Today is going to be an emotional day. With the weather still terrible this morning, we decided to have a lie in and just have an easy morning before a forty minute drive to the railway station that would take Emily back to london.Good old mueseli again for brekky, packed our bags, thanked our wonderful hosts for a wonderful stay which included having all my clothes washed and dried and left the farm for the last time. Of course we made time for one more cafe for scones,jam and cream. The one we found was at the Minions,where we shared a memorable day yesterday. It was awsome seeing the foals across the road from the cafe running and playing like children. When it was time to leave for the station, we had to let the horses wander off the road before we could proceed. After hugging my daughter and saying goodbye, I drove for about an hour to drop the car back to the Newquay airport. I then caught two buses to get back to where I finished walking last Thursday. That time seems to have flown. Tomorrow, on my own, I will carry on walking.

Same start as yesterday. The only difference, I had yoghurt with my mueselli which I got from the supermarket on the drive home last night. Same crap weather as we aimed the car away from the farm. First stop, after some tight country roads was a cafe in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived, there were at least one hundred enthusiastic motor bikers,some as old as the hills. The club rides every first Sunday of the month. These men are keen to be out in this weather, but they’re used to it. I have to admit, it was only misty rain and didn’t stop us from doing several walks today. After scones and tea, we drove for a while to the minions. There were  fascinating old ruins here dating back thousands of years. There were also lots of different sheep and wild horses grazing amongst the ruins. They were very fine looking horses. You could get close to them but funnily enough they were eerily looking and didn’t give eye contact. We then drove ten minutes to meet up with Tina and her son Forbes and her friend Steve for a Sunday roast at the Cardon Inn in Upton Cross. All the village folk were there and it was cosy and friendly. Tina is a west coast path angel. I met her last year and she has been helpful to me looking after my wet weather gear. The plate is huge and full to the brim,so Emily and I went for a smaller portion. The Turkey with all the trimmings was very delicious and filling, washed down with a pint, I couldn’t eat another thing. After saying goodbye to our new friends we went back to the minnions for more exploring. We covered the site by walking seven kilometres over a large area and still didn’t see half of what was on offer. At the end of the day we drove back to the local and shared soup and steak for dinner. There was a special celebration going with one large family and friends covering four generations all dressed to the nines celebrating the christening of a baby.

I slept in till 7 am  feeling quite relaxed,apart from a bit of joint pain, which is understandable, considering walking as much as I have and then sitting in a car all day. I started my day slowly, eating some mueseli I had left over and then got ready to go out driving and exploring the countryside of Cornwall.I left the navigation skills to my co driver Emily,who was feeling a little disappointed, as apart from wind and rain,it was quite foggy, and looked set in for the duration,and of course she was hoping for that sunny hot weather that had been here for the last few weeks. My first dilemma was to find my shoes. I left them by the window on the staircase last night to air out, and they were nowhere to be seen. Over night, our host saved them when the rain started and dried them out for me. We drove for about twenty minutes in the misty rain and came to our first stop, a farm shop cafe. The place was packed, and the food looked gourmet. Can’t wait to plough in. No such luck. We didn’t have a booking. Never mind,move on. Back in the car, and the weather isn’t improving, we ended up in Boscastle, in a cafe I walked in a week ago, amazing coincidence. There, we shared smashed avo and poached eggs on toast and a hot beverage. We then walked around and went to a witches 🧙‍♂️ 🧙‍♀️ museum, which was really interesting. The young girl at the desk laughed her head off when I suggested out loud we might see a photo of your mum here Em. Sorry darling, just kidding 😂. I do love ❤️ you heaps, There it is for the public record. The weather broke a little later as the day wore on. We visited some small fishing hamlets and walked about, had soup for lunch, and Emily found an incredible tea and scone shop for afternoon tea. We shared a scone with triple berry jam and the most delicious cream. We also had a piece of apple pie. There must have been a dozen different types of exotic cakes on offer,and dogs were more than welcome to join in. We washed our grub down with Billy tea?no way, I think one of the teas we had was apple with cinnamon, and the other was chai. A very rewarding and educational experience for myself. Some more driving, and a walk along the south west coast path at Charleston, it was back to Launceston to pick up takeaway for dinner. However, a slight twist, I was dying for a leak after parking the car, so ducked into a pub,and seeing the ladies, automatically thought the men’s to be nearby. When I asked,I was told that the men’s is across the road. I’m thinking they’re taking the piss out of  the newbie. I yelled I’m busting. With that ,one of the drunks grabbed my arm, took me out side,walked straight to the middle of the road and stopped the traffic, so I could get across and make it to the toilet without wetting myself. It was the funniest and craziest thing that has happened in a long time. When I went back to thank him, he wouldn’t let me leave until he bought this old aussie bloke walking their coastal path a pint. Emily and I had a fun time in that pub. I befriended Sam on Facebook  and hope to get back to Launceston to enjoy another pint with these wonderful people. They were like long lost family. When we eventually left, we had fish and chips and drove back to the farm for a well earned rest.

