What better than a nine mile walk on a day of rest

 

Having woken at 4.15 this lovely Sunday morning I began by having breakfast and blogging about the day before. Drew got up at 7am and after shaving, brushing teeth and showering we were ready to go for a walk at 8am.

The map above shows the route we took, though (as Google Maps often does) it has cut out some corners, we stayed on the South West Coastal Path for six of the miles on our route so were closer to the sea than the map suggests.

Leaving April Cottage at 8am we walken the 0.7 miles down to Padstow Harbour and on to North Quay, where the Ferry to Rock is based.

Rock Ferry with Rock across the estuary

From here it is an easy climb up to the War Memorial at St. Saviour's Point, 

though the sign which showed just how dangerous the channels in the River Camel could be helped comfort us that walking was safer than boating. 

The path begins to climb along to St. George's Cove and then as you walk towards Harbour Cove see, as the tide is low today, the beach sand almost reaching all the way out to the famous Doom Bar, now removed as a brand name for Cornish Beer originally brewed in Rock the village across the estuary. 

As we walk through the sand dunes above Harbour Cove and head along the track for Hawkers Cove, the path heads towards a small (at least in summer) stream. The stream is slightly less small in winter and even though it is two days since we had heavy rain it remains very damp.

Though a boardwalk has been placed to cross the worst of it 

there was still a patch which was boggy and were my boots were almost overtopped by the mud 

though we survived the experience and the ground became walkable again as we approached the attractive location of Hawkers Cove.

We walk across the back (or front as the face the road) of the Hawkers Cove cottages and continue on the South West Coast Path. It now starts to become very steep and we manage to make our way up the steep walk while looking all the time at the amazing view as the River Camel merges into the Sea.

The path leads around the headland and bring us to Stepper Point and the Day Mark Tower which, built in the early 1800s, still stands at its head.

Day mark towers were used as navigational aids for seafarers, in the case for those coming in from the Atlantic looking to enter the Camel estuary. This one appears in a number of the long shots in the BBC programme Poldark giving the opportunity for Drew to channel his inner Warleggan by shouting "Where be the maid" in a poor Cornish accent. [Co-pilot's note: Some people, dear readers, fail to recognise true talent when they hear it!]

From Stepper Point we continued along the coast to Pepper Hole and the bay beyond where the crashing of waves is fierce and powerful. The granite coloured cliffs making a striking site. 

Walking further along and looking back towards the rocky bay we could see clouds of apparent steam, but really surf, rise from the sea as the waves crash into the bay.

Drew used the fast photo option on his camera to take a number of the waves coming in fast. So if you go to our photos on Flickr you can see the waves in motion by flicking through the 50+ photos of this bay.

From Butterhold Bay we continued along the coastal path until seeing a turn which took us off the path and through a field to meet the road above Crugmeer. From Crugmeer it was a 2.6miles walk along country lanes back to our holiday cottage in Sarah's View. 

A nine mile walk (9.02 according to Google), six of them on little paths, was a refreshing way to begin a Sunday. Having left at 8am we got back to April Cottage at 11:36, muddy, sweaty but content. Time for a refreshing bath before an afternoon of listening the the T20 Cricket World Cup Final.