2 miles Miles walked since starting. . . Packing up from a holiday is always sad, but we will have happy memories of watching the latest BBC series ‘Boat Story’, playing scrabble and watching the pony and ever-changing sea out of the window. Before the long drive home we decide to walk through Bude, to stretch our legs but also to shorten the walk for next time. Park up close to where we left off yesterday and amble along the 200-year-old Bude Canal, poking our head in a couple of the wharf shops and stopping to read a sign on the history of the area. [...]

10 miles Miles walked since starting. . . We’ve been in Cornwall four days now and the sun is at last peeping through the clouds.  On opening the curtains this morning, for the first time I can see the island of Lundy on the horizon. Another landmark to look out for over our coming walks. Today we are walking straight from our cottage in St. Gennys, above Crackington Haven, to the coast path and all the way to Bude, where we plan to catch the bus back.  I’m not a fan of walking against the clock. It takes just ten minutes to walk [...]

11.5 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . Having left Tintagel on a hot summer’s day in June, in my mind Cornwall has been waiting for us with the sun permanently glinting off the Atlantic Coast. We motor down on a grey Saturday in November. Arriving at the Camelot Castle hotel, perched on its own headland beyond the castle, as the sun sets. It feels like we have stepped back in time (or a murder is about to be solved by a moustached detective!) as our waitress, dressed in black and white, serves our meal in the high-ceilinged dining room. Afterwards I warm myself by the [...]

4 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . After yesterday’s epic walk in the sunshine, we don’t set an alarm. Our slow start is bookmarked at the beginning of the day with a superb breakfast at The Sea View Farm Shop, just up the road from Rosebud Farm camping. It’s a tasty “Full English”, made even better by the fabulous view of the countryside and distance coast. Having discussed our walk up from the coast path with our friendly campsite owner we opt to take a different route today. Walking further along the lane towards Treligga, cutting down to Tregonnick Pont. We did miss a [...]

9 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . A 7 AM alarm in a tent on a campsite is probably not the “done thing”, but we are planning to catch an early bus. A mist is hanging in the valley, but today’s forecast is sunshine so my raincoat is left hanging on the hook in the middle of the tent and we make our way to the bus stop. The bus driver nearly doesn’t see us waiting at the West Downs bus stop (called the telephone box, but there’s just a square concrete pad on the ground) as he’s driving very close to the van [...]

6.5 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . Rosebud Farm Touring Park is adults only – caravans, campervans and the occasional tent neatly parked up or pegged in around the edge of the long field to allow maximum enjoyment of the view over the valley, the wings of the hypnotising wind turbine constantly spinning. My new bell tent is spacious, with only slight rain ingress! We catch the number 96 bus, only slightly late, to the seaside resort of Rock. We’ve visited Rock a couple of times before, the first time maybe 28 years ago. Friends were getting married at St Enodoc Church. The quaintest little church [...]

11.5 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . It’s a real joy waking up when you are staying right on the coast path, no bus to catch, and your car waiting for you at your destination. We’ve slept well on the double bottom bunk bed in our private ensuite room at the Treyarnon Youth Hostel. Last night’s burger and chips were excellent and our clothes have almost dried in the drying room (shame the room wasn’t vented, it was more like a steam room) . They even serve a cooked breakfast here, but we have a long walk ahead of us and a deadline to get to [...]

2 Miles Miles walked since starting. . . I’ve been preparing for this Cornish adventure for weeks. A new notebook, now soggy at the corners, has been carefully written up with bus times, Youth Hostel opening times and a reminder to bring my photo ID. But the one thing I couldn’t plan is the good old Cornish weather. Having spent the last couple of weeks going to work in a heatwave, coming home to the to-ing and fro-ing with overflowing watering cans to my giant sunflowers, broad-beans and zinnias, I’m now on holiday and I expect the sunshine to continue! However, the weather is overcast with dense [...]