Day 1 - Welcombe Mouth to Duckpool Bay

Monday 01st June 2020 - At 11.8 miles (out and back) I was full of confidence when I arrived at Welcombe Mouth just before 0800hrs. The weather promised to be sunny and hot and the walk was rated strenuous in my Bartholomew "Walk the Cornish Coast path" book by a certain John. H. N. Mason.

By the time I had reached the top of the climb out of Welcombe Mouth (above) I began to doubt my sanity, immediately in front of me was another steep decline into Marsland Mouth (and the Cornish border), then an even steeper and higher climb out!

Ahead lay seven steep climbs and descents on the way to Duckpool Bay totaling 1880 ft of climbs and 1886 ft of descents, then I had to come back!!

I trudged on, eventually reaching Duckpool Bay after two and three quarter hours of walking. I stopped to have a sandwich from my small packed lunch and a sip of water. I realised at this point that the 750ml of water I was carrying would prove to be wholly insufficient on what had developed into the hottest day of the year so far!!

Turning back, I set off up the first climb.

At the top, my legs were beginning to demand a explanation for the out of character demands being made of them.

As the picture (right) shows, the car park seemed a long way down and as tired as I was, I knew the path back to my car was long and horribly precipitous!

It is at these times, that the mental strength of the endurance athlete comes to the fore. Unfortunately, I am not an endurance athlete and the pace slowed with every step I took.

I trudged pass the satellite tracking station of GCHQ (no photos allowed - you are here, we are not; type of thing) taking a sip of water every ten minutes. However, this was proving to be insufficient to re-hydrate myself and the sun continued to beat down.

Eventually, the water had run out and, with around one mile to go, I started to suffer cramps in my legs. At this point, I just had to keep going, but I'll be honest and say that the idea of walking the entire Cornish Coast path twice seemed like folly!

With around half a mile to go, with my mouth so dry that my tongue stuck to whatever part it touched, I arrived at a small hut (Ronald Duncan's writing hut) which was open, I fell inside and sat in the welcome shade.

Using the cool block from my packed lunch, I applied a cold compress to my leg muscles and spent some time cooling down, ready for the remaining 1/2 mile or so (1/4 mile up, 1/4 mile down).

My arrival at my car was accompanied by a feeling of relief. I had become seriously dehydrated and can never thank enough the Surfer who, upon seeing my condition, offered me a bottle of his water. I swallowed the 1500ml he gave me in one pull and started the drive home (via two Spar shops) consuming a total of three and a half litres of liquids on the way.

Day one was done, I had been unprepared for the severity of the walk, the temperature and how both would affect me.

Some changes of plan would be necessary if I had any chance of completing the 574 miles I planned.