HANKS TRAVEL BLOG

When I awoke Sunday morning, I still felt exhausted. My body didn’t want to respond to anything I wanted it to do. After a big breakfast, I headed to the supermarket and bought a couple of packets of energy tablets and hydralite tablets and chewed and drank all day. I would have had a second day off, but locked in with accommodation wouldn’t allow me to do this. A couple of pints late afternoon, watching the Wimbledon final between Sinner and Alcharaz and mixing with the locals was welcoming and rewarding, as was the traditional Sunday roast beef, all the trimmings,  and Yorkshire pudding.I only had to walk 100 metres back to my bnb, so that was also a bonus. I needed no rocking to get to sleep. I woke the next morning feeling more revitalised than I could have imagined. After mueseli, poached eggs on toast and sausage washed down with a cuppa, I was ready for some action. As I approached the front door,I could hear the rain. As I opened the front door, I could have been in a Queensland tropical storm. It was pelting rain, and I don’t have my poncho, so I went straight back up to my room and decided to wait a while. I rang Gayle for our second chat of the morning and then rang Ashleigh. I asked Willa for her advice and at almost two years of age, she made no comment. Her four year old brother Luca, was happy just saying hello as I was. By now its after nine, and the weather forecast was spot on by predicting rain to ease with strong winds. Also finally, very warm but not scorching like last week. I walked out for a second time feeling much happier, having talked to family and clouds/sun to walk with. For the first time, the first six kilometres were dead flat before the cliffs came back. After nine kms of rugged cliffs, and knowing the terrain was going to get much worse,  a possible one hour walk to my off route accommodation, I took advantage of being able to catch a bus, firstly for the final six kms and then after an hour wait, a bus up the mountain to my bnb. Do I feel bad for catching a bus part of the way?no, I didn’t want to end the day completely exhausted , knowing a longer walk tomorrow, and having to find my way to the starting gate.

Saturday was going to be a really hard day as the bus wasn’t coming to around 9 am. That meant start walking near 10 am,or start early and walk the extra one and a half hours to the start. What ever way, I wasn’t looking forward to it. By what might have been devine intervention, my host Lew over heard me telling the other guests and offered to take me at 5.30 in the morning. I was most grateful. I made sure I left some beers in the fridge for him. This guy is a legend. His accommodation is above his fish and chip shop, so when his guests buy his fish and chips, he gives a 50 percent discount. And he’s a real character. He loves taking the piss out of people, and just enjoys himself. By the end of the day, I was very happy to have had that early start, as I reckon it was harder than yesterday, and I did struggle the last five kilometres. I’m lucky it was flat walking on roads. The night before I was able to put my drink bottles in Lew’s freezer, so I had cold water. The path was tough, crawling at one stage over balancing boulders and then almost ninty degrees straight up. I’m definitely looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

The last couple of days have been amongst the toughest. Narrow edge of cliff walking, which is not for the faint hearted. Lots of steep ascents and dangerous descents and today some rock climbing thrown in to make it more difficult. There were some flat bits,and sand dunes.  Another tough day tomorrow and then a day off. I’m looking forward to that. This part of the coast is a lot different. It should be called the granite coast.Huge granite boulders all over the path, probably from land slips over the years, sometimes trying to clamber around them, other times climbing over them,usually right on the edge. Sometimes shits are trumps. But the views are sensational, no argument there. Definitely so much more beautiful under blue skies. And it’s hot. I’m drinking more water than ever before. I’m carrying three bottles, and I’m still having to drink beer at the end of the day to rehydrate. Unfortunately my days are starting a lot earlier and finishing later, as I have to use public transport to get from the accommodation to the path. Accommodation is getting scarce even miles away from the coast as everyone from all over England and beyond are coming to enjoy the best summer in years. Also, this sends prices sky rocketing. I’ve just heard that school holidays start next week, so I doubt whether I will be able to get anything. Last night I stayed in a tent. Supposed to be Glamping, which is a fancy term for camping. I had a lot of trouble finding this place, out in the middle of a paddock in the middle of nowhere. A half hour on the bus and twenty minutes to walk there. No host to greet you and no towel or linen. Won’t be falling for that trick again. Oh!,and a shower out side that read,water should get warm. It was just warm. Hate to be here in the winter. I was the only one there. Then this morning, I had to walk an extra hour as the first bus wasn’t coming to nine am. A five thirty am start was nice, as the weather was still quite cool.I caught a bus after a twenty km hike to Porthcurno, to my accommodation at Sennen, and thankfully it was only five minutes walking. I hope there is a bus in the morning, or I will have an hour and a half walk back to Porthcurno to reach my start point. My shins are feeling numb from the gores scratching my legs. I must have an allergic reaction. People I spoke to had savage mosquito bite marks. Obviously they don’t like aussies, as so far I have not had that problem.

