Well I guess a weekend is not well spent if you don’t find something that makes your time worth while?….
Well my time was spent camping in the depths of Cornwall, with the intent to walk 23 miles from my campsite to the prodigious Lizard!
Where shall we start….
Well let’s begin with the campsite ⛺️…
I stayed at the Higher Pentreath farm campsite.. all I can say is that this campsite met everything I imagined, clean and reasonable facilities, plenty of space, quite, right next to the beach and it even has a burger van on weekends!.. just to mention a few points…
View from the campsite
I booked this campsite from the trusted website called pitch up… see below link.
I have never been disappointed with this camping website and again based on my weekend here in Cornwall I was not disgruntled by any means.
Campsite facilities.
Well that’s enough of boasting about the campsite.. let’s talk about business…
The weekend began on Friday the 21st of June 2019. And what a beautiful day at that one. I arrived at the campsite at 1600 hours… after fighting immensely with the tent I finally had it erected after what felt like 12 hours! But successful I managed without being saved by the many onlookers.. ☺️.
‘Voila’ my trustee home for a few nights.
With the sun beaming down, and my back breaking with hard labour.. there was only one thing that was fitting for this situation… a nice ice cold beer with a good old classic novel?! Who would disagree?
Campsite necessities.. “Count of Monte Cristo”
Well if your looking for a review of the book.. your going to have to wait as I was too busy to read the whole of it.. 😋🤣… but until then all I can say is keep classic novels alive! Pick one up you might just enjoy the escape from reality!
Without really drowning you readers with my minute by minute diary all I can say is I stuffed my face with food, filled my belly with liquor and slumped into my makeshift bed.
DAY 2 – The Hike to the Lizard…..
Tweet tweet tweet….. “crash” (waves)….
Oooh good jolly morning to you…. there was no sound other than the blissful nature and the waves carrying their tranquil melodies across the hills….
Breakfast fit for a queen….
Now please tell me this doesn’t like the most pleasant breakfast you have ever seen?
I can assure you while sitting there, feeling the heat already rising for the day ahead, I was truly at peace and one with nature ☺️☀️….
But I needed some energy as I was to hike 23 miles across the south west coastal path to the Lizard.
I had packed enough snacks for an army of 20 and enough plasters to make sure that I make it back to my blissful tent with all 10 toes remaining.
I set off from camp at around 9am. After faffing about, I figured if I didn’t leave soon, I would be eating cold beans from a tin on my return.
I started off by making my way down to Praa sands, this was the long golden stretch of beach I could see from the campsite. From here I picked up the coastal path.
The south west coastal path is a 630 mile continuous path running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall to Poole harbour in Dorset.
The sun was beating down and the views were actually breathtaking. This path is of tough terrain and unfortunately isn’t disabled friendly. However that does not mean that some parts of the coastal path isn’t. If you visit the website for the coastal path (see below), you are able to look at maps and guides to direct you to a walk that is suits everyone’s needs.
Old Tin mines Rinsey cliffs
The first 5 miles consisted of sizeable climbs, precipitous declines, and impressive history.
Along these cliffs, stand many tin mines, both Cornwall and Devon historically provided most of the United Kingdom’s tin, copper and arsenic until well into the 20th century. However due to no longer mining for these properties, the buildings were stripped of everything valuable and left to withstand the elements from the coast.
And what a battering they get, but that does not stop them looking extraordinary in the glistening sunshine.
Continuing along the coastal path, I then arrived at the harbour village of Portleven. If any of you have been to Cornwall, and seen these small fishing villages, then you will understand the love that I have for the small bustling markets and unique and quaint shops.
Portleven from the coastal path.
It is truly impossible to enter a Cornish village without a browse and a good old drink at the local pub to quench your thirst!
It was about 1100 hours when I arrived here at Portleven, but that did not stop me from enjoying my first ice cold beer in the sweltering heat.
While I was enjoying this glorious nectar, I researched the next part of my passage across the south west.
It was going to be a tough trek to the next village of Mullion. The cliffs stood elevated so that you needed binoculars to see… but that did not stop me. I set myself this challenge and I was intending on completing it.
So the expedition commenced.
The many stairs leading to Loe, Cornwall.
Loe Cornwall is the only place in the United Kingdom that has the forceful ocean on one side and the largest freshwater lake on the opposite with a small sand island that separates them both.
Loe freshwater lake right, sea to the left with the standing island running through the middle.
What can I say, nature really has a way to your heart am I right?
From Loe beach I climbed the never ending cliff face, here I found a bench which heeded me to rest and have a spot of lunch.
At this point I had walked a full 8.4 miles and disaster struck. While emptying my bag in which was filled to the brim of exciting foods and beverages, I noticed that I did not have my wallet……. I had used my phone to pay for my pint of golden Cornish lager at the pub and so I had to take a minute and throw myself to the floor in absolute idiocy.
From here I knew I could not carry on. I knew if I had walked any further I would not be able to make it back to camp without my pennies (currently resting on my bed) to catch a bus to return back to the campsite.
So with my painful decision I had turned around and walked the 8.4 miles back.
Sulking, I had arrive back at camp at 1700. A full day of hiking and I had not complied the challenge I had spent ages preparing for. And so I sat in my camp chair with a glistening whiskey, saying to myself…
What a classic bit of training Nat……
Even though I was thoroughly disappointed, it wasn’t wasted, the day was full of wonder and the weather was spectacular.
And so I put my feet up and made myself a spot of grub to finish of the long withering day.
The attempted hike.
Well… there you have it a camping weekend that did not go to Plan… but I can assure you it was worth it’s weight in gold. I feel at peace, which in turn means my work colleagues are safe for a few days from the wrath of Natalie. How lucky they are!!
I will return with the completed version soon.
Stay tuned … 🤣.
Happy adventures happy campers!
Never ending journey 