Final Words

630.4 Miles Walked / 114,900ft Ascent /  31 Days Walking / 1 Pair of Shorts
£6450+ Raised for Prostate Cancer UK

For those who have been reading all the way through, I hope I've managed to share the incredible variety that I have experienced and like to think that I've written more than just miles, weather and food. For those who have read odd bits and pieces, I did actually do a lot of walking, honest!

The perceived monotony of walking every day only ever lasts a week or so and it soon just becomes part of the routine. The things that stand out (and that hopefully I have shared) make this sort of walk special and although I can't recall which day was which, or the sequence of towns (or even their names), I am very pleased to have kept this blog so that the detail is not lost.

Walking the South West Coast Path has been quite a challenge, both physically and mentally at times, and if you haven't yet had the chance to contribute, the JustGiving page will continue to run for 3 months (link at the top of this blog) if you would like to donate.

All that remains is for me to thank everyone who's charity, whether a splash of lime in my water bottle, or a cash contribution, has been far beyond my expectations. Thank you all so much.

Regards,
Alan Macnair

Day 32 - Swanage, South Haven Point, Poole Harbour

Saturday 17th August
Total: 630.4m  / Daily: 12m  / Blue Skies / The End

Yesterday afternoon turned out calm, so calm that I actually got a shock from a sheep which bleated unexpectedly! I wandered on past the turn off for the village knowing I had plenty of water for supper and was hit by a continuous flight of 219 stairs. I think that is the longest on the SWCP, not the highest climb, but the most stairs (look closely at the rise on the left of the darker photo below). Later I found a rocky cove where 10+ people were swimming. Once closer, I could see that the 15 onlookers were all in formal clothes, a strange sight for the coast path but there was a wedding party staying in a lodge up the track. I felt perfectly comfortable walking past in my somewhat worn attire, safe in the knowledge that they were the anomaly despite the ratio of people suggesting otherwise...

I received donations yesterday from a number of different people and would like to thank Jane & Steve and Eve for taking an interest in my walk and for their support.
____

I saw a red deer as I was setting up camp, the first I've seen in weeks. Later, as dusk turned to darkness, I crept towards the area the deer had ran into. I didn't see it again but I could hear lots of noise in the bushes, a family perhaps? There was no sound as I left this morning.

Few miles to Swanage where I found Hayman's Bakery and a coffee. With 7 miles to the end marker and an entire day ahead, I was happy to wait for the fresh pain au chocolat to arrive. Peter (Hayman) seemed surprised that I wasn't feeling tired and worn, it's normal life that does that to you! Thank you for your support Peter.

Just a brief saunter around Old Harry Rocks, past the nudist beach and I'll be at the finish marker. It all feels rather bittersweet.

Day 31 - Lulworth Cove, Kimmeridge Bay, Kimmeridge, Worth Matravers

Friday 16th August
Total: 614+m  / Daily: 22m  / Heavy Rain + Overcast  / Odd Day
(again, more published on yesterday's entry)

It was windy this morning, just as well I had staked my tent down properly. However, I have now learnt (from my mistake) how to take it down in high wind. Not disconnecting the material from the pole first was a huge mistake, the tent flew up in the air, the pole snapped and the material blew into (and impaled on) a nearby barbed wire fence. Not to worry, I can fix all damage and it will hold for one or two more nights for sure. I passed Duffle Door, Stair Hole and Lulworth Cove early with very few people people around. The mist was coming down and it had began to rain.

As the inclines grew steeper, the rain fell harder and I was actually tested at one point in Lulworth Military Range when I had a choice of path with no obvious way of distinguishing which was right. Visibility was about 10metres and following the path nearest the coast wasn't for sure the right option as there had been a turning earlier which wasn't the coast path (there was a sign that time). It wax raining hard and the strong wind high up meant that if I stopped moving I started getting cold (I think that is the first time I've used that word!). The path was slippery and I did fall once, fortunately my fall was cushioned by a tuft of grass. Anyway, I took the wrong path which in the end led to a 2 mile addition to the section. A map would have avoided this completely.

