Day 19

August 27^th Depart Sennen Cove

Arrive Mousehole Accommodation: The Cornish Range

Distance 25.9 KM | Cumulative Distance: 415.3 KM | Grade – Moderate/Strenuous

Ascent 3,547 FT | Cumulative Ascent: 55,689 FT

Before I give an account of today's walk it would be remiss of me not to tell you about events that occurred yesterday shortly after we had arrived at our accommodation. After check in we dropped our bags and went to find a spot where we could grab a tea or coffee and a scone. I figure after the previous day it was time for a treat, and it was too late after arriving into Pendeen to find anywhere open.

Sennen Cove is not very big and as far as we could tell there was a cafe as we came off the beach when arriving, and there was another at the opposite end of the village and we decided to give it a try. I had a coffee and a scone (no clotted cream)!! And Liz tried a Cornish ice cream. Afterwards we came out and strolled to the edge of the village and found the trail we would need the following morning. We turned round to start working our way back when a guy came by with a huge back-pack the size of a small Cornish cottage. We thought it might be someone training for some wild ultra race, when all of a sudden a 2nd and a 3rd guy came by. We then noticed the packs were all camouflage and helmets were hanging off them. As we turned the corner there was a huge army truck and as the guys were arriving their comrades were taking the packs and throwing them in the back of the truck. I managed a quick word with one of the guys and they were heading out on a training run!! I have no idea how far they had run with their packs but no sooner had they dropped their packs than they were off again. Just before leaving the young fellow who had been speaking with me told me I would be able to see them as they headed out up into the hills and with that they were off. Sure enough they headed along the front and a couple of minutes later they were climbing this huge hill and quickly disappeared out of view. It turns out the area is famous for training England's Royal Marines and August and September is when you are most likely to see them training. Very Impressive.

Back to today. Awoke at 6-30 am after a great sleep, and upon pulling back the curtain saw that it was grey and overcast outside. I decided to make a cup of tea, and Liz decided to try the instant coffee, which must have been good because she had a second cup. After showering and packing it was time for breakfast and to check out. We decided to pick up lunch at the cafe we were at yesterday and finally at 9-05 am we were on our way. Stopped to take a couple of pictures of two neat Cornish thatched cottages, plus another stop at a memorial to the Commandos/Royal Marines and I was getting antsy to get some miles behind me as today was a long day.

A short while later we reached Land's End and stopped to take the obligatory photo's, plus a picture of the first and last house, and then it was time to roll. The walking was marked in the book as moderate, but with 1,500 feet of elevation it certainly had its moments. The first part of the mornings walking however was very pleasant with nice flat stretches. This lasted for about an hour and a half before the rain decided to join us, although it was a little light drizzle. Little did we know this was a taste of what was to come.

Eventually we arrived at Geennap Head and the Coastwatch Station, which was manned, and Liz was quick to point out the the huge windshield wiper on the big glass window, which I would have taken a picture of if it was not raining. Eventually, after 3 hours of walking we arrived at Porthgwarra, where I had a coffee and Liz a Fanta, and we sat in the outside garden, (in the light drizzle), and ate our lunch. Afterwards we had a big climb back up to the cliffs and the path eventually brought us to the Minack Theatre, of which I know nothing, as we did not have time to find out what it was all about, plus the place was crawling with tourists! At the side of the theatre was our path which led to a steep flight of stairs down to to Portcurno Beach. Unfortunately there was a family struggling to get down with their kids, and why they were trying to get down I don't know as it was now raining, and they were going to have an almighty struggle to get back up.

Eventually we reached the sand and started up the beach to the RNLI lookout and and we had knocked off the first 6.6 miles of our day and were now embarking on our next 5.5 miles which, according to the book is a strenuous section. (The morning was classed as moderate) but it certainly had it's share of uphill and downhill sections.

The path climbed up from the back of the beach and the rain was now starting to come down and before too long my shorts were stuck to my legs as they were so wet. There was a diversion at Treen Head where I would have loved to visit the Iron Age Fort, but with the weather being what it was I decided to pass. I was more concerned with getting to Lamorna Cove as I was concerned about Liz, as her feet and knee ailments were plaguing her, and it was suddenly becoming a very long day. Eventually the path brought us to a magical area, in the trees, with wild hydrangeas as well as a couple of great English gardens. Unfortunately the path also brought us onto a beach and we spent 20 minutes going about 159 feet as there were big boulders that we had to cross and there was a broken ankle just waiting to happen. Why the SW Coast Path was here I have no idea.

The afternoon was really dragging and the only person we saw was a fellow who was leaving the Taterdu Lighthouse and when I asked him the distance to Mousehole (pronounced Mowzel), he said it was a good 5 -6 miles, and the air was quickly coming out of our balloon! We pushed on and before long we had dropped from the top of the cliffs to a path that was only 20-30 feet above the ocean, which by now was boiling and seething. The last 30 minutes or so were pretty hairy as we worked our way around the coast line to Lamorna. There were several sections that required the utmost care and attention, because one rash step might be your last! The worst being the last 2-3 minutes before we eventually came off the cliffs to a nice little path that led us into the hamlet of Lamorna Cove.

I found the sign that pointed us to the last stretch to Mousehole, and it said 2 1/2 miles, and I knew there was no way we were going to make it there this evening. Liz was done, plus you could only see halfway up the cliff and I felt it was too risky to risk it, especially on your own in these kind of conditions. Tomorrow is a short day of only 5 miles, so I'm going to wait until the morning, and if the weather co-operates I will walk the path from Mousehole to LC and turn round and walk back again.

Now for some pictures. Enjoy!