Day 32 - Porthleven to Poldhu (via the Rhur)

Today my adventures took me to Pothleven way down west on Mount's bay and, as you can see, the weather took up where it had left off yesterday!

My initial search of the harbour area found a plaque on the wall of the harbour, near this cannon, commemorating two Porthleven brothers (Fred and Edgar Giles) who perished on board the Titanic on 15th April 1912.

The coast path leads you along the edge of the harbour and past the clock tower on the corner of the inner and outer harbour, before following the road up the hill and out of town for about three quarters of a mile, where it becomes a non vehicular path.

A gently undulating path (on the whole) eventually brings you to Loe Bar. A freshwater reservoir sits inland of the beach (created when the estuary for the River Cober became blocked by sand and shingle), with the sea breaking onto a sand bar.

This is not my first visit to Loe Bar, having camped here overnight with my friend on the first day of our four day Penzance to Falmouth walk. I remembered a local telling us then to stay out of the sea, and today signs warn of the danger of exceptionally strong currents and a steep slope very close to the edge of the breaking waves. Local legend states that "The Loe claims one life every seven years"

The weather today didn't really do the place justice in the photo, it is a beautiful spot.

Here is the sunset taken from Loe bar back in 2014.

Walking out of Loe bar in the direction of Lizard point heading east, you pass the memorial to those that died aboard HMS Anson (it is two of her cannons that guard Porthleven harbour) that was wrecked on Loe Bar in 1807 and to Henry Trengrouse who, after witnessing the loss of HMS Anson , invented the rocket life saving apparatus.

A further mile and a half on, the path passes above Halzephron Cliff (Hell's Cliff). The nearby Inn of the same name is said to have a smuggler's tunnel to the base of the cliff.

A mile further on, the path descends to the picturesque Church Cove. On the inland side of the beach sits the Mullion Golf Course and, with it's tower half buried in the sandhills right on the beach, is the church of St. Winwalloe built in the 15th Century, it has a Norman font.

From there, a short walk over the next headland (carrag-a-pilez cliff) brings you to the edge of Poldhu Cove. A short walk down the path takes you to the Beach.

As usual, I turned back and headed back to Porthleven. The weather (apart from for the two minutes I was around Church Cove) was generally drizzly, but the short showers quickly blew through before they were followed by another!

When I got back to Porthleven, I was passing the clock tower at the edge of the harbour, when I noticed a plaque set into the towers wall that I had missed on the way out that morning. It was yet another reminder of the reason behind this walk.

Porthleven was the childhood home of Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar. Officer commanding 617 squadron Bomber Command Royal Air Force, later known as the Dambusters, after the raid in 1943 on the German Dams on the Rhur.

Home for a fantastic birthday dinner cooked by my wife (Lamb chop, Fillet steak, Liver, Bacon, Mash, Peas and brown onion gravy followed by home made Banoffee Pie) - I'm stuffed!!