Not much to tell you today. Got up to another nice morning, packed and left the accommodation around 7.30am  for London town. We stopped at the local Tesco supermarket, where I got a bacon and cheese pastry, and also a cheese and spinach pastry. Randy went for the sweet pastries. 😋. I then drove and drove all the way to Heathrow. Trying to get to the right terminal is like a maze. We eventually got to one of them. Randy jumped out, and we said our good byes. He had lots of time, so I take it he caught his flight ✈️ alright. I then met up with Emily fifteen minutes later. By now its after one in the afternoon, and I’m getting a bit peckish. There was a cafe there making all the food orders on the spot. I had a very nice spicy chicken and salad wrap with garlic mayo. The Italian guy who made it was an awsome bloke, and I told him how yummy 😋 it was before our mammoth drive back out of London to Launceston. The traffic was either going at 7 mph or 70,nothing in between. There would be a dual lane, and you would go hammer and tong. Then, when it went back to single lane, it was back to a crawl. It also didn’t help when you had to be diverted because of car accidents. I think that happened twice. Emily and I finally arrived at our accommodation just before seven pm.I can tell you, I was tired and thirsty, and our host must have read my face  as she brought me two beers as she let us in. I was much happier for that experience. After checking in, I drove to the local inn had another beer and after Em and I enjoyed a nice dinner, of which Emily had steak and mushrooms, and I had middle eastern food on a flat bread, it was back to the farm stay where I soaked in a hot bath before a deep slumber.

This morning, I was hoping to get a taxi at around seven am to reach our start point for 7.30. The reason being, to have a leisurely walk  and pick up a hire car in the afternoon from Newquay airport. Today is Randy’s last day, and I’m driving him to London so he can fly home. Whilst in London, I’ll pick up Emily and venture back to Cornwall  for a weekend off and a nice drive around Cornwall to see some of the inland sights. As no cab was available before seven, and they do the school run at 7.30,it was back on the slow bus. Again we decided to walk the other way, so then had to catch a second bus to Perranporth and walk back to Newquay. The 8.40 to Perranporth didn’t arrive,so we caught the 9.10. This meant, we now had not much more than four hours to walk back to Newquay. Doable?yeah, but will be working. I didn’t want to get back to Newquay too late as the car hire company shut at five, and I didn’t want to rely on taxis as they are unreliable for public use doing school runs again in the afternoon. Must be a good lerk  if they knock back 25 quid for a half hour sleep in the morning. Also to do some of the walking from a daily finish point back to the starting point, meant the sun was behind us. All sounds confusing, I know, but it’s difficult to get accommodation in some of these villages in the summer. Well,we finally got away and apart from some of the thick sand crossing sand dunes today, blue skies, a slight breeze, and not much ascents and descents. The walk today also included a short ferry ride,which is always a treat.The ferry runs at high tide, and a bridge is walkable at low tide. We got back in time to catch the bus to the airport and pick up the car. I then drove back to the golf club, picked up the back packs, and drove for an hour to our accommodation at Launceston. After checking in, l drove to  the village pub, had a pint with the locals, dinner of fish and chips. Whilst sitting outside having a quiet one talking, one guy had his beautiful cocker spanial named Gordon, running around chasing whatever he could catch.l then drove  back to the accommodation for a bath and a good night sleep.