Strange place the military range: constant signage reminding walkers to stay on the path; regular no entry signs; wrecked tanks; APCs; trucks; large areas of black dead scrub, this was a serious range! Kimmeridge Bay was disappointing despite an impressive wildlife conservation centre hidden away in the bay. If the flags flying have pictures of coffee and ice cream, then it had better sell coffee and icecream! The only thing I could buy was conservation pencils, badges and other non edible paraphernalia...

Big diversion took me inland to Kimmeridge village and across a hill to Kingston. The pub on the way was a welcome break to dry off, warm up and feel a little more domesticated. This had been the most harsh weather yet but it calmed down as I tucked into beef and chorizo curry and the afternoon + evening walking was much more pleasant.

Day 30 - Portland, Portland Bill, Castletown, Wyke Regis, Weymouth

Thursday 15th August
Total: 590+m  / Daily: 22m  / Scattered Showers /

I wandered through and around old quarrying sites looking at the amazing sculptures chiseled out of the Portland stone (a few photos in the album) arriving at the Bill just as things were beginning to wake up. I gave the National Coastwatch volunteer a wave on my way round and began heading north back up the east side of the almost-island.

I passed two prison sites with very different architecture. The first had metal gates, copious amounts of razor wire, high metal fencing the sort of thing you would expect from a modern ish building. The second however was far more interesting. The Verne prison was built in the 19th century by prisoners to the design of a Captain Crossman of The Royal Engineers and is set into the hills of north Portland. Much of the stone is invisible from the south, high banks of grass form a verge which meets the exterior wall before a void and finally the prison wall. The south entrance was a raised concrete platform across the gap with a wide fence and locked gate disappearing behind a solid door into the side of the hill. Maybe the front is more normal, I didn't see it, but the back of this prison is intriguing. One man told me that in 2004 a man escaped in a laundry bag (cutting himself out of the bag later with the metal edge off the top of a lighter according to wikipedia!) to visit his mother. Wikipedia also talks of escaping over the walls using knotted sheets, this is the stuff of The Great Escape!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Prison_The_Verne

Met and chatted with Roger (picking blackberries for fruit compote to have with yogurt for breakfast, delicious!) and Nigel (out walking with friends and family) who noticed that I 'looked like a walker'. I must be showing some fatigue from the prawn toast incident (Day 29 blog). Anyway, it was enjoyable to share stories and experiences and I thank you both for your kind support.

Almost off Portland at this point, time to walk the causeway on the eastern pavement this time.

I saw this situation unfold but somehow knew it was going to end badly before it happened. The route between the Portland causeway and Weymouth is a tarmac shared cycle and walkway which avoids the busy road. There was a family of 4 walking towards me and a father and son on bikes behind them, also coming towards me. The family didn't know the bikes were there and they were taking up the whole width of the path. Seeing me further down the track, one moved across, both bikes accelerated at this point assuming the gap was for them and I stopped walking so as not to crash into someone. Dad had more inertia than Son but both seemed to be going for a one person space. Son was on the outside and pulled in. Dad would have crashed into family because of this so pushed against Son's bike. (Apologies for the long build up). This sent son flying off the walkway into a hedge of brambles and nettles at about 10 mph. Dad duly picked his son out of the bush whilst the family were all making 'oh no' type noises. I walked by with a straight face then once safely clear, grinned from ear to ear. It was hilarious! The Dad had literally pushed his son into a bramble bush!

I walked through the busy parts of Weymouth and as the beach calmed down towards the eastern end, my desire to have a swim increased! Up until now, I've not been that fussed about swimming but I found a spot with no other people and was soon paddling about. I did swim properly, but not for long. Spent most of the time washing (dont worry, it's organic biodegradable soap) but didn't realise that greasy hair + seawater + biosoap = the most powerful hair gel ever. At least it's not in my eyes when vertical... 

Found a good spot to camp and was ready to go to sleep by 9. I got back out to add a couple more tent pegs (good job I did, read tomorrow) and saw some lights on the cliff edge in the distance. A whole series of them, moving towards me at a decent speed. My first thought was the National Trust police were coming to arrest me, but I realised it was bikes. I took a video of them speeding by and it's the first time I've seen a group out for a night ride (video shared in the photo album, click the album on the right).

