Day 35 - Coverack to Gillan Creek

A mini revolt yesterday; first, my body refused to get out of bed until 0900 hrs and then second, the weatherman predicted rain from 1100 hrs onwards, so I didn't walk anywhere. The weatherman was (of course) wrong, meaning the rain didn't start until 1600 hrs, and I suspect my body was reacting to the first trip back to the pub (on Saturday afternoon) since they closed on 20th March 2020!

But today, I managed to get out of bed and head off nice and early for the long drive to Coverack.

As you can see in the picture above, the same ten ships were anchored in Falmouth Bay that have been there every time I've been walking in this area, today I think I finally worked out why! As they are all tankers (albeit small ones), I suspect they are full of crude oil, but lack of demand means no-one wants the stuff! Perhaps they'll be on their way soon.

So, today I was walking West to East, around Lowland Point (does exactly what is says on the tin, a headland that is pretty much at sea level), then around Dean Quarry before the path turns inland to take you through a tiny village, down to the coast for Pothoustock, back inland (avoiding two more coastal quarries) to Porthallow and on round Nare Point before a short walk along Gillan creek to Flushing.

In other news today....The Government have announced that from next Friday (not sure if that means the 17th or the 24th - I guess 17th as that is the next Friday, or is that this Friday?) it is compulsory to wear face masks in shops. I can't help wondering about what a strange world we're living in now. Back in March, if I'd walked into a bank wearing a face mask I'd have caused panic amongst the cashiers for fear that I was robbing them. Now, the cashiers are more concerned when I walk in without a mask on!

Below is a picture of Lowland Point, from the old quayside of the Dean Quarry.

Porthoustock and Porthallow are tiny fishing villages, that nowadays rely on the tourist trade to exist. Many of the cottages are holiday lets. The first picture below is Porthoustock (looking inland), with the second being Porthallow.

The pub in Porthallow (The Five Pilchards Inn - central in the picture) is a fantastic B&B! On my previous adventure around this part of the coast (2016 - camping with a friend and attempting to walk Penzance to Falmouth in for days), We spent our third night here, having covered 41 miles in three days and camped in tents the previous two nights. I don't know whether it was the bed that swallowed you, the fluffy pillows, the thickest warmest quilts, the power shower, the magnificent dinners served or the four pints of beer, but something prevented us completing day four of the walk!

A house of ill-repute? Not a bit, but a highly recommended stopping point if you are going to do a marathon walk around this area (just be careful you don't fall victim to the same fate as me and my mate - a desire not to leave and put yourself through another days tough walking!).

A steep climb out of Porthallow takes you across some steep cliffs, before you walk across a field that slopes down to the sea and a rocky beach (today being used for some skinny dipping by two young ladies, so I steered clear!), before climbing gently up and around a small outcrop then dropping down to Nare Point. The views from Nare Point across to Falmouth and St. Anthony's Head are picturesque and there are always plenty of boats and ships of all shapes and sizes to look at.

In the picture above, Pendennis Castle is just left of centre, with St Anthony's head at the far right.

A gentle walk from Nare Head along the shore of Gillan Creek takes you past a couple of small bays with lots of leisure craft anchored up, before you come to Gillan, with Flushing (very expensive houses - the people here can afford boats!) sitting slightly higher up the hills lining the creek.

Once again, I arrived at the stepping stone crossing outside of the one hour each side of low tide window that would reveal the stepping stones, so I made do with taking a couple of photos. The first one shows the village of St. Anthony (I considered using the rowing boat to nip across), the second one is supposed to be the stepping stones!

So, I turned toward home, reaching Coverack exactly six hours after I left, not bad for 16 miles.

Today has taken me past the four hundred mile mark (410.1) and means I only have 176.6 left to go and just seventeen days to do it.

Thanks for reading.

PS. This BLOG has been thoroughly cleaned before publication in line with UK government COVID-19 recommendations.