Log No 263. Tue 4th Mar 2014 - St Agnes to Hayle, 20 miles (4012 miles walked)

The forecast was for some someshine today and when I got up there was plenty of clear sky but by 08.15, when I had got to St Agnes it was all clouded over. I could just make out the sun through the cloud, at least it was dry with little wind.

The building at the end of the slip only seems to have sustained minor damage in the storms with just the balcony needing rebuilt.

At the end of the road round the cove the path continues along the edge of the cliff.

There are old mine workings everywhere you look, apart from the structures there are shafts with safety cages over the the hole on the surface.

What looks most odd is seeing the holes cut in the face of the cliff, it looks like windows and doors.

It is a very easy path to walk on and I met quite a few dog walkers and the odd runner.

After coming round St Agnes Head the path dropped into Chapel Porth and went upstream a short way before climbing gently back up the other side.

Then it was down again to Porthtowan where diggers were removing sand from the roads.

These Cornish villages with their sandy bays had it a lot easier than the Welsh coastal villages which mostly had stone or pebble beaches. Storm tossed stones causing more damage and much harder to clear up as well as being more unsightly than piles of sand.




Coming into Portreath at 11.10 I stopped at a bench for a sandwich and had an extra chocolate bar to mark my 4000th mile.

So far it all seems to have gone easier than I might have thought with only my achilles having given me any real bother. Hardly any wet feet and only 4 blisters. I have a couple of niggles at the moment with my right knee and ankles but no cause for concern. There hasn't been one day were I have questioned the sanity of this walk and once I get round the corner at Land's End I will feel as though I am definitely on the homeward stretch.

The clouds had been thickening all morning and the rain started while I was in Portreath.

It is a shame the weather has been so cloudy and wet with all the good coastal walking through Wales and here, the photos don't do justice to the super scenery.

The easy walking continued round to Godrevy Point, the map listing some interesting names for the bays such as Deadman's Cove and Hell's Mouth.

Rounding the corner from the Point the cliffs abruptly give way to the sand dunes of The Towans and after crossing the river and finding a dry route through a wet area I got onto the beach.

The final stretch of the day was a 3 mile walk on the beach into Hayle getting to a bus stop at 15.00.

A 20 mile walk and nowhere near as wet as it was yesterday.