Day 29 - Seatown, West Bay, Abbotsbury,

Wednesday 14th August
Total: 566+  / Daily: 22m  / Mist & Showers /

I woke to voices but I could only just see the sun rising in the gap between the ground and my fly sheet. Being on a high point this meant it was a little before the 'official' sunrise time, surprising to hear others at that time. After getting up and hearing the snippets of conversation for 10 minutes, I realised they were coming from the caravan park below, a couple of miles away. The wind conditions must have been perfect for it. It was bizarre to look at tiny specs and hear words.

I took a decent break in a cafe in Bay West called Ellipse watching the rain and wind steadily increase outside. I hadn't planned on eating, just a phone charge and coffee but like usual, that plan went out the window. 11m from here to be on track for the early finish, however there are quite a few serious climbs in a couple of days. Yesterday's 27m has put me ahead, I'll try and maintain that. 'The clouds roll in, it starts to rain, I put my waterproofs on. It's blowing a gale, my spirits fail, I try to sing this song ....' (reference to the song from Day 20). Time to venture outside!

The afternoon was fairly uneventful. It rained a lot and I walked alongside the everlasting Chesil Beach. The path goes inland as the beach is a frustrating 7 miles of shingle with no way off except the ends. It is also closed at this time of year for the bird nesting season. The inland path snaked its way around the edges of farmland and arrived at the edge of The Fleet (the large lake formed by Chesil beach). The decibel level certainly suggested there was a lot of birds but I didn't see a great deal more than usual, the fact that I was hiding in my waterproofs might have had something to do with that. My guide often uses the words 'seaward' and 'landward' when describing the path and I was hoping it would suggest walking on the Fleetward side, but that you can go your own way ...

I walked for far too long today and found myself walking on the pavement of the A354 by streetlight at 9pm. I'd eaten earlier beside one of the 5 caravan parks that I passed today and wasn't massively hungry. I was on the hunt for somewhere to sleep but didn't want to pitch to close to a road. The path passed dangerously close to a Chinese take away and I left with a bag of prawn toast.

What happened next broke just about all of my walking rules and would have been comical to watch, fortunately there was no one else around. The path climbed steeply out of the town and I walked with my headtorch on guiding the way (having left the streetlights behind). The prawn toast was swinging wildly on one arm as I was using my poles and the other arm struggling to hold onto its pole whilst looking on Google Earth for nearby grassy spots. I was eating the prawn toast and singing 'Portland by Middle Brother' whilst climbing the steep path with an edge on one side. I was in a surprisingly good mood and found a great spot next to a diversion sign on the edge of an old quarry. (Navigating a diversion in the dark would have been a disaster).

Day 28 - Sidmouth, Branscombe Beer, Seaton, Lyme Regis, Charmouth

Tuesday 13th August
Total: 544+m  / Daily: 27m  / Blue Skies / A near death experience

4ish miles to Sidmouth, I was wandering along the sea front and hung my tent out to dry after a large amount of condensation has built through the night, it was much colder and I think I perhaps should have inflated my Thermarest. I was approached by a man who asked what I was doing and subsequently offered a coffee and break in his cafe across the way. I was planning on a coffee there but not a cooked breakfast too and he kindly offered both as a donation. The food at The Pea Green Boat was delicious and I would recommend it if you are visiting this regency town. Any place with bloody mary as the first item on the menu gets my vote.

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of information boards over the last couple of days and I've been learning about geology, plants and birds. Or rather, I've been fascinated by the information and then forgotten it straight away. It's probably been the same board over and over... One fun thing though is that sea-holly (that spiky scrub like plant you find in sand dunes) is closely related to the carrot!

The rocks round these parts were formed over 260million years ago which is apparently 1000 years per step through the Jurrasic Coast section (96 miles) that's 260,000 steps, which is roughly 2,700 steps per mile, or 135 steps per minute (based on 3 mph) which is 2.25 steps per second, probably about right. I agree with the sign.

