Day 22 Mousehole to Porthleven. ( 17 miles / 28km )

 Day 22   Mousehole to Porthleven.    ( 17 miles / 28km )

This day was doing a double.  I had joined two stages together – and this time I remembered why.   The first part of today was a flat start , staying on the concrete sea wall and then a cycle path .   This makes for easy walking and a lovely respite for my little legs after the last few days.  It was perfectly timed.   The final 7km were a return to cliff tops and a roller coaster of elevations.   

The walk led me out of Mousehole , such a gorgeous stop at this special little Cornish town.   It was easy walking that went through Newlyn – the busy town that is all about the fish.  It is a working fishing port and the walk heads past the huge Newlyn Harbour Fish Market as it buzzes with all things fish related.   I wish I could have fish and chips here – for the fresh off the boat fish it would of been battered cod, chips and mushy peas for one if it hadn’t been 10.04am .   Damn shame.   

This stage went on flat and easy on cycle path and passed the Island of St Micheals Mount and the little village of Marazion.   This is when the fog seemed to start rolling on in again,  just as the trail made the turn off the respite stage of the day and to low lying cliffs and fields and in the fog with few waymarkers it was getting harder to make out the where the trail led.  

 Before I left for the walk I got the AllTrails App and down loaded all the maps for the entire path.  With a small annual fee you can download them and then use them off line – which is most of the time as signal is sketchy at best for many stages.    This has been invaluable .   There are so many times, when waymarkers are few and the trail gives you 3 options or seems to head off the cliff , that I have used the Alltrail map.   If I miss a turn it also shows me the roads and trails all around the Sth West Coast Path so I can map a way back or take an alternative to get back to the trail.   It has saved me so much time by not going off down a wrong route and if I do , realizing far sooner.  –  especially in rain with hood up when periphery waymarker spotting is hampered.   I tell Alltrails outloud many times a day how special it is and what a fine job it is doing.      Especially in fog.   

By the time I hit Cudden Point I Cudden’t see it.   It was so quiet , just the sound of me rustling through over-grown narrow trail – it was very atmospheric walking  guessing whats either side of you and the path disappearing behind you as soon as you’ve walked it.  Coming out of the now very wet and damp fields I turn into the excellent  Cabin Cafe at Perran Sands and have a cracker of a sandwich and a steaming hot tea.  

The walk through this next section felt like some magical, hidden story book setting .  It is the very mysterious Prussia Cove and is made up of 3 secluded coves – Bessie’s Cove , Piskies Cove and Coules Cove.   It is all privately owned and is only accesible by foot from the South West Coast Path.   This cove has a famous history of big time smuggling, it was once owned by the Carter Family who were major smugglers in the 18th Century.  They apparently ran half of Britains brandy trade using this remote cove as their operation centre.   Secret tunnels run under it built by  the mastermind of it all John Carter nicknamed The King of Prussia.    It remains unchanged as do the coast guard cottages they built there to try and stop this unstoppable smuggler.  He obviously knew it’s all about location, location, location –  a stunning spot to smuggle and a stunning spot to walk.  

Onto a long stretch of walking on a mist covered Praa Sands Beach before heading up to finish on a hard series of climbs and cliff edge walking.  This fog made it feel like the day was drawing in sooner than usual so I was finally thrilled to start the descent into Porthleven at 6.30.   

 Porthleven with the mist settling like a blanket over it’s harbour took my breath away.   The bars , cafes , little shops , cottages and strings of coloured lights wrap around the harbour like long arms wrapping it in a hug.     I got in quickly, peeled off everything that was soaked , which was everything and did a quick change in search of somewhere cosy to eat.   I walked past some very lovely restaurants with windows full of fresh looking , hair washed diners and instead headed to The Ship Inn right at the end of the arm .  It was a low ceilinged , warm and rowdy pub full of locals and I happily grabbed a spot and ordered .  It was a Wednesday in Porthleven and it was Quiz Night at The Ship Inn.  

As I’m sat with my book and map reading up on tomorrows stage the man about to host the quiz comes by and says “are you planning a walk?”  I tell him I’m doing the South West Coast Path – he says “how long for ?”  and I tell him I’m here for 7 weeks to do it.  He says “What’s your name?”  I say “It’s Sally” – he says “Sally Cherry?”  I say “Yes! ”  wondering how the quiz master could possibly know this.   He says “I’m Mike – I own Luggage Transfers – I took your booking and have been emailing you about your  bag transfers” !    I said “Yes!! Mike!!” Mike’s business is the brilliantly run bag transfer responsible for getting my bag from one stop to the next for me each day.  For a change of pace from this incredibly organised and  successful business he also runs the quiz at The Ship Inn on a Wednesday !    Before he starts his quiz duties he pulls up a chair and so kindly gives me the low down on tides, ferry cut offs and other excellent pieces of information before leaping up with his microphone and saying “Ok , lets get started with Round 1!!”   

I leave the quizzers to it and head back to my cosy annexe on the harbour for a long shower and hop into bed listening to the sounds of Porthleven watching England winning against Croatia in the World Cup .  The roar at each goal as I closed my eyes was magic.  

Night night from this special place xx 

Stone of the Day to start

 

England xx

Newlyn Fish Market and the art that lines it

Fog’s coming in

Fog is in

Prussia Cove…..smugglers doing well

It’s all kind of mysterious in Prussia

Praa Sands Beach in foggy beach walk

Arriving in gorgeous Porthleven