This morning we did things very differently. As we would be staying a second night, I didn’t need to carry my pack. Also had to catch a 7.30 bus to get to the starting point,whichmeantleavingwithoutbreakfast. It was easier to bus it to the next town and walk back the other way. Sounds confusing but it worked well. The bus, even out here, in what seems no where land, is a double decker, and with the extra narrow country roads,it’s amazing how they pass vehicles coming the other way. A half hour drive took an hour, with picking up people and school kids, and then watching vehicles backing back up for a long way sometimes to be able to let the bus through. Newquay is where we got off. It’s probably the biggest city in Cornwall. After a super fresh large Cornish pasty, we set off. A bit of road walking, plenty of flat coastal and beaches, and a couple of headlands made walking a treat. Also, the weather was much more moderate today and the scenery spectacular. Again talked to lots of people. People are very friendly. I guess lots on summer vacation, and locals enjoying rare a feast of summer. I’m loving it, as completely different weather to last year. After arriving back at yesterday’s finish point, I spoke to locals whilst waiting for the bus. When the bus arrived, I told the driver where to drop us, and he said he would if he remembered. I told him, if he didn’t, I would let his tyres down. Not sure if he took me seriously, but we got off at the right stop.

Now we’ve gone from huge english breakfasts to zilch. No brekky included. With the thought of another scorcher, we decided to leave early. Nothing in Padstow was going to be open before 8 am. According to the guide book, there would be food until Trevone Bay,an eight km walk. Sounds alright, so off we went at seven am. A slight hill leading out of Padstow on bitumen and then through some long grass  past some paddocks with a scare crow kite to a board walk over a marsh. Sounds easy enough. The book made it sound easy with lots of signs. No that didn’t happen. In fact, in the first ten minutes, we looked at the book a number of times, as there were no signs. After twenty five minutes, we walked over the same board walk, and paddock. We had done a big circle.Luckily, we  came across a local walking her dog, who pointed us back towards the track. By the time we reached our breakfast town, we had walked at least an extra two kilometres. After a sausage,nice thick bacon and egg on a roll,called a BAP,we left as the day was now warming up. Mostly coastal,and only the odd cliff, we passed, and spoke to many people enjoying their time along the beaches where there are hundreds of holiday shacks. When we reached our destination, I’d already spoken to the host of the accommodation, who instructed me to catch bus number fifty six. As luck would have it, the hourly service arrived seconds after arriving at the bus stop. I asked the bus driver to drop us at the golf course, and that was no problem. He drove straight past the golf course, which was on the top of a great big hill and stopped at the next local village. When I questioned him, he sort of shrugged his shoulders. I was pretty pissed off, but I couldn’t do much about it. Bloody dumb pommy bastard. Anyway, luck returning our way, the bus going the other way saved us about ten minutes later. She was a sweetie after I explained what happened, and took us back for no fee. After checking in, relaxed for a bit, we had to have an early dinner, as the kitchen closed at five pm, which lots of patrons couldn’t work out why, including me. And I didn’t want to wrestle with another bus to go back to the village.

