Journal:
I left the
hostel at 7:20am, and passed a Polling Station,
already looking busy, in the nearby village hall.
As I walked down to the village of Portreath along
the pretty woodland path, it began to rain lightly.
I made a stop to take the insoles (meant to help my
right knee) out of my boots to see if it made the
blistered left heel feel any better (it didn't!).
As I passed through Portreath, I stopped at the
bakery and picked up a fresh doughnut which I ate
while walking. It looked like being a grey wet
day, but at least there was no wind.
As the rain got heavier, I
stopped and put on my Goretex jacket (reaches to my
knees....a good look with shorts on!) and the
raincover on my pack. The first time for the
trip. The weather wasn't that unpleasant and
the remainder of the morning was spent mostly high
on the rain-shrouded crest of the cliffs, with misty
views. In some ways, the weather seemed
appropriate to the views. I bet there are many
days like this around here. There were some
very sharp descents and ascents to cross ravines
that gave me a real work-out and my left knee, which
has been protecting my right, began to complain
about the descents. I must have looked very
strange negotiating the steep descents while trying
not to bend either knee. Sometimes the
descents ended in small coves and, at one of these (Porthtowan),
two National Trust employees sheltering from the
rain next to a closed cafe (to which they had
access) offered me a free cup of coffee and some
cake. I gratefully accepted their offer and we
had a pleasant chat.
The morning continued with
more high cliffs and continuing rain until I reached
Perranporth around 1pm and found a cafe on the
beachfront where I had an omelette and chips and did
some email for an hour. The rain stopped while
at lunch, but a cold wind sprang up and I kept my
jacket on as I made a long beach walk on the wide
golden sands. There are some great beaches
along here. Pity about the weather and water
temperature! The afternoon included more cliff
and beach walking and a very unpleasant kilometre or
so of soft sand dunes. As the day wore on, my
legs and feet rebelled more to their new way of
life. I knew the first week would include some
pain, and I wasn't wrong.
I toyed with stopping at
Crantock around 5:30pm but, according the the
guidebook, I needed to get across a low footbridge
to Newquay at low tide, or face and extra 4km walk
and, since the tide was out, I thought it best to
press on. By the time I climbed the hill to
Newquay, I was feeling very weary. I headed
for the address of a backpackers hostel I had found
on the web, but didn't like the look of it. I
then wandered around looking for likely streets for
B&B's and must have looked lost. A young woman
approached and asked me what I was looking for and
then recommended a B&B, swearing they were friends
and she wasn't on commission, back the way I had
come. I reluctantly returned downtown, trying
to follow her directions, but couldn't find the B&B.
I decided to try another street and found a good B&B
at a good price with an ensuite and TV at 6:30pm.
I may even stay up to watch the election results
start to come in.
After a shower I hobbled
downtown and found a take-out pizza shop.
Again, the shopgirl was very friendly and helpful.
So far that has been my experience wherever I have
gone. Breakfast starts at 8:15am, so looks
like another lie-in.