We’ve driven down to Cornwall early this morning through heavy rain for a week’s holiday. By early afternoon we’ve pitched our tent at Heligan campsite and motored back to Fowey to start walking.

It’s four in the afternoon by the time we arrive. It’s funny how Fowey is so familiar after our stay here back in April when the sun shone every day and it was pretty quiet of visitors. We dodge the tourists (ha-ha we’re not tourists) who are queuing outside the chocolate shop and sitting outside cafes and bars; we head straight to the pasty shop to purchase a very late lunch. Oh my, the quay is positively heaving – I overhear a lady asking what shots they do?? It’s time to get walking, so I set the Garmin and we are out of here.

The coast path runs back through the shops and along the road towards Readymoney cove. We step briefly in to the Grammar School Garden – my that’s blossomed in the last few months and is now full of the aroma of summer roses. There’s some lovely houses set back from the road on our right overlooking the sea, their garages and gardens by the sea on our left.

I glance over the estuary to the cottages and the castle on the edge of Polruan, one with a spiral staircase down the rocks to the beach. Readymoney cove is a bit different from our April visit when we enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine and a swim in the sea. Today’s sea (it’s July!) is rough, all churned up and right in. We dodge the waves to reach the steps on the far side of the cove.

We side-track to English Heritages St. Catherine’s castle, how refreshing to have a castle named after a lady!! Ha-ha if you look at an aerial view of the castle the pair of canon placements look like a lady’s breasts!

There are now only a handful of tourists as we start to wander along the coast path. Thankfully the weather is dry but the cloud cover is low and pretty grey – not quite warm enough to go down to t shirts.

All the signs point to Gribbin Head about 2 miles away. The foxgloves that looked so promising in the spring are now just a few bells hanging on to the end of their long stems, the blackthorn previously smothered in snow white flowers now has scented honeysuckle creeping through the thorns.

The path descends to the little beach at Penventinue Cove then along the cliff where steep steps take us into a woodland. We duck under the arch created by a stunted sycamore tree swept by the wind.

Looking back, we can’t see Fowey but can still see across the estuary to Polruan and even further on we think it’s Rame Head where we stayed at Captain Blake’s retreat. Pass through Combe Haven then around the cliff before descending into Polridmouth – there is a surprisingly immaculate garden, with well-tended lawns and a lake. We later learn that this lake was lit up during the Second World War to act as a decoy to lure enemy bombers away from Fowey.

Stepping stones takes us over a little stream, round the edge of the garden with its low hung chain link fence towards the path on the other side of the cove. My heart nearly sinks when I see red pedestrian barriers, but thankfully the path is open, just a small section fallen away.

As we curve round the next hill, we can see the red and white Gribbin Tower on top of Gribbin Head. My what a steep grassy incline it is to the top, we are a bit perturbed by a possible detour to avoid cows grazing but the grass is fairly long and there are no cow pats to be seen. Dodging a large puddle we go through the gate into the enclosure around the Gribbin Tower – not a lighthouse but an 84 foot daymark, with distinctive red and white stripes apparently repainted every seven years or so.

Enjoying a break on the bench we realise that we haven’t seen any other walkers for a long time – maybe due to the lateness in the day or just the distance from any car parks or they are just too busy drinking shots in Fowey!

From here we can see ahead towards Par Sands, on to St. Austell Bay and across the sea towards where we are staying behind Pentewan Sands. We pass just one person on this stretch – a very athletic cyclist heading towards Gribbin Head then coming back passed us a while later. At one point we fear we have to go over a field and through a gap in the hedge where cows are grazing but thankfully the path descends away towards the sea around the edge of the field.

The cliffs here are not too high above sea level with their rugged granite rocks below buffeted by today’s swirling sea. The path is somewhat muddy at times but bordered with an amazing array of swaying flowers – cow parsley, red campion, a wild form of achillea and those gorgeous foxgloves bells. As we pass under an ancient gnarled hawthorn tree a flock of gulls are circling above us in the grey skies.

The last field, as we near Polkerris, has a sign explaining how the farmer is working with Defra on the countryside stewardship scheme to bring wild flowers back to the area thus supporting wildlife – it’s beautiful. There are now a few dog walkers out and we can hear jollity on the beach as we descend through the little woodland into the tiny hamlet of Polkerris with its pub right on the beach – it’s tempting but we know we have to continue walking then fetch our car in Fowey so we carry on.

It’s a steep climb out the other side before meandering round the corner towards Par Sands – the China Clay Dries factory the other side of the estuary is slightly incongruous… must find out more about what this is!!