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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.
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