Hayle to Zennor

Hayle to Zennor - Wednesday 12th September 2012

Path Facts - Length: 11.2 miles, Ascent: 1924 feet*

Started off about 9.30am. There was a bit of a trek along the road coming out of Hayle. The path goes inland a little way around a nature reserve then heads back through a very posh area called Lelant and alongside the St Ives park and ride railway on the way back to the coast. There were views back to the dreaded Towans sand dunes.

Stopped at the also posh Carbis Bay at the none too salubrious Sands Cafe. Run by young guys with loud chavvy music. It was decided to get a take away coffee and consume on the beach rather than endure the music.

The weather was rather improved from yesterday, looking almost Caribbean here.

Beyond Carbis Bay, views to St Ives open up.

I have mixed feelings about St Ives. It is clearly a somewhat "happening" place and a cut above many of the more run down seaside towns. It has culture, art, good food etc but that carried with it a certain "it crowd" pretentiousness. In Newquay, the guy comes round in the morning to jet-spray the beery excesses of the night before from the streets. In St Ives, I think someone must come round wafting potpourri. It is also a victim of it's own success, being way too busy.

Bringing the joint down to my level, I was pleasantly surprised to find an old amusement arcade which I remembered from... must be 30 years ago. There's a redneck shooting game where the dummies fire water back at you.

We had a brief look round but didn't stop too long due to having a good few miles to do yet before Zennor. Stopped at a classy beach cafe for food. Then followed the path out through the West side of St Ives.

On leaving St Ives, the contrast is immediate and the scenery becomes quite rugged and barren. There were views back to the disappearing civilisation but we were now onto one of the most off the beaten track sections of the path.

I could see how the path could get tricky after a lot of rain. We'd had some and it was already quite boggy. The character of the path here is more like moorland which made for yet another variety of interesting walking. The landscape and character of the path is always changing.

This felt like a pretty tough day and the sun was quite low in the sky by the time we arrived at Zennor at 6pm. Big contrast to St Ives. Zennor is a tiny place. There had been a bit of a mix up at the backpackers but luckily they were virtually empty so we had a dorm to ourselves. The Tinners Arms, a Good Pub Guide recommended pub was a couple of minutes away and was a good venue for food and an ale or two.


Info:

Accommodation – Zennor Backpackers.

Location **** Zennor is a fair way inland from the path but a good location
Room ** ok for a dorm
Facilities **good for a hostel
Noise ***** very quiet
Food *** cereal
Ambience ***
Price ***** £37 for the room

Food – The Tinners Arms

Quality ****
Price ***

Beer

Tinner's Ale ****

*Note: Due to not having an accurate ascent figure for this section and the Zennor to Pendeen section, the 1924 feet figure is an estimate split over the two days. Probably today was the greater ascent.