March 8, 2023 - Happy Women's Day
From the itinerary:
Take a view of The First World War granite cross memorial at Downend Point and look across the bay.
Take a break at the cafes of Polperro
Views from Pencarrow Head across the sandy cove of Lantic Bay which is backed by wild plants. Views from here also extend to The Lizard and Bolt Head to the east.
Looking down from Raphael Cliff to the natural rock arch at Blackybale Point.
The beautiful views of the estuary on the foot ferry crossing from Fowey to Polruan.
Fowey: loved by famous literary figures for its architecture and tranquility, Fowey continues to offer visitors a wealth of character and history, in spite of the occasional ships of china clay. J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, described the town as like “a toy town ... hemmed in so picturesquely by cliffs and ruins that of a moonlight night it might pass for a scene in a theatre.” The church of St Fimbarrus has a Norman font, a clerestory and the tower, thought to be the second tallest in Cornwall, dates from the 1460's. You may also like to visit the Daphne du Maurier Literary Centre in South Street or explore the streets and shops around the harbour.
It was an 8.9 mile day, rated Challenging - Moderate to strenuous. My recorded elevation change was 3410 feet, making this the hardest day of the hike. It was also the worst day for weather - heavy rains at the start and in the middle fading to mist. Mentally I wasn't ready for this as I thought yesterday's 12 mile hike was going to be the hardest.
Breakfast was nice, but small and the rain got quite heavy before I left
I was overdressed and rain was very rainy for about 20 minutes after I started. I rather quickly took off my down layer and I was much more comfortable.
I walked up from the town and stopped to see the view from The First World War granite cross memorial at Downend Point
There was a rather short walk to Polperro, about 1.5 miles, and I stopped for a tea and a few slices of toast as this was the last place for a sheltered sit-down until Fowey.
I finally found my way out of town (kept getting lost) and started the 6 miles through the protected area of the National Trust Lantic Bay which was very remote cliff walking. Luckily the weather had been dry for several days before my hike and the path was not muddy. It made walking much easier.
The weather improved for most of the walk, but there were times of very heavy rain. Luckily the temperature stayed warm. At one point I thought the path went down quite steeply to the beach and I started down the steep path. I managed to look at the map and realized this was not the right way. It would have been an awful climb down and back up again.
I wasn't able to take many pictures due to weather, but here are the views I was able to capture.
Slo-mo
I finally desended into West Fowey and was exhausted and wet.
The ferry was quite small and it was a quick crossing to East Fowey. You could see the Henry XIII battlements protecting the bay
I was glad to get to my hotel and was soaking wet. The sign is for the hotel - Old Quay Inn
This room was a lot smaller than the night before. I went right into the bathroom to get out of my soaking clothes.
I went for a short walk around East Fowey and saw the church and castle before returning for a rest before an early dinner.
I ate dinner at the hotel. The dinner wasn't one of the best, but I did have some local cheeses which were lovely and a Bailey's coffee. The view was very nice.
Here is my start for tomorrow.
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