Saturday 5th May: Weather: 11°C to 16°C: Sunny all day, warm and no wind
Porthleven to Lizard: 21k walk: 7hrs: 8.30am to 3.30pm Ascent 760 metres
Accommodation: Lizard YHA
Porthleven to Lizard
Chyvarloe where Hilary grew up
Hilary, our host from Keigwyn BnB
Down to Loa Bar
Blue skies, blue ocean to Lizard
Coast Path diversions past Loe Bar
Looking back to Porthleven
Beach at Gunwalloe used in Poldark
Winnianton church used in Poldark
Farn\ms, tracks, blue skies
Morning tea Marconi Centre Pondhu
Pretty little Mullion Cove
Fantastic coastline towards Lizard
Crossing farmland with windflowers
Kynance Cove
Lunch at Kynance Cove with tourists
Beer waiting for YHA to open at 5pm
YHA room view with washing in sun
View from window of our YHA room
Another spectacular day. Sunny, warm and very little breeze. Highlights were seeing the Loe Bar which separates a freshwater lake from teh ocean, Winnianton Church and Gunwalloe Beach of Poldark fame, the Marconi station at Poldhu Point, where the first transatlantic wireless radio signals were transmitted to Newfoundland, the spectacular Kynance Cove with hundreds of tourists lapping up the sunshine, then arriving at the youth hostel, perched on Lizard Point, the most southerly tip of England. Long 21k walk but not too difficult.
We’re awake early at the Keigwyn Bed and Breakfast. Hilary has provided us with a continental breakfast with fresh bread, fruit, muesli, cheese, cold meats etc etc. A wonderful array of goodies which we can have at our leisure with a hot cup of tea. We’ve accepted Hilary’s offer to drive us back to the Coast Path to where we left off yesterday at the Loe Bar. But the road only goes to Chyvarloe, a three house place where Hilary had grown up, but there’s a walking track back yo the Loe Bar.
At 8.15am, we’re loaded into Hilary’s car and off we go to Chyvarloe and say goodby to Hilary. Such a lovely host and such a lovely BnB. It’s 1k down to the Loe Bar which separates a freshwater lake from the ocean and has only recently (ie 100 years ago) been formed. It’s a fantastic blue sky day as we walk along the coast path, but soon there's another detour - but only a few hundred metres around a cliff fall, not like yesterday’s 4k detour. At Gunwalloe there’s the lovely Church Cove Beach used as the shipwreck scene in the Poldark series - so one of the locals tells me, and then points me to the church around the corner at Winnianton which was also used in the series, a beautiful old church on the beach, tucked back into the cliffside.
It's 11am when we arrive at Poldhu Point, and see the Marconi Centre on the hill, where the first wireless signals were sent across the Atlantic to New Foundland. Time for a coffee break with white sliced bread jam and clotted cream on the steps of the Marconi Memorial . The scenery becomes increasingly spectacular, with a rugged coastline, a clear calm blue ocean and tracks through hilltop farms. We’re soon at Mullion Cove, a pretty little harbour then on to the Lizard nature reserve. There’s now hundreds of tourists on the track. It’s Saturday, it’s beautiful fine sunny weather, and there’s lots of car parks within walking distance of sections of the coast path. So there’s hundreds of tourists out enjoying the coastal scenery at it’s best.
By 2pm, we’ve reached Kynance Cove where hundreds of tourists are flocking to this little cove surrounded by craggy granite stacks set in a clear blue ocean. Perched on a grassy knoll, we have lunch of bread, banana and peanut paste. Supplies are getting low but there’s only two more days of walking.
It’s easy going through meadows and heath, high along the clifftops through the Lizard National Park, looking down at the rocky coves and inlets. We can see the village of Lizard to our left, and the buildings of the YHA to the right on Lizard Point, the most southerly tip of England. The coast of the Lizard peninsula is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round it were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships”.
It’s 3.30pm when we arrive at the Lizard Youth Hostel, but it doesn’t open til 5pm. Time to wander the 1k up to the village in search of Ann’s Pasties which had been recommended to us by someone on the path today. But it’s closed and after inquiring at the local gift store and off licence seller we’re informed that Ann has probably gone to a gig at the Scilly Isles for the weekend. So no pasties - just eggs, bread, baked beans and one leek with 4 cans of Budweiser will be dinner - all from the little gift store that partly serves as a very mini market.
Back at the YHA at 4.15 and time to sit in the sun watching the birds and rabbits whist sipping a beer on the green grass in front of the YHA waiting for it to open. At 5pm, the volunteer warden arrives and we’re given the key to our room with a double bed. It’s facing south into the setting sun with spectacular views over the ocean. A good time to have a shower and get the washing done to hang it up to dry. At 6pm, we’re down in the communal kitchen cooking eggs, baking bread and heating up a can of baked beans to have with the last two cans of beer. The youth hostel is only small and it’s almost deserted with only a few other people here. Surprising since it is located in one of the most spectacular areas along the coast path.