Monday 30th April: Weather: 5°C to 10°C: Cold Arctic northerly gusting to 60kph at back of right shoulder
St Ives to Pendeen: 24k walk: 9hrs: 8am to 5pm with 3 breaks: Ascent/Descent 1100 metres
Accommodation: Lyndhurst Air BnB Pendeen
St Ives to Pendeen
Our Little Den in St Ives
Tate Gallery Porthmeor Beach
Arctic northerly St Ives 8.15am
Looking forward from St Ives
Looking Back from St Ives
Heather and gorse on headlands
Pendeen Watch Lighthouse appears
Morning tea at Mussel Point
Zennor Head
Almost half way at 12.30pm
South facing windows best in UK
Heather and gorse
Wild ponies on track
Lunch out of teh wind
24k of boulders and rocks on track
Afternoon tea at Pendeen Watch
Pendeen Watch Lighthouse
View from our Air BnB Pendeen
Now this is a proper den
Comfy bed in attic
Beer and bikkies with a view
Another stunning day. Sunny all day with spectacular views up and down the coast. A cold arctic northerly gusting to 60kph couldn’t spoil a great day. It was a really hard 24k walk taking 9 hours with three breaks of 20 minutes each. That’s 8 hours of hard yakka and in between the many ups and downs, the tracks were littered with rocks and boulders. We were really pleased to get to Pendeen to our Air BnB after a rewarding walk. Even better, when Jennifer showed us to our room in the attic, it was a truly magnificent den with bed, ensuite, tea table, tub chairs and coffee table plus a fantastic view of the ocean.
We need to start early today as we know it will be a long hard difficult day. An early morning cup of tea, packing our gear and cleaning our little den, then breakfast - Ian had chocolate weet bix and yoghurt, I had bread and jam - then out the door on the dot of 8am. It’s freezing cold and 5°C as we walk the extra 1k down to Porthmeor Beach to check out the Tate gallery (which opens at 10). It’s a magnificent structure and is an attraction in St Ives which is a very arty kinda town.
The cold arctic northerly makes the 5°C feel like 2°C and we have every ounce of gear on, including our rain gear even though its sunny. For the first k the Coastal Track is easy, flat, bituminised and wide but soon we’re into boulders and rocks making it difficult. The track isn’t well marked and there’s lots of mini dead ends. We can’t go too far wrong if we keep within 50 metres of the ocean, but each dead end costs time. The scenery up and down the coast is spectacular on this brilliant sunny day but the track is so rocky, it’s heads down most of the time.
There’s no place out of the wind to stop until 11.30am at Mussel Point where we hide behind a rock for a hot chocolate with thick bread, jam and clotted cream. We estimate we’ve done about 6k and in another hour at Zennor’s Head, there’s a sign indicating we’ve come 6 miles (9.6k) from St Ives, and 7 miles (11.2k) to go to Pendeen Watch - almost half way. The track is very open, passing through more gorse and heather and this stretch of coastal path is almost uninhabited, just a few isolated house. One in particular is close to the ocean and has lots of glass windows facing south - the best aspect for the sun in the northern hemisphere. Looks warmer that on the track.
Soon we’re confronted by a group of wild ponies heading our way on the path. We stop to let them pass - they're 5 metres from the cliff edge and don’t want to frighten them. They’re skittish already. A bit further on we spy a beautiful spot out of teh wind behind some rocks - a good place for lunch as it’s 1.30pm. But when we get there, there’s a couple of day walkers already having a cup of tea from a thermos in our spot! Moving down, we settle for spot off the track, where the ponies have been - I can tell - but at least it’s out of the wind and in the sun. Lunch is bread (two day old) butter tomatoes cheese and chicken from two nights ago.
We’ve made good time, and estimate there’s only 2 hrs to go to Pendeen Watch - and it’s now 2pm when we leave our lunch spot. The track isn’t any easier and in fact is more rocky and more muddy and the wind is getting stronger and colder. But soon we’re on a level stretch with Pendeen Watch Light House in our sights. Time for a break and a cup of tea behind a stone wall.
Twenty minutes later we’re at the lighthouse, and walking up the road a further 1.5k to the village of Pendeen. Jennifer and Paul from our Air BnB have given us directions to Lydnhurst, the name of their house. It’s near the Cost Cutters Supermarket and has a red door - very easy to find. Jennifer is in the garden and we’re shown to our room which isn’t a room, it’s the whole floor of the upper attic complete with ensuite, breakfast table and a mini lounge area with 2 tub chairs, a coffee table and fabulous views to the west over the ocean. The sun is setting over the ocean as I type.
After a shower and a bit of washing, time for a cheese, bikkie and beer (from Cost Cutters next door) before heading to the other side of teh BnB to the North Inn, the local pub where the mine host has adorned the inside walls with photos of himself when he was an extra in the Poldark series.
We’ve seen photos of the hotels pie and vegetables with chips and it looks yummy. But when they arrive, they're big enough to feed an army. Nothing wasted, the left overs go into our plastic container for lunch/dinner tomorrow. It’s chilly outside as we wander back to our BnB and watch the last of the setting sun sink into the ocean. What a fabulous place to stay - one of our best this trip. Highly recommended. Thanks Jennifer and Paul in Pendeen.
North Inn Hotel Pendeen
Proper Dark - a dark Cornish beer
Pies big enough to feed and army