This morning I started with mueseli,fruit and yoghurt, followed by smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and avocado on Turkish bread. Adding the kilometre from the accommodation to the starting gate, thirty kilometres and weather looking hot and sultry. Better than rain and freezing any time. Leaving the beach at Portreath, it was straight up a steep road onto a cliff and then on rocky ground straight down again. Within fifteen minutes I was sweating profusely, whatever that means, believe me I was sweating a lot. Thankfully after another cliff, it levelled out for a number of kilometres and was pleasant. After another cliff, I took advantage of the tide being out and cut out some ups and downs by walking the three mile beach. The problem with that was I had to wade across a small inlet, but it saved me walking all the way round. Besides, it was refreshing to take off my socks and shoes. The book was useless today, and the lack of signs didn’t help either. I’m grateful the locals were always there to guide me. They seem to appear just as you need them. At one inlet, there were seals, but they were hard to spot from far away. Although the last section was up and down, it was on reasonable ground. Early in the day my big toe on my right foot started to give me problems. It became quite painful. Luckily I ignored it, and within an hour it came good. Hopefully it won’t reoccur. I finally arrived in St Ives,which is a real tourist town with a buzzing atmosphere. By the time I walked up the hill, I was happy to find my accommodation at the top of it, and I had a gorgeous uninterupted view of the ocean.

Poor Emily, although the weather didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves, the sun here makes the world of difference. This morning, after a full English breakfast, I started out for my twenty kilometre hike which  included some rugged cliffs with very narrow stony paths that were very steep going up and down. Thankfully there were also flat sections along the ridges of some of the cliffs. There was lots of antiquated infrastructure from the tin mines that used to operate along this coast line about one hundred years ago. I didn’t see many people today. Some locals walking their dogs, and a young couple walking the coast path. There was a lack of signs on today’s route, so luckily I kept the young couple within eye contact. As I was leaving Driftwood Spas up a steep single lane road, I asked a local, to make sure I was heading in the right direction. He said I was, and in about two hundred yards, it’s going to get real tough. With that, he gave this evil laugh  and drove off down the hill,I then quietly put my tail between my legs and thought, what a nasty man. He was right, and what made it worse, as I’m climbing up this steep cliff, with a very narrow path, a dog came running down from the top, stopped three metres in front of me, and had a shit,and believe me,it stunk worse than one of my grand kids. I won’t mention which one. As I’m stumbling trying to get around the road block, the owner caught up and also laughed 😅. I was happy to get away from there. I reckon that other bloke put a curse on me. Anyway, I continued on,stopped for about half an hour for a cuppa and a piece of toast left over from breakfast at a little beach with a carpark in the middle of nowhere called Chapel Porth. As isolated as this beach was, the only flat land was where the carpark was, and you had to pay one pound per hour for the privilege of swimming there. There were a few people there,and even on a sunny day, that still was reasonably cloudy, most people wear wetsuits as the water is still quite chilly as we know it in Queensland. Some more stiff climbing and downing, past a big dome that was fenced off, some radar thing I think, and descended into the small fishing hamlet known as Portreath. My inn being at the middle of this hamlet was a nice surprise not having to find a bus or taxi to get to enjoy my break until tomorrow. I had a sneak preview of tomorrow’s walk, not looking easy, I’ll tell you tomorrow.

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.