St Ives to Portreath

10/8/13 Maggie likes St Ives. So when she realised that was our next destination, a lift was offered. It meant an early morning start on an August Saturday to miss the A30 traffic, but we were in St Ives before 9. We even had time for breakfast before the walk. The path is a frequently used one to Carbis Bay.

Around the corner to Porth Kidney, the path continues on the sandy theme.

We stay on the ridge at first

then descended to the dunes before turning the corner to the Hayle Estuary.

After walking through the leafy Lelant, we return to the estuary and the Old Quay House.

The chatty staff are pleased to see their first customers of the day. Pints of Cornish Coaster (3.6%) and Doom (4%) for £6.40. Then it's on along the causeway to Hayle itself.

I like Hayle. Feels like a proper town. The blue building in the distance is the Royal Standard Inn. Pints of Trelawny (3.8%) and Tribute (4.2%) for £6.20 as we shelter from the rain. Opposite was a busy pasty shop with long queues. After walking along some deserted quays, we hit the Towans.

We can still see St Ives, but ahead of us are several miles of dunes.

The dunes keep coming until Godrevy.

Then the landscape changes.

I just missed getting seals at the bottom of these cliffs to go with the ponies on top.

Hells Mouth has some spectacular cliffs. We stopped at the cafe for a drink and expensive sandwiches. The walking is quite flat along the top of these cliffs until Carvannel.

The ups and downs here show some of the sea caves as well.

Soon it was Portreath that came into view.

Time for a pint in the Waterfront Inn, but we later realised that wasn't on the path. Maggie, Beth and Molly were there to meet us. Thanks to them for the day.