Stunning coastal paths, a tussle with the tide and a superb meal

Tuesday 3^rd October

In line with the weather during the rest of this holiday, today was beautiful and sunny and stayed so all day.

Out down to the harbour, picking up bagels on the way. On to the end of the harbour, where the tide was as far out as we had seen it. Lots of people about in the sunshine. Round the end and up to the coastguard lookout from where the views were tremendous – the best so far since we’ve been in St Ives – right up beyond Godrevy Point towards Newquay. The path then goes down onto Porthmeor beach, which was lovely – crashing blue seas with some people starting to surf.

Up the cliff onto the path again and started round towards the south. The path is easy walking for quite a way, then the tarmac runs out and it becomes stonier. Eventually, as we got further away from the town, it got very muddy in places. Stopped for a drink at Clodgy Point and thought we might continue for another couple of miles, but it did get harder work so we stopped before that for our lunch, looking down onto the surf at the bottom of the cliffs. A few gannets were passing. It was very beautiful.

It became clear that there was a higher path back than the muddy one; so we went along that, towards St Ives. At a further point where the path divides, there were signs of one going over the moor, which I thought we would try – big mistake. It got narrower and more overgrown and muddy, but Ian thought we should keep going. It was a bit of a nightmare – bracken, lots of gorse, brambles, rocks, mud and generally a dreadful way to go. We battled on, fighting our way through undergrowth and little trees, over a wall and eventually back on the proper path. Sadly, a couple with two dogs and a small child were following – with the child crying in distress, but they made it too, in the end.

Sat looking down on a juvenile gannet diving, while we recovered. Back to the harbour for a coffee in the sunshine – how I’d pictured the holiday before we left home. There haven’t been a lot of opportunities for doing this. 

It seemed to early to go back to the flat, and we were too muddy and unrespectable to look at the shops, so we made our way along to the Porthminster Beach, below the flat for a while. We sat on a rock at the end of the beach, thinking that the high tide had probably turned, but eventually having to make a bit of a run for it. Did a bit of paddling – the last chance this year, then up to the flat.

In the evening, we walked down to the Mermaid restaurant, recommended by Laura, where we had a delicious meal – seafood soup with a lobster stock base, hake, new potatoes, battered cauliflower and salad, followed, a short while later by chocolate pots. Then a slow walk back up to the flat with the moon shining down onto the harbour.

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