Later in the day I came across a sign (see below) and with about 0.2l of water left, I thought 'can't be that bad'. I met two lads about 20years old who said I'd regret it but I chose to carry on. The area in question is called The Undercliff (already sounds ominous) and I had my pennies ready in order to enter! It was formed in the 1800s when I massive landslip caused a section 1km wide and up to 100m deep to drop into the sea forming a new section of low level land where there has been no human influence except the path since. My guide describes it as having 'an almost eerie character' and that '[it] feels claustrophobic at times' but if you have spent time wandering through forests this simply isn't the case. I felt quite comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed the wooded landscape with its dense scrub and heavily vined trees (see recent photos in the album).

Having survived The Underworld, I had supper sitting on the prom of Seaton watching boys play on their scooters and skateboards. I wanted to show one lad how to jump on a scooter properly.. but thankfully avoided the potential for massive embarresment and thought better of it. Walked late, setting up camp on top of a flat topped hill (one away from Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast) and slept comfortably in a grassy spot amongst the heather.

Day 27 - Babbacombe, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Starcross, Exmouth, Salterton

Monday 12th August
Total: 520+m  / Daily: 20m  / Cloudy clearing to Blue Skies /

The traffic was slow moving heading back towards Torquay/Babbacombe meaning an 11 o'clock start. I'm not fussed about walking far today but it would be frustrating to arrive at a river crossing after the ferry has stopped running.

I made the crossing over the River Exe with about 30 seconds to spare. I saw the ferry pulling up to the pontoon as I was walking down on the west side of the river. It was 5pm and my guide said the ferry ran until 6. However, I did start walking a little quicker thinking that it would save some time to have a break on the boat rather than on the pontoon and on the boat. The route to the ferry took 10 minutes winding in and out of the train station and I saw a man closing up the ferry crossing sales hut. I shouted over and it's just as well I did, it was their last crossing going to Exmouth and their last crossing of the day would return to Starcross where I was. Close one.

It was another day with a lot of concrete and promenade, but not as much of an issue as the other day because it was that little bit cooler. I met Andy going in the other direction who had been walking for about the same time as I have, walking over to the SWCP marker at Poole before setting out himself. Thank you for your donation. Also met Kevin who is aiming to walk the length. He warned me of Dorset and specifically the gradient, but a few well timed early mornings and it should be no worry.

I passed the start of the Jurassic Coast section which covers the next 95 miles of coast and contains evidence from millions of years of history. Climbing a zigzag path at the end of Exmouth there were fun fact signposts. It took a long time, but I didn't notice the hill and had a lot of fun. Clever Devon council.

Day 26 - Dartmouth, Brixham, Goodrington, Paignton, Torquay, Babbacombe

Sunday 11th August
Total: 500+m  / Daily: 23m  / Blue Skies / Hot Concrete

I was dropped off in Dartmouth on the other side of the river at 7am, convenient as the ferry only runs from 9 on Sunday. It was a quiet start and I didn't see a single person for 3 hours. A welcome difference from the rest of the day looking retrospectively. I did meet Ken, who expressed his envy for my walk. Thank you for your donation.

Brixham was busy, it was lunchtime on Sunday so no surprise really. Lunch was a very large meat pasty and sausage roll which I ate on a harbourside bench watching the herring gulls' confidence increase. Later, I watched a man throwing chips to them whilst he and his family were eating and they ended up abandoning their table, the birds were dive bombing the chip container! Foolish man...

There were short countryside sections which did break up the busy concrete promenade which dominated the day. These stretches were also busy with lots of day walkers. I tried saying hello to a few, but got the 'why are you talking to me? Do I know you?' look in return. For a section with so many people, it was rather isolated walking, not including the man out for the day with his three boys with whom I shared a welcome conversation.

The day ended with a steep descent down to a beach and equally steep ascent (I didn't take the Victorian cliffside railway). On the plus side, I was met by a smiling Heather at the top, the rest of the collection party was traveling down and up the cliff on the railway. My cumulative ascent is now over 90,000 ft (23,000m), I have walked 500miles and I will walk 130.3 more (said to the tune of The Proclaimers).

Final time in the luxury of Hope Cove this evening then back to camping for the last week.

Day 25 - Day Off

Saturday 10th August
Total: 476m  / Daily: 0m  / Blue Skies /

Didn't wear walking boots once today. I spent the night at the Bennett's yesterday. So today, the morning was with the Bennett's and the afternoon with the Macnair's. There was a cross over at 4pm and cream tea for 9 was quite something!
Back to walking updates tomorrow.

