West Cornwall Coast Path
Leg 1 - Penzance to St Ives
The first part of our walk took us from Penzance, a bustling seaside town on the south coast of Cornwall, to St Ives on the north coast. This distance of about 10 miles is predominantly cross-country, taking in the little-visited hills and valleys in the centre of the Cornish peninsula. Our accomodation consisted of B&B in Penzance, and a campsite just outside the town of St Ives.
Early
on the morning on 12th May 2004, and it was a gloomy sight! From our B&B
window, we could barely see the sea due to the fog, only 200 metres from
where we were staying!
Nevertheless,
it made for nice and cool walking conditions, so we set off about 7:30am.
Here, we walked past Penzance harbour, with the Scillonian ferry to the
Isles Of Scilly in dock.
Looking
back southwards to Penzance as we headed inland. It was still very gloomy,
but at least the fog was slowly lifting.
After
an hour or so of walking across meadows, split occasionally by deep stream
gullies, we arrived at the small village of Ludgevan, with its impressive
church.
Thereafter,
it was northwards through the rolling hills of central Cornwall. Here, a
small country lane heads towards Nancledra, lined with hedges of gorse.
Still very misty and gloomy!
After
another 2 hours of walking across country and along lanes, we arrived in
the small village of Cripplesease. As it was nearing lunch time, we took
a pit stop at the charming Engine Inn...
....which
is home to this little cutie, possibly the friendliest dog in the world!
Further
north, and within a few miles of St Ives - a clue to Cornwall's turbulent
geological past, with this smoothed granite boulder lying in the middle
of a field.
By mid-afternoon, we'd arrived at our campsite at Hellesveor, about a mile
and half west of St Ives. Still very gloomy, but looks can be deceiving
- it was actually quite warm! With the tent set up and baggage off-loaded,
it was time to take an evening stroll into town, to see what St Ives had
to offer.