Portloe to Mevagissey

Portloe to Mevagissey - Thursday 5th September 2013

Path Facts - Length: 12.3 miles, Ascent: 2375 feet

Breakfast at the B&B was a bit of an SWCP walkers war room. We met the couple from yesterday and another couple of chaps who would be walking on to Mevagissey like us. A few hardcore walkers who had put in some serious mileage.

Left at 9 am. It was sunny quite early and we were anticipating another hot day after a relatively cool one yesterday. The last couple of days had been substantial undertakings and I think the cumulative effect was being felt more than a bit. There were a few staircases early on today and it felt tough!

Today would take us to 60 miles for this trip which is more than we'd done on any previous trip... and we'd also planned a short one for tomorrow to take us on to Charlestown / St Austell. Although short, not a stroll on the beach. More on this tomorrow. 
 

Have to share this. My path description from SWCPA describes the first point of civilisation we would come across today thus:

West Portholland comprises just a couple of rows of cottages, a chapel and two limekilns on the beach.

then,

East Portholland is a slightly larger community, with a sub post office which is open for 3 hours on a Tuesday...

Stopped at the intriguingly named Porthluney for a cold one on a hot day.

In the vicinity is Caerhay's Castle.

The path was moderate for the next stretch...

 

...before the ascent to Dodman Point which is the high point in this area. The name means Dead Man and is so called because of the number of wrecks here.
  

The view goes right out West beyond Coverack on the Lizard where we were four days ago. And shortly the view would open out Eastwards towards Fowey, Polperro, Looe and right out beyond Plymouth.
 

 

Gorran Haven was the first available lunch stop today at approx 9 miles. We got there about 1.30pm.

 

There's a great little cafe here on the south side of the town, right on the path before descending to the centre. The bargain offer was a jug of Elderflower for £3. Also good sandwiches and cakes, and very friendly. SWCP Blog Award!
 

Here's a view out towards St Austell and the remnants of the china clay industry.

Stopped for a bit of a rest at Porthmellon just before Mevagissey. This place is apparently especially prone to flooding and a local lady was telling us about the sea going right up the street and spray going over the roofs of the houses.

Arrived at Mevagissey 3.30pm. Dropped our packs off at the B&B, had ice cream and narrowly missed the museum which closed at 4pm.

 

The B&B was great, really central and full of character with low ceilings up a windy, narrow street. These houses would have apparently had several fishing families living in them. There are still 50 or so fishing boats operating out of Mevagissey according to our local sources.

Info

Accommodation - Kervernel
  

Location *****
Room ****
Facilities ****
Noise ****
Food ****
Ambience *****
Price **** £60 for the room

Food – The Ship Inn

Quality **** pasta
Price ***
Beer - Proper Job *****

The Walker's Strategy Section

Portloe to Mevagissey elevation:

These elevations are only approximate as Dodman Point is 114 m which is more than shows up below. Nonetheless,  I think it gives a good indication of the ascent and descent.

Falmouth to Portloe

Falmouth to Portloe - Wednesday 4th September 2013

Path Facts - Length: 13.7 miles, Ascent: 2398 feet

A good night's sleep. Sprang out of bed at 7am in time for an early breakfast so we could get to the ticket office for 9am and get tickets for the 9.30 am ferry. From Falmouth there's a ferry that takes you across to St Mawes then a much smaller ferry (slightly bigger than a rowing boat) that takes you across to Place where the path is rejoined. One way on both ferries is £9 per person.

Approaching St Mawes:

St Mawes and Place ferries:

Arriving at Place:

Met another couple of walkers on the ferry who would be staying at the same place as us in Portloe. Portloe B&B would turn out to be the epicentre of coast path walkers.

After the two ferries we didn't really start walking until about 10.30 am, a late-ish start for a longish day.

We passed St Anthony's Head, where there is a lighthouse. This could be seen right back from Porthallow and much more prominently from Falmouth.

 

These might be Guillemots or Shags. Answers on a postcard.

Great coastline...

 ... sometimes demands an aerial view.

We saw a couple of kestrels today and a chap who was walking with a bivvy bag. His strategy was to walk until about 8pm in the evening then camp out wherever he found himself. Which last night was in the grounds of Pendennis Castle in Falmouth! If you were going to walk a substantial amount of the path in one go some sort of camping option would be necessary. The logistics, not to mention expense, of booking a huge number of B&B's in advance and ensuring you could get there according to programme would be pretty challenging. The advantage of his way is varying the daily distance depending on how fit you feel. The disadvantages, like waking up in the damp with no hot shower, or breakfast etc.. are a bit of a downside though.

Stopped at Porthscatho, the 6 mile point, for a longish lunch and saw our fellow SWCP walkers take over. The bivvy chap stocked up on a couple of pasties then kept going without barely a pause.

 

Pendower was the last available stopping point at 9 miles for a quick coffee before hitting the strenuous section of the path towards Nare Head.

Yes there were a few steepish sections but, again, I found the description unnecessarily dramatic. These descriptions are possibly written by older walkers and err on the side of caution for those who are likely to bite off more than they can chew. But today was still fairly moderate compared to some of the early walks we did back at Porlock, Lynmouth and Combe Martin.

Past Nare Head is another imaginatively named "Gull Rock". My path description from SWCPA suggests coming up with a better name. From this angle I'm going for Dragon Rock.

Below shows a nice windy section of path.

Approaching Portloe.

Arrived at Portloe at about 5pm. This is another great place and recommended for a visit. Though there were problems with the popularity with the local pub as we would find out.
 

The B&B was good. They put us up in the overflow room with a shared bathroom which was perhaps not ideal but was probably the only option for a twin room available so can't complain.

Dinner at The Ship Inn. Probably should have gone a little earlier as they were fully booked. We ended up eating in the garden in the waning light and dropping temperature. Still, good food and beer and a small austerity compared to the chap sleeping in his bivvy bag who was no doubt still walking after we had finished eating and would be yet to enjoy his cold pasty for supper.

Info

Accommodation - Carradale, Portloe

Location *** A bit off the path but fine
Room ***
Facilities ***
Noise ****
Food ****
Ambience ****
Price **** £55

http://www.carradale-bnb.co.uk

Food – The Ship Inn

Quality **** more goat's cheese but good grub
Price ***
Beer - Tribute ****

The Walker's Strategy Section

Elevation from Falmouth to Portloe: