy cove was littered with surfers and boards. Skirting the cove, we continued along the coastal path north-west to Pentire Point and then north-east to The Rumps, where we stopped for our picnic lunch.
After lunch we continued along the coastal path heading south-east, past many rocky coves, until we reached Lundy Hole. Here we left the coastal path and headed inland, uphill and through farmland to Porteath. We emerged onto the main road by the Porteath Bee Centre. We didn't pop in.
From there we followed a quiet lane through more farmland before joining a footpath that took us west through a golf-course and eventually down to Saint Enodoc's Church, half hidden in the dunes.
The church was built in the 12th century but became buried in sand during the 18th only to be dug out and restored in the 19th century. There was a service going on in the church so we didn't go in, but instead continued on the last stretch of our walk back to Daymer Bay and the car park. See our route on Bing Maps.
Sunday night, we ate at our house, inviting those of us staying in the B&Bs to join us. I made Toad in the Hole, Sue made a fish pie, and Julia made a fruit crumble for pudding. Many of the others helped out in the kitchen during the preparation and with clearing up after the meal. The food went down well, as did the wine, and we all slept soundly after the day's exercise.
Monday 27th October - Padstow to Trevone, Coastal Path, 8½ miles plus a ferry ride!
On Monday morning we drove down to Rock, where we parked and took the passenger ferry to Padstow. It's a very long route to drive to Padstow, so the ferry saved us a lot of travel time as well as adding a bit of variety to today's walking.
We set off from Padstow harbour, heading north on the South-West Coast Path. From this path we had many views of the sandy banks of the River Camel and could easily see Daymer Bay, where we had started our previous day's walk.
There were plenty of people on the beaches enjoying a particularly mild, if not very sunny, Autumn half-term holiday.
We stopped at the most northerly point of our route for our picnic lunch. Our high vantage point gave us views of Daymer Bay, Polzeath and Hayle Bay. These views disappeared as we rounded Stepper Point and headed south-west with the Atlantic Ocean on our right.
With a distinctly rugged character to this part of the coastal path, we were forever ascending and descending, but always rewarded by the views. Passing places with such names as Pepper Hole, Butter Hole, Fox Hole, Gunver Head and Middle Merope Island, it left me wondering how these names were chosen. (Having said that, how are any place names in the UK chosen?)
After passing Round Hole, we came to the village of Trevone, where some of us stopped for a toilet break. We then headed east across countryside and farmland, via the tiny hamlet of Trethillick, back to Padstow.
Here some of us stopped at a Tea Shop for Cornish cream teas while the rest of us sought other refreshments. With time to spare before the ferry back to Rock, we explored Padstow. See our route on Bing Maps.
Back at the house, Ann made a chilli con carne, Kathy made a rice pudding and there was still some fish pie left over from yesterday. A few of us went off to a local pub quiz after supper. We came third and won a bottle of wine!
Tuesday 28th October - Tintagel, Coastal Path, 10 miles of ups and downs!
Tuesday morning was another misty but warm day. We drove to Tintagel and walked down to Tintagel Head, with its remains of an ancient monastery and castle.
We set off on the good old South-West Coast Path - of which we saw a lot during this holiday - heading north then east along the headland and cliffs.
The path went up and down, passing Barras Nose, Smith's Cliffs, Gullastem, Bossiney Haven and Benoath Cove before we stopped at Rocky Valley. Here we turned around and retraced our steps back to Tintagel Head.
We then split up, with some going back into the town to explore the many shops and pubs while the rest of us continued our walk. This time heading south on our favourite coastal path, we passed more bizarrely named places such as Dunder Hole, Gull Point, Dennis Scale, Bagalow Beach and Hole Beach before reaching Trebarwith Strand.
Having failed to get a Cornish Pasty at the café at Tintagel Head, we hoped for better luck at Trebarwith Strand. The café had just sold its last one when we arrived and the take-away, with its bright metal sign advertising their genuine Cornish pasties, had also run out.
We wandered up to the Port William Hotel to see if they had any, but we had to make do with beer and sandwiches. Needless to say, the others back in Tintagel town had a plethora of bakeries making fresh pasties of all types to choose from.
We made our way back to the town by partly retracing our outbound path and then cutting across country through farmland. (I somehow failed to record our route on my GPS, so I'm afraid there's no map for your to look at.)
After driving home, we freshened up and walked down to the Port Gaverne Hotel where we had an excellent supper.
Wednesday 29th October - Lanhydrock House and Grounds
Wednesday was a very misty, murky day so we decided to rest our legs for a bit and not to do an organised walk that day. Instead some people chose to mooch about Port Isaac while a few of us went to Lanhydrock House. This National Trust property is near Bodmin, and is well worth a look if you're in the area.
This Jacobean country house suffered a major fire in 1881 and was refurbished in high-Victorian style, with all the Victorian mod cons available at the time. It is therefore a very interesting house to look around.
There were many rooms to examine on our tour of the house, including servants quarters as well as the well appointed family rooms. The many rooms of the kitchen were quite impressive too.
After the tour we stopped for lunch at the café before exploring the grounds. Many cycle tracks have recently been added as well as a cycle hire shop. We stuck to walking in the misty woodland and on footpaths leading us down by the River Fowey.
That evening I cooked a chicken curry while Julia cooked a lasagne and Pat made a fruit salad. After supper, some of us went to another pub quiz, where we came joint first! Sadly we lost the tie-breaker but still came home with a free bottle of wine.
Thursday 30th October - Coastal Path around Port Gaverne and Port Isaac, 9 miles
Thursday we decided to do the local stretch of the South-West Coast Path, right outside our front door. We walked down to Port Gaverne and up on to Main Head, from where we could see our house on the cliff, and then on to the coastal path heading east.
For a mile or so, we followed the path up and down until we got to Saint Illickswell Gug (gug being a local word for a cave) where we turned inland and followed a footpath that emerged onto the road to Port Gaverne.
There was a footpath through a farm that would have taken us down through a valley back into Port Gaverne, but we had been warned that the local farm owner had blocked it and was unwelcoming to ramblers.
Sure enough, the farmer appeared as we approached the farm and told us quite sternly that the path was closed and had been closed for years. Our recent ordnance survey map didn't agree. We asked about another path on our map that also crossed his farm. He said there was no such path and told us to use the road.
Feeling a little defeated we followed the road, but in the opposite direction to his suggestion, in the hope of finding the other footpath, but it was too well hidden. Further up, by another farm, we spoke to a much more friendly farmer who very helpfully gave us clear directions of how to reach the valley by a different and somewhat longer route.
This route did have the benefit of passing the Cornish Arms pub. We stopped off there for a drink before following the footpath behind the pub that took us through farmland and into the valley.
We followed the course of the valley down to Port Gaverne and then walked the road back to Port Isaac, where we bought some Cornish pasties and ate them down on the quay.
After lunch we had a wander around Port Isaac before some of us thought we'd explore a bit of the coastal path to the west of the quay. This involved a steep walk up to the cliffs, from where we could see much more of Port Isaac.
Once we rounded Lobber Point, the village disappeared from view to be replaced by a very hilly cliff-top path. We got as far as Pine Haven, where the path dipped into a valley and then rose so steeply that steps had been cut into the path. We counted 150 of them! Having proved we could climb them, and got our breath back, we retraced our route back to Port Isaac.
We explored the warren of fisherman's cottages, now mostly all holiday homes, and came across a very narrow alleyway between some houses. This is known as Squeezy Belly Alley. As we passed through it, we realised how aptly named it was. After a little more exploring, we made our way back to the house, just as it was getting dark. See our route on Bing Maps.
Before we got back to the house, Julia had been busy making scones, which were ready as we arrived. Fantastic! Kathy had made a casserole that had been gently simmering in the slow cooker all day and was ready to eat as soon Ann had done the baked spuds. Sue had made a spectacular Pavlova for dessert. After supper, some of us went back into Port Isaac for a few drinks in the Golden Lion pub.
Friday 31st October - Bodmin Moor, Rough Tor and Brown Willy Tor, challenging!
Friday was a complete contrast to the previous walks. Miles inland and far from the coastal path, we parked at Poldue Downs on the north-west corner of Bodmin Moor. From there we yomped up to the saddle between Little Rough Tor and Showery Tor, and after getting our breath back, we searched for the Holy Well.
We thought we'd found this spring, only to discover another one further along as we made our way to Little Rough Tor. The second Holy Well fitted the description better than the first.
Exploring Little Rough Tor involved lots of clambering over rocks of all shapes and sizes, but the views we pretty impressive. It was also incredibly windy up there!
We crossed the saddle to Showery Tor where we stopped to look around before starting our descent into the valley that lay between us and Brown Willy Tor. The route wasn't particularly clear and we were greeted by a fence at the bottom of the valley. Following the fence we eventually came to a gate allowing us to join the permissive path up to the summit of Brown Willy Tor.
Finally reaching the top, after a long steep ascent, we were blasted by the fierce wind. We had to descend a little way on the leeward side to find somewhere we could eat our lunch without it being blown out of our hands. Lunch over, we descended into the valley on the same permissive path.
Climbing the other side of the valley we took a more westward route. In fact the intended route was even more westward than I had anticipated, and I ended up climbing Rough Tor (big brother of Little Rough Tor) while the rest of the group skirted round the base of the tor. Their route (the correct route) passed through the rocky remains of an ancient settlement and field system. My route had me clambering round the massive rocks on Rough Tor, in sight of the others most of the time.
Our routes converged north of Rough Tor at the remains of another ancient settlement. From there we walked a relatively gentle path back to the car park. See our route on Bing Maps.
We took a massive detour to stop at Jamaica Inn on the return journey to the house. This famous smugglers inn is not that far from Brown Willy Tor but as there is no road across the moor, we had to drive all the way around it. Once home, we began our packing before going to the Golden Lion pub for supper.
Saturday 1st November - Journey Home, via Stourhead in Wiltshire
After finishing our packing and tidying up the house, we all set off on our journeys home. Some of us decided to break up our journey with a stop at Stourhead, close to the A303 in Wiltshire.
Despite the 2½ hour journey from Port Isaac, we arrived at Stourhead within a quarter of an hour of each other. After a picnic lunch we wandered around the gardens and the lake, with all its grottos, temples and follys.
We'd probably missed the best of the turning autumn leaves, but the grounds still held a magical beauty. A visit to the gift shop and café were in order, before continuing our homeward journey.