A colourful snail. Could be me lol

After mueseli and yoghurt for an early breakfast, I didn’t think I would last the day without more fuel. The taxi picked us up at 8am and took us for the thirty minute trip to Port Isaac, where our walk would commence today. Luckily, there was a bakery open, so i bought a large famous Cornish pasty and a ham,tomato,and cheese sandwich. The morning was quite cool, and clouds covered the sky. The cliffs were still daunting, and my body was coping, not going at too hard a pace. We met a mother and son that were young and fit, and thought they would leave us behind. That did not happen. We passed, they passed, we passed and never saw them again. As the morning wore on, the clouds gave way for the sun, and it got hot, really hot. The coastal path offers no shade, so I put my hat on for the first time in years. The cliffs became less steep, which made walking a lot more enjoyable. There were now beaches and people were a plenty. Also, as the tide was out, we were able to skip the headlands and walk on mostly firm sand. The walk today finished with a ferry ride to the village of Padstow,a really quaint lovely old fishing village. The room in this old building had been modernised as lots have. The stairs in these buildings are still the same, usually very narrow and very steep. Lucky enough on this occasion, we only had one flight. Also there was a huge living room with a large TV. After a couple of beers and a yummy pizza that the lady in the bar organised from another business, I fell asleep watching Wimbledon.

Not much to say today. My old bag of bones didn’t recover overnight as I would have liked, and I figured, if I did two days yesterday, I am entitled to rest. Also, the extra day will do Randy’s knee a lot of good. After porridge, smoked salmon and poached eggs, toast and tea,I washed my clothes and relaxed. At around three o’clock, we decided to go for a walk. I thought our accommodation was miles from the beach, but it was only a ten minute walk. A nice day, and plenty of people and children enjoying their Sunday afternoon. A couple of pints with the locals was a treat. We then found out that our inn didn’t do meals on Sunday evening, so had to walk back to the beach and got some nibbles at the hotel there. It seemed strange that there were plenty of empty tables, and people with reservations were still coming in,yet we couldn’t get a main meal,so I had another malt sandwich. Tomorrow morning we will have an early breakfast and catch a taxi to the starting gate 😀

Unfortunately, Randy’s knee is not going to do it today. As much as he doesn’t want to, he will catch the bus,  and we’ll catch up later this afternoon. I walked out of the bnb at 8 am under heavy clouds, strong breeze, with an English breakfast in me, as is now definitely the norm. I walked out of the village and spotted a pilgrim about half a kilometre in front of me,and thought this could be my first victim to leave in my rear view mirror, as I knew a big day lay ahead. The walking at this stage was steep through a meadow, and the long wet grass made slow progress. After catching my young 30 year old, and nattering for a km or 2,she said I’m outa here, see you later. As she took off, I thought I’ll see if I can keep about 10 metres behind, and yeah, I was keeping up. After a couple of ks, she stopped to get a stone out of her shoe, and then I took off. Up one cliff, down another, it was relentless. By the time I had reached the sixteen km mark, I knew I needed a rest. I had also run out of water, so I knocked on someone’s door, who filled up my bottle and gave me an extra one, as it being quite warm,said I would need it, as the tough trail I was on was about to get harder with many ascents and dangerous descents. After a half hour rest and changing my socks, I was ready to go again. My 30 year old friend finally caught me as I was changing my socks. I thought I was doing ok, considering I beat her by fifteen minutes. The last 10 kms had another five cliffs to encounter. Some were two hundred plus steps going straight up, and then much the same coming down, remembering, loose slate and stone to combat. Sometimes there were built steps from timber in a very uneven format. Again, the views forward and behind were stunning, and to continually see people that look like ants in front of me, was always a haunting thought, knowing that is where I’m headed. After going hard all day, I finally reached Bocastle at four pm.I found Randy, and we then had to catch a bus to our accommodation. After a forty minute bus ride, we then had a ten minute stroll on a beautiful country road to the mill house inn. On that stroll, my body was in distress. I had a bit of a dry reach.I think a bit of dehydration, heat stroke and absolutely pushing myself beyond the limit may have had something to do with it. Twenty seven kilometres doesn’t sound a lot, but the terrain made it the hardest day I have ever encountered. Lots of local people I spoke with told me most people do this section over two days. I now understand the logic in that.I staggered up a couple of flights of stairs and fell asleep in a hot bath. Randy did the smart thing and went to the bar. I eventually got my self dressed and joined him for dinner. Eight forty that night, I was stacking zzzzzeds.