An absolutely stunning, yet tough, coastal walk, the weather the best that July in England can offer, with few settlements yet bookended by amazing wildlife sightings. In fact, two of which are a first for me.

We’ve stayed overnight in a farmhouse cottage call Brae Barn cottage, not far from Land’s End. We have certainly struck lucky with this Airbnb. Having arrived at gone midnight after the best journey you could expect we’d blindly found the front door and slept soundly until the sun came up and we realised we hadn’t shut the blinds. Chat to our hosts about this beautiful corner of England then motor down to Porthcurno.

We catch the Land’s End open top “Coaster” bus to Mousehole. Not sure I’ve sat on the top of an open top bus before but it was a fine view especially of the stressed drivers reversing on the narrow Cornish lanes to give way to us! .. and good to see over the hedgerow to the cows in the fields and the farmer harvesting bright red potatoes. We push the button as we approach Sheffield (no trams through the streets here), thank the driver and wander through the village to find the bridle way.

It’s a good 20-minute walk but worth it to arrive in the quaint seaside town of Mousehole. We can’t resist the Mousehole Deli and Kitchen right on the harbour-side. I choose a berry smoothie and chocolate flapjack – both exceptional. I could quite happily spend the day sitting on the quayside overlooking the holidaymakers messing about in the clear blue water by the boats bobbing in the harbour, but we have a walk to do. The sea is so blue and the sand so clean – not something you often see in a harbour. I overhear a woman talking to her friends about all the houses in Mousehole being burnt to the ground. Turns out it was an act of reprisal by the Spanish for the sinking of the Armada. Only one house remained after the fire in July of 1595.

It’s time to start coast walking – we wind our way through the narrow streets of the idyllic village back down to the other side of the harbour where fishermen are chatting by a stall selling ornamental fish made from old fishing tackle – ingenious!

As we walk up the road out of the village looking back over the rooftops with gulls perched on every chimney there’s a fabulous view of St. Michaels Mount over the other side of Mounts Bay and right round to the Lizard where we walked back in the spring.

It’s not far before the South West Coast Path weaves off the road and we are waking behind the last few cottages perched on the clifftop about the bay. One has a stunning wildlife swimming pool, almost an infinity pool, a Monterey pine tree perched beside it.

We emerge on to a cliff path, mostly single file and have not gone far when I spot a bench with a view and a snack stop. The azure of the blue mirrors the colour of the sky, small sailing ships are bobbing and, would you believe it, I can see dolphin fins bobbing in and out of the sea! Home-made quiche put aside, the binoculars are out – this sight is certainly a first for me in England. The pod of maybe five or six dolphins are gliding through the water up and down toward Penzance. They must be getting a truly amazing view from those little sailing boats. We pass the ‘bins between us until they have swum out of sight.

The path onward is still single file and very rocky, mostly on the same level but we are rewarded with a few set of steps going up and down. I guess this is typical of a coast path but today it seems particularly touch. Maybe because it is our first walk for a few months?

There’s a lovely group of Monterey Pine and Monterey Cypress clinging to the cliff ahead. Despite their obvious American provenance, they are somehow iconic of the English coastline, well certainly the South Coast path anyway. I stop to have my photo taken with the trees in the distance – today I am wearing a floppy sunhat, rather than my usual baseball style, one which I purchased in Florida many, many years ago.

Kemyel Crease Nature Reserve is owned and managed by the Cornish Wildlife Trust. Interpretation boards tell the history from the terracing of this sloping granite cliff for growing bulbs and potatoes, the planting of the Monterey Pines, storm damage and the amazing wildlife that call this their home. From the pretty flowers of the Lords-and-ladies Arum italicum to the unusual fungi of the Earth Star Geastrum triplex. I always find it strange how in one breathe they can mention how the Monterey pines are quite unique and a familiar landmark and in the other breath slate the dense canopy they create stating how their management encourages native broadleaf trees which are more useful to wildlife than exotic conifers?

We enjoy the shelter from the burning sun, the dense canopy of the exotic conifers provides us, although I’m saddened by the trees that have fallen in recent storms. I guess the wildlife trusts would never contemplate replacing these iconic trees that provide a tremendous shelter belt for wildlife and humans and the splendid scene? Oh well in a few more decades the wind will have taken them away and we will be left with our native ash trees if only they weren’t dying off!

There’s a little bit more open countryside along the cliff edge – granite boulders clinging to the grassy cliffs – or is it the other way round and wild carrot flowers bobbing in the breeze almost as far as you can see – stunning. We round Carn-du headland and weave our way through the rocks toward Lamorna, a large sailing ship anchored in the cove. On our right I stop to wonder over a large pile of granite rocks making a mini mountain above us. Later from the beach, and even later on the map I can see signs of a quarry and a couple more of these granite tips – I wonder if these are still working?

Enjoy a salted caramel ice cream – the lady in the shop insists I have it from a tub, as its close to melting. There’s a little beach here, clean white sands and a blue, blue sea, the waves lapping over the sand. It’s very tempting to wash my very dirty feet, but I resist, the water is pretty cold.

I have particularly dirty feet today because I am wearing, for the first time, this really is a day of firsts, a pair of walking sandals. They’re very comfy, with three adjustable Velcro straps. Much easier on my poorly toe than my walking boots.

An information sign states “Caution The next ½ mile of coast path is strenuous, uneven and close to the cliff edges” Well, the last couple of miles haven’t been easy so we feel like we already know what to expect. However, it’s the most beautiful day, not too busy and we are up for it. We clamber up cliffs, through massive boulders, and sometimes over muddy sections, yes muddy, we haven’t seen mud for weeks in the South East of England. At one section we have two people right behind us and there’s a group of people the other way and we all meet at for the tip toe over the planks and rocks in the dark squelchy bog!

For a while we are heading for the Tater-du lighthouse, finally emerging at the gates immediately above it where we stop to enjoy the view. It’s small but perfectly formed. Looking it up now I find that it’s around the same age as I am, built in the 1960’s its Cornwall’s newest lighthouse. Built as a response to the number of shipwrecks – in fact this stretch of coast was known as “the fishing boat graveyard”. Soon after we stop by a large rock, looking straight out to the vivid horizon – where deep turquoise blue sea meets almost pastel coloured blue sky.

I haven’t mentioned the wild flowers of today’s walk – its mid-summer