* Photo Album *

A photo album is now publicly shared (on the right below Glympse) with most photos from the walk.

I will continue to add one or two photos to posts, but most will appear in the album.

(click on it to view full size)

Day 24 - Torcross, Dartmouth

Friday 9th August 
Total: 476+m  / Daily: 13m  / Blue Skies / Half Day

Spend a lovely morning off, went for a little walk with family and then explored Salcombe. Odd to be back in the same place a second time but nice to take it slowly and we had a long lunch down by the water watching boats in the harbour.

I still wanted to keep on track with my plan and did a little walking in the afternoon. 13miles in 3hrs and 50 mins, possibly the fastest I have walked yet - but it worked out very well. I was wearing new boots today which are certainly not as comfy as the not-so-waterproof old ones, but they will get there in a couple of days. Wearing them for a half day to start with was a good idea as my feet did ache after a few hours.

I was picked up from Dartmouth in a car returning from the airport with additional visitors. Dropped off in Loddiswell, I spent the evening catching up with friends. Thank you Alan and Maureen Bennett for your hospitality.
Tomorrow is a complete day off and I'll be back in Hope Cove for the evening. All of this luxury has come at once!

Day 23 - Salcombe

Thursday 8th August
Total: 454+m  / Daily: 13m  / Blue Skies / More Surprises

I was taking it very slowly today, knowing that 16 miles would put me 10 miles from where I wanted to be tomorrow. Had I known what was planned I would have moved much faster! I took an hour off sitting in Salcombe eating second breakfast. Kate had recommended a bakery and I saw a lot of people in the town with brown bakery bags. When I got there, the queue was ten strong out of the door, a good reason alone to join! Cheese twist and pain au chocolat for breakfast was an interesting mix, but I wasn't complaining.

A further hour off for lunch, and afternoon nap for an hour meant it was 3 and I'd done 13. I met back up with Mike (see yesterday) who was revising his Salcombe-Torcross map and also met a couple of men who were doing a week walking (a stage of a bigger SWCP walk over a few years) with what appeared to be matching gear. A 2.5 mile diversion due to the path being 'impassable' would have added a further hour on, but fortunately gardens are not impassable and the kind lady in said garden said she wouldn't look as I took literally 30 steps around the landslip instead of thousands on the official route.

Coming up towards First Point lighthouse someone said 'hello' and I instantly recognised the voice. Becks was standing on the hillside in the middle of nowhere (in my mind) with a grin on her face! Further up were my mum and dad and they are all here until Monday! What a surprise, it was so completely unexpected! Mum always has liked her surprises and the waitress gave away part of another surprise later saying we were at a table of 6 tomorrow evening! Whoops, I don't know who though.

This opens up all sorts of questions and decisions to make about what to do over the next few days. These will propably be mentioned in tomorrow but I will still be taking my day off as planned and will be heading over to Loddiswell as planned. But for now, I'm wearing a collared shirt and nice shorts, I even used hair gel before going down to supper in the restaurant!

Day 22 - Wembury, Mothecombe (Erme River) Bigbury-on-sea, Hope Cove

Wednesday 7th August
Total: 445+m  / Daily: 22m  / Blue Skies / Unexpected Surprises

Today was a big day, both in terms of miles and the thought had gone into it. Everything seemed to work and the timings were perfect. I got to the wade crossing at low tide and made the ferry before it stopped running 30 minutes later. I'm on track for the plan of Dartmouth by 2pm on Friday to get the bus to my day off.

I crossed three rivers today, by three different modes of transport. I arrived at Warren Point at 9am with the crossing service running from 10 and I'd even forced myself to stay in bed until 7:30 this morning. I was happily watching crabs scuttle around as the tide was going out when a lady, Jane rowed nearby and asked where I was going. I hadn't been paying much attention as there were a number of people rowing over to their yachts but Jane offered me a lift over to the other side! She explained how she often came out and 'pottered' on the water if it's a nice morning. Anyone who uses that word instantly has my attention, it really is a good word! A personal rowed boat ride across, what a fantastic start to the day.

The route then continued on a superb high level path which I motored along, only interupted by the inconsiderate land slippage diversion which sent me straight up the headland perpendicular to the water's edge.

Crossing two was the Erme river which I arrived at at low tide. I expected it to be remote but there was a relatively large number of people there considering there was no road access. The path was getting progressively steeper and there were some serious climbs in and around midday which weren't enjoyable. I did manage to fit in a 30 minute kip under a large hawthorn bush in the shade which broke the strenuous terrain.

I was caught up by a man who obviously knew the area and an experienced walker himself. Mike is a cartographer who started out producing orienteering maps and is now creating cycling and walking maps for the south east coast. I had many questions and we chatted whilst walking towards the 3rd and final crossing by boat ferry. Using orienteering map software, Mike creates very detailed 1:12500 maps based on Victorian maps as OS maps are protected by a lengthy copyright. fascinating! Thank you for your kind donation Mike. (http://www.croydecycle.co.uk/)

As we were just leaving the Thurlestone Sands area I heard a call of 'Al!'. I discarded the first for someone else but spun around on the second call to see Alice Bennett tearing down the path barefoot! I will be stopping in two days to visit her twin sister who is arriving on Friday, what an incredible coincidence. Alice happened to turn around and recognise me in the 15 second window I was walking past the sandy cove that she was sitting in with Chris and Maureen. The temptation to break early was definitely there, but I decided to continue as planned until Friday. It was still lovely to spend an hour or so sitting on the beach, chatting, catching up etc. and I looked forward to seeing you again soon! Thank you Alice and Chris for your kind donations.

My day ended in the Hope and Anchor pub:
Waitress: The second set of cutlery sir?
Me: No, no. That won't be necessary.

Day 21 - Portwrinkle, Cremyll, Plymouth, Mount Batten

Tuesday 6th August
Total: 419+m  / Daily: 21m  / Blue Skies / Town

Yesterday, a family was sitting on a bench in East Looe and the children were crabbing off the harbour. Crabbing consists of 4 steps:
1. Put bacon in mesh net and tie shut
2. Tie fishing line to net and drop in harbour
3. Raise net with crab grabbing onto the side of the net
4. Put crab in water bucket.
Repeat. 

Anyway, the bacon always seems to be in little red or blue plastic bags and the seaguls seemed to have worked that out too. One doomed herring gul swooped in, stole the bag and sat down with it a little way along the quay. The parents noticed but the children were too busy with their crustacean friends to witness what happened. After a few failed pecks, the herring gul stopping try to get the bacon and started eating the bag. It was actually quite disturbing to watch as it had its beak through one of the little handles, so that once it had swallowed the bag whole, the handle straps were wrapped around its beak then disappeared down its throat. I don't particularly like herring guls, but unless it manages to regurgitate the bag, that bird is not going to have a pleasant time to say the least, I couldn't help but feel sorry for it as it flew off.

I camped in a perfect spot last night and watched the sun set and rise. The sea had calmed a lot and the clouds had blown out, there was a real sense of calm. (see first few photos). Walking along this morning, the mist was literally pouring off the cliffs into the sea, quite spectatular to watch and fun to walk through as I wandered around a golf course looking for the exit path.

A big morning (15m) brought me into Plymouth for a slow afternoon and lunch in various stages along the paved walkways. I've come up with a cunning plan to get me ahead before I take a planned day off on Friday. This plan took some thinking through because I had to juggle ferry times, tide times (the Elme has no ferry), town distances, and days. More details will no doubt appear on future days if it happens but I don't want to commit myself to it just yet. Friday is still a surprisingly long way off.

One ferry across to Mount Batten now then a couple of hours 'easy' walking towards Wembury.

Day 20 - Dowry, Polruan, Polperro, Looe

Monday 5th August
Total: 391+m  / Daily: 18m  / Rain / Composer

It rained all morning. I met a couple walking the opposite direction who were also thinking of doing the 6 mile section I was heading towards but said 'not in the rain'. Cliff and Karen, thank you for your support, and yes, it was rather muddy/slippery in the rain. My poles helped a lot!

Polperro is a lovely little harbour town with tiny thin streets and has a rabbit warren feel about the place. My boots hadn't dried from yesterday and the rain slowly seeped its way into left boot, it began squelching. The heritage museum had lots of spare newspapers which I stuffed into both boots and wrung my socks. I think I'll order up my spare boots from base camp, perhaps sent to Salcombe for the Blitzkrieg assault I have planned on the last 10 days.

Spent two hours in a cafe (£100 per week!) wondering if the rain would stop. It didn't.

I composed my own set of lyrics to a song today. The original is by The Tallest Man on Earth, called Love Is All . Haven't got the guts to post the new lyrics to the world just yet.

Not a thrilling entry, but it rained a lot.

Oh, and the end came off the duct tape pole, wearing down the plastic now.

Day 19 - Gorran Haven, Mevagissey, Charlestown, Par

Sunday 4th August 

Total: 372+m / Daily: 18m / Rain / Requesting an Undulator

An undulator is an escalator which undulates. I needed one of these today as energy levels were a little low following the late nights and the repeated up and down was hard going. The undulator would be free of charge and provided by Cornwall County Council to encourage visitors to experience the stunning coastline it has to offer, specifically those who are unable to walk the path. The Undulator would be a world first and would move at a steady 3mph and be wide enough for two people, allowing users the option of standing or walking. There would be special platforms every 15 minutes which are covered are have hydraulic arms to keep the platform level. This could be used to set up a sleeping pad + bag, meaning that no time is wasted sleeping, based on 8 hours sleep a night, that's 24 miles! As you see from the amount of thought I put into it, I didn't appreciate the undulating coastline today.

It rained a fair amount today. Forecast has it clearing towards the end of the week and I managed to keep dry under waterproofs. Left foot did become a little damp which is worrying as there are no apparent holes in my boot, failed goretex? I'll see what happens tomorrow but my view or waterproof boots might be changing. I think I'm going to try something which isn't waterproof but does dry quickly in the future, that would also remove the need for overtrousers (if it's warm enough).

Yesterday was the first successful day that I didn't spend anything on 'non essentials'. I celebrated that success today with a full cooked breakfast and cream tea. Whoops! I'm funding the walk myself to enable all donations to go to Prostate Cancer in full and I've given myself the figure of approx. £100 per week to spend. This will cover food/ferry/cleaning but will certainly not stretch if I continue with the coffee and cake intake!

Cakes so far: coffee, coffee & walnut, lemon drizzle, date slice, chocolate, cream tea, apple and cider, millionaire shortbread, victoria sponge.

Slept in a wood on Gribbon Head just down from the Daymark tower. It was very windy and the trees provided welcome shelter.

Day 18 - Mylor, Portscalo, Portloe

Saturday 3rd August
Total: 348+m  / Daily: 18m  / Blue Skies / Boat Ride

I forgot to elaborate on growling bushes from yesterday. I've been looking at the blackberry bushes for a while now, mostly green berries, some turning red but nothing black yet. However, yesterday I started seeing a few black berries. Assuming they'd all be bitter I ignored the temptation but one bush was covered with black, large, juicy looking berries. They were higher up and on top of the bush but I could reach, standing right up against it and leaning in slightly. It was at that point a heard a loud, deep growl from very close by. I have absolutely no idea what animal was there, but it was beside my feet and growling, I carried swiftly on!
_____

Showered, rested, dry and thoroughly content was my mood this morning. And that was before Ivor cooked up a storm. Breakfast bagels, with bacon, egg, peppers, mushroom, cheese & chilli sauce. Very American and very delicious. We left the dock mid morning with everyone coming for the ride. The guide gives details of the two ferries needed to cross the estuary. Only need one when the service is being provided for you! I said my goodbyes at Place and got back to it, psychologically prepared for a wet day after looking at Erica's iPad weather. Thank you very much to the Scott's for their hospitality.

Four hours into the baking sun I wondered where the rain was. Ah, those black clouds offshore probably have something to do with it... We'll see.

I walked until late looking for a spot to camp and ended up stumbling upon Gorran Haven. Not keen to walk through the village and out the other side, I pitched on the next flat patch of grass overlooking the harbour. 18 miles is too much for an 11am start, I was shattered and fell asleep very quickly not bothering to inflate my sleeping pad.