Lizard to Porthleven

23/6/13 A Sunday drive to Helston enabled us to park in the main street opposite the main bus stop. Then bus to the Lizard before retracing our steps towards Bass Point. The Lizard Lighthouse and our most southerly point was next.

The path around here did seem busy. Maybe because it was a Sunday, maybe because of the scenery

or maybe because it was windy.

Anyway, once past Kynance the walkers did thin out a bit. The terrain was moor like from there with different paths to choose from near the cliff tops. Eventually we descended to Mullion Cove.

We had an expensive pasty before continuing north through a few other coves until the last one, Church Cove.

We didn't see a coastpath sign coming out of here and accidentally took a shortcut up the road to Halzephron. From here we could see Porthleven in the distance and choose to ignore a sign to a pub 100 yards away. The wind was starting to annoy now as we were walking in small trenches and had to concentrate.

Soon the Loe and its Bar came into view.

Fortunately there was some grassy sections to walk on to avoid most of the sand. Then it was along a track to Porthleven. You come into the harbour past the clock tower and the first pub is the Harbour Inn.

We had two nice pints of Trelawney (3.8%) and Tribute (4.2%) for £6.30. The pub was busy for early on a Sunday evening. Then it was a walk around the other side to the Ship Inn.

We had Hancocks HB (3.6%) and Skinners Porthleven (4.8%) for £5.75. Another busy pub with what seemed to be locals. The harbour was busy with the local youth jumping in and out as well.

Then it was a short bus ride back to Helston and a 10 yard walk to the car.

Coverack to Lizard

15/6/13 Delayed drive to Helston, dropping my son off in a field near the Tamar first, for the bus to Coverack and a gentle stroll into the village. The Paris Hotel is the pub seen at the end of Dolor Point.

Pints of Tribute Pale Ale (4.2%) and Proper Job (4.5%) for £6.55 were had. It was busy and the beer perhaps not at its best.

There was a slight inland diversion coming out of the village, but we soon returned to the path out to Chynhalls Point and back. The path continued mainly on cliff tops until the descent to Downas Cove.

Then it was up and down a few more times until reaching Kennack Sands.

More ups and downs including the new bridge at Poltesco.

Then on to Cadgwith and the Cadwith Cove Inn.

We sat outside in the shade and downed pints of Doom (4%) and Betty Stoggs (4%) for £6.50, which could have been better.

Then we were soon passing the Devil's Frying Pan

and on towards the Lizard. Ideally, we would have rounded that before heading inland to the bus. But time was getting on and we decided to head for the village once we passed Bass Point. We only just made the Helston bus in time.

Helford to Coverack

1/6/13 A sunny morning drive to Playing Place again. A cheaper bus ticket (£10 for two) again for the trip to Falmouth and then on to near Helford Passage. We walked down the hill and waited on the pontoon for the ferry. We had it to ourselves, but there were many waiting on the other side.

A short walk brought us to the Shipwright Arms.

Pints of Harbours Indian Pale Ale (5%) and Light Ale (3.7%) for £6.60 were very pleasant to drink in the morning sunshine beside the river.

But we knew that we didn't have much time to dwell there and so onwards it was. The going was estuary like and with quite a lot of litter until we rounded Dennis Head.

It was high tide and there was no sign of a ferry in Gillan, so we did more estuary walking. Once around Nare Point, it became much more coastal though. We could see Porthallow in the distance and were soon descending to it.

You can make out a large stone structure by the entrance to the beach in this photograph. It is not facing the path though and it was not until later that I realised that this marks the half way point on the coastpath. Perhaps we only had eyes for the Five Pilchards Inn behind it. Pints of Sharps Own (4.4%) and Dartmoor IPA (4%) for £6.30 and a game of pool awaited. We had only just arrived in time as the pub shut behind us at 2:30.

It was inland and uphill from there to Porthoustock, where it did the same again to avoid some of the quarries. At Rosenithon we decided to press on rather than head for the bus and so it was down to Godrevy Cove.

From here the coastpath did follow the coast, but we went through more quarries until Coverack came into sight. The bus stop is just before entering the village and we made it just a few minutes before it arrived. It felt like we had walked a long way, but the bus driver was the same one that dropped us five hours earlier on the other side of the Helford River. We changed buses in Helston, before a ride on a double decker around the country lanes of Cornwall back to Palying Place.