Portreath to Hayle

Portreath to Hayle - Tuesday 11th September 2012

Path Facts - Length: 12.4 miles, Ascent: 1371 feet

Today was a lot cooler with the forecast giving 14 deg C, but bright and sunny as the view back to Portreath shows.

 

A comparatively low level walk today with most of the "staircases" on the early part of the walk.

After a while the path runs alongside the road then there are a couple of detours, partially related to the huge landslip at Hell's Mouth.

This occurred back in October 2011 and involved an estimated 100,000 tonnes of rock.There was an article about it in The Guardian which shows the video captured by a a walker. It is pretty awesome and worth a look.

Massive Cornwall Rockfall On Video

After this excitement, it was mandatory to calm down with some refreshments at the Hell's Mouth Cafe which was a good place to stop and much recommended.

Continuing along the path the next real landmark was Godrevy lighthouse, and a large colony of seals.

Distant views to St Ives began to open up though we wouldn't reach there today.

Stopped at a tea shop / cafe near the beach at Godrevy. Being really busy and there being no seats inside, we had to opt for an outside balcony. The 14 deg C temperature plus wind chill plus waiting quite a while for the order resulted in the gradual donning of every available piece of clothing in the rucksack and a regret in ordering orange juice as opposed to something sensible like hot tea! It felt more like late Autumn.

Next phase of the walk was probably the worst case of losing-path-syndrome on the whole route so far. As I think has been said before, you can get a bit blase with the whole "sea on the right, land on the left" rule of thumb. Then when you need to actually think, you're not ready for it. This stretch, just North of Hayle, is a huge area of sand dunes known as the Towans. The signs were rubbish and I'd be suprised if anyone can discern an actual path from one side to the other. It's also quite up and down and tough going across the sand.

It was a relief to arrive at civilisation on the far side of the Towans. Some redneck style huts are one of the first sign of life before entering Hayle, which seems to be undergoing major redevelopment and was hence a bit of a building site.

A short trek off the path to Fernleigh B&B which was a good stop with a pretty funny, talkative proprietor called Mike. He wound us up about our next day's walk with stories of no-one going to Zennor ever being heard of again. I would recommend it but sadly they were selling up and moving on. I would think this would leave very limited options for accommodation in Hayle.


Info:

Accommodation –Fernleigh B&B.

Location ***
Room ****
Facilities ****
Noise ***
Food ****
Ambience ***
Price **** £65 for the room

Food – The Cornish Arms

Low on ambience, but filling grub!

Quality ***
Price ***

Beer

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