Wednesday: 17th May: Weather: 8°C to 15°C: Cold start then warmer and sunny
Mevagissey to Par: 20.0k walk: 8hrs 15 mins: 2 x 30 min tops: 8.45am to 4.30pm: Ascent: 770 metres
Accommodation: Air BnB Annie’s private Room 11 Upper Eastcliffe Rd
Holiday Park at Penperean Beach
Whipper snippering the SWCP
Back to Dodman Point
Trimmed grass on the SWCP
Morning Tea at Black Head
Fishing Boats St Austell Bay
Lunch Charleston with Shackletons Boat
Picturesque Charlestown Harbour
Beer in Annie’s AirBnB at Par
Highlight of our day 4 was was getting to Charlestown for lunch at 2pm after a rugged morning of ups and downs through thick underbrush. Charlestown is a pretty port famous for the making of many movies and TV series including Poldark (based on Winston Graham's books), A Respectable Trade (1997) Rebecca (1997 and 1940) Moll Flanders (1996) The Three Musketeers (1993) The Missionary (1983) The Eagle Has Landed (1976) to name just a few. Second highlight was getting to our Air BnB at Par after a 20k hike to find this magnificent house overlooking St Austell Bay owned by Annie who welcomed us with open arms and showed us to our spotlessly clean, warm attic room and the garden setting we eyed for tonight’s dinner.
Our day started at 6am with breakfast of tea, muesli,yoghurt and bananas in our room while packing and chatting back home.Ian had amade a quick trip to the newsagent to buy the yoghurt and to the fruit shop for 2 bananas. But the fruit shop didn’t accept card and Ian didn’t have the 85p cash so typically Cornish trusting, she said come back later. It’s a cool 8°C outside when we leave at 8.45am in brilliant sunshine and firstly walk back to the fruitshop to repay £1 for the 2 bananas.
It’s supposed to be a strenuous day with many ups and downs which don’t look difficult on an elevation profile, but no sooner had we started and the ups and downs turned into a roller coaster. An hour later we’re at the huge caravan park at Pentewan Beach and spend 20 minutes looking for the path on teh other side. The roller coaster ups and downs continued but it was tough ploughing through thick overgrown lush grass between 60cm and 1 metre high. The path was visible beneath but we were slowed to 3k per hour - about the same pace when climbing in the alps.
After 2 hours of slog, we come face to face with the Macho Whipper Snipper. He’s there on his own carrying a heavy Macho whipper snipper, a petrol can hanging from his belt and covered from head to toe in grass clippings. We stop to chat and he tells us that he has been hired by the local parish council to cut the grass. He parks his car in a convenieny place, walks for about and hour trimming one side of teh track, then turns around and trims the other side back to his car and drives another kilometre or two and repeat, repeat. We picked up the pace walking on a trimmed path and after almost 3 hrs, we're at Black Head for a well earned coffee and fig biscuit.
Another two hours of serious ups and downs, including one switch back the guide book describes as “savage”, we arrive at Charlestown at 2.30pm. The plan was to buy bread at a shop in Charlestown to make a jam and cheese sandwich, but the only shops in town catered for tourists - hotels, restaurants, cafes, gift shops, souvenir shops and icecream shops - no bakery or grocery stores. We settle for a few nuts and a fig roll with a cup of tea on a seat near one of Ernest Shackleton’s boats.
It’s 3pm when we leave Charlestown, and amazingly the track along the cliff edge is relatively flat, passing by two golf courses on the way to the industrial centre of Par where previously, the white clay from St Austell was exported. A sharp left turn, and the track detours around the harbour and at 4.30pm we’re at the Co-op just 300 metres from our AirBnB. Shopping time and we leave with 4 x Moretti beers, nuts, ham, cheese, bread, tomatoes and salad dressing. Then up to Annie’s place with the help of a local who gives u directions.
Annie welcomes us with open arms and we’re shown to our attic room which is so lovely. We meet Ollie the son, and the dogs and cats, then quickly unpack and go down to the garden with our beers and nuts to admire the view. Back upstairs for to shower and wash clothes, then down to the garden again to hang the clothes out to dry while we have dinner of ham sandwiches with salad tomatoes cheese and salad dressing, and two more beers.