Wednesday 19th June:  Weather: 12°C to 19°C: Mostly Sunny

Lostwithiel to Fowey:  14.8k walk Fowey then Polruan:  Asc 389m, Desc 415m, 2.30pm Bus 1hr Fowey to Looe 

Time:  7.15am to 11.45pm: Total time 4hrs 30min: Walk time: 4hrs Plus 1 x 30m stop: Walk 2k Polruan

Accommodation: Harbour Moon Looe

Highlight today was finishing the Saint’s Way at St Fimbussan church in Fowey then catching the bus to the beautiful harbour at Looe. to the Start of teh Smuglers Way.

At 5am the sun shines into the living room of my apartment Little Breoke, which ideally faces south overlooking Lostwithiel.   A quick cup of tea while packing, then breakfast of a packet of instant Quaker Oats with cream and a cup of coffee - with cream of course.  

I’m out the door at 7.15am, retracing my steps down the lane to the cemetery then a sharp left turn to the village of Castle.  This track was suggested in the blurb as the best way in and out of Lostwithiel to avoid the cow poo on the main path.  After two hours on beautiful country lanes there's only two cars that have passed me.  I’m glad of my pale blue Deuter pack which is not my favourite colour but stands out like a sore thumb in a dark country lane.  There’s a lot of up and down for 7k before the last down hill with a few more cars near the small fising village of Golant where I see a picnic table and bench seats near the smelly banks of the River Fowey -it’s low tide with boats parked on mud.  Time for a coffee at 9.15am with a Suzie protein bar. 

Then back up through the village along a narrow track high above the River Fowey climbing on country lanes then down towards the Sewage Works at the back of Fowey, still 2k away.  The last stretch into Fowey is on a busy road, not much choice, and shared by cars, hikers, other walkers and dogs.  Around the corner is the bustling village of Fowey and I head for St Fimbussan Church to officially finish the Saint’s Way at 11.45am.  A quick photo to mark the event then up through the town and down to the Polruan ferry which arrives at 12.10pm.

After a 5 minute ferry ride, I’m at the Polruan Quay and walk 50 metres to the bus stop thinking I’d just missed the 12pm bus to Looe, but the time table marks the 12pm bus as NW - not Wednesday - and today is Wednesday so I wouldn’t have caught it anyway.  The next bus is at 2.30pm so I have plenty of time to walk 1k up the hill on the SWCP to a seat overlooking Fowey and have a leisurely lunch of Sainsbury’s bread, with butter, tomato and mayonnaise, plus a cup of tea.  Meandering back down to the bus stop I’m the first of another 12 people to arrive.  A couple tell me it’s only a 12 seater bus.  I’m not missing out.  The bus is late at 3pm and we somehow cram in.  It’s a very narrow road, and the bus driver has to move back and forward to allow for passing cars.  45 minutes later, the bus arrives in Looe, and I walk the 100 metres along the harbour to the Harbour Moon Hotel where I’m shown to my room number 2 which has a separate but private bathroom.  And a lovely view over Looe Harbour.

I settle in, have a shower and write my diary, before trotting down to the bar to buy a pint of Guinness to take up to my room to go with my dinner of lettuce, tomato, ham and mayonnaise - on a cheesy scone which had been left in my room as part of a continantal breakfast.  Bed at 9.30pm after a hot chocolate while watching some of the European football championships on the small TV screen.