Day 31 - A "head down and walk" type of day

Arriving at Porthcothan (sandy beach - very long at low tide, with a beach cafe, car park and public toilets) this morning, the cloud base appeared to be at ground level, but at least it wasn't raining!

I am now 62% of the way through my walk and have raised 46% of my target. After today, my lower body feels about 55% of full fitness - the pains are multiplying!

So, the shaded coastlines are where I have already walked (in both directions), this does at least give me a visual boost everyday as another bit gets shaded!

Anyway, today's walk - very low cloud base and despite only parking 15 yards from the car park exit, my left foot was complaining before I had passed the exit!

I took a picture of Porthcothan and then set off up the gentle incline, which would ultimately take me to Bedruthan Steps, Mawgan Porth and then Watergate Bay.

On the left of this picture, you can make out the roof line of a house over looking Porthcothan beach. Before I had reached that point, several things had happened.

Personally, my right Achilles started hurting (to join my left foot), then my right knee joined in the grumbling, followed by my left ankle. Both calf muscles have been reluctant to get going each morning for about the past ten days, so I discount their complaints.

The more bizarre happening was a bit like a scene from a Monty Python sketch. There are about a dozen houses that have steps from their rear gardens to the coast path on that stretch up the left side of Porthcothan, I had passed not one of them, when ten yards in front of me , a male, clad in nothing more than his cotton boxer shorts, jogged jauntily down the steps from his garden and ran away (bare foot) up the coast path! My first reaction was "Blimey, am I over-dressed or is he under-dressed?" but I had no time to ask him as he was moving fast (and who could blame him? there was a bit of a chill on the wind and the air was thick with moisture!). I carried on and after about 100 meters came upon a set of steps down into the bay (at low tide, these are steps down to the beach, at high tide as it was, they are steps to the sea). It was then that I spotted boxer short man bobbing around in the water, presumably attempting to swim among the tightly spaced breaking waves. I wondered briefly whether he may need assistance, having fallen in or under-estimated the strength of the waves, but quickly assumed he was one of those ever growing band of people who enjoys open water swimming and was therefore a strong swimmer and mentally insane, so I got on my way.

Ignoring the various aches and pains was becoming harder within another mile, as my lower abdominal muscles started to complain and my left thigh proceeded to bring a stabbing pain with every step! but still I went on.

By the time I reached the top of the cliffs, visibility was around 100 meters and following a cliff path became the only thing I could do. That was fine until the path split (as they often do) with one path leading away from the cliff edges and the other leading to the edge. Normally, a glance further ahead at the contours of the land would give you a clear indication of whether the path was one that led down the cliffs (perhaps to the beach or to the tip of a headland) or continued along the route. Today an element of guess work became necessary which, on a couple of occasions left me staring down a sheer cliff (see picture below)

Despite all these problems, I carried on, knowing that the walk was only 13.8 miles and rated as 'moderate' in my coastal path guide.

As I walked along the high cliff tops, shrouded in cloud, I was treated to a rare display by a Skylark. As any of my dear readers who know a bit about birds will know, the Skylark only sings it's loud and varied song when it is on the wing, but is often difficult to see as a result. Today I was blessed when, from a clump of gorse 5 yards ahead of me, a Skylark launched upwards around 20 ft and then seemed to float there on the wind, whilst it gave me a 20 second burst of song, before flying away on the wind. A real pleasure to see one, having heard the song on many days of my walk, but rarely getting more than the most fleeting glimpse of the Skylark itself!

The next landmark I should have come across was Bedruthan steps, but somehow, in the poor visibility and, despite the obviously better maintained footpath (inlaid rock and slate) I walked right past it! So instead of Bedruthan Steps being the first sign I had of progress, I was pleasantly surprised (and a little surprised) to come around a headland and spot a large beach (Mawgan Porth- a sandy beach with a few shops / restaurants for the visitor to utilise).

With two and a half miles to go to Watergate Bay and (most) of the aches and pains having accepted that the walk was happening, I began the descent out of Mawgan Porth, which started gently, then quickly became steps!

The section from Mawgan Porth to Watergate Bay has some stiff climbs and the path often skirts sheer drops down very steep cliff faces. Today's gusty wind made parts of the walk harder than it perhaps would be if the sun were shining!

A couple of miles further on, you come to the headland looking along the length of Watergate Bay beach, it is an impressive viewpoint of the beach that apparently measures nearly two miles.

About a mile and a quarter of descending from this point brings you into Watergate Bay, past the 'Beach Village' complex of holiday lets, down a flight of stairs that takes you between them and the Watergate Bay Hotel, along a path through the hotel car park, then around the corner down a pedestrian lane that threads its way between the hotel, a car park, the surf rental shop and the lifeguard station, to the entrance of the beach (pictured below).

My initial opinion of Watergate Bay is that it has been over-developed and the 'main' part of the beach is now nothing more than a tourist trap. However, the beach is long and wide, so if you come here, you can at least spread out and 'escape' (all you have to do is get through the initial approach to the beach!).

Needless to say, I quickly turned tail and headed back the way I'd come. By the time I had got back up onto the cliff tops, my various aches and pains were all taking it in turns to remind me of their plight!

This continued for the whole walk back (it was almost like the various joints and muscles had sat down and held a meeting to discuss how best to slow my progress, I imagine the meeting went something like this:-

"I'd suggest that right knee plays up until he changes his gait slightly, then you, left ankle, come in to play with a nagging sharp pain until he changes gait again. If we all keep alert, we should be able to slow him down, if not stop him altogether, agreed?"

Their plan seemed to have been executed perfectly, as ever step coming back seemed to hurt a different joint or muscle! Still, it's no good complaining still over 200 miles to get done!

I found Bedruthan Steps on the way back, the view was still restricted by cloud / sea mist, but here it is!

I believe there are seven granite outcrops left standing that were deadly to shipping in the old days, but I couldn't see seven!