Tuesday 25th June: Weather: 13°C to 19°C: Mostly sunny, no rain
Tintagel to Port Isaac: 16k, Asc 780m, Desc 804m
Time: 9.30am to 4.30pm: Total time 7hrs: Walk time: 6hrs 30min Plus 1 x 20min and 1 x 10 min stop:
Accommodation: Air BnB Yve’s place at 2 Mayfield Rd Port Isaac
Tingagel Old Post Office
Spectacular SWCP near Tintagel
Coffee brak looking to Port Isaac
SWCP Signs
More views SWCP
Green graph serious ups and downs
The SWCP is simply stunning so there’s highlights all day walking along the Cornish cliffs.
I’m awake early and shower, pack, do emails, send messages etc and go to brealkfast at 8am. There’s the usual spread of cereals and yoghurts, with a bowl of fresh fruit. The English breakfast is lovely, but I’ve given up asking for “no baked beans please”. I eat the beans and put the rest in my Jamaica Inn box, that’s on it’s last legs. Then a quick walk without my pack 1k return down town to the Old Post Office which is a National Trust listed property.
Back to Pendrin Guest House to thank Marcus and Andra and I’m off at 9.30am to rejoin the SWCP. It’s a really difficult section, the up and downs are very steep, the equivalent of 7 x Bailleau Rds Mt Cotton. The walk along the cliff tops was a welcome relief to enjoy the views. After a tough 6.5k, it’s 12 noon and I stop for a 20 minute coffee break at Port William, sitting behind some gorse bushes. I meet an Australian couple in their 60’s, Chris and Allison from Gosford, and play tag with them for most of the day.
The sun comes out after coffee and it’s warm in the sun, but very cool in the breeze. There’s wonderful views back to Tintagel and forward to Port Isaac. I pass Delapole Point. Delapole is a village just west of here, famous for it’s slate which costs 10 times the slate imported from Brazil. I meet a few hikers coming towards me, backpacks loaded up, obviously walking the SWCP. One girl has been walking for 36 days with another 10 days to go. She's camping and her pack looks to weigh about 12kg. One guy has a bag weighing at least 25kg and is carrying a deck chair. He’s walked 5k from Port Isaac and thinks he'll stop where he is for the night. It’s only 1pm. He’s stuffed already!
More up and down and with Port Gaverne in sight. I’m starving and briefly stop for a jam sandwich while still standing. Chris and Allison catch me up and together we walk down into Port Isaac. They are staying near the slip way, but I still have another 1k to walk up hill to Yve’s Air BnB at 2 Mayfield Rd. There’s some confusion as Google Maps points to 2 Mayfield Close. I arrive at 4.30pm and sit and wait for check in at 5pm which turns into 5.30pm with a “I thought my partner sent a message”. The room is very basic with a shower shared between two other Air BnB Guests, the hosts daughter and the hosts themselves. After a quick shower, I don’t leave the room, and have my lettuce, mayonnaise and Pendrin’s breakfast for dinner. I haven’t had a drink since Jamaica Inn last Saturday. Bed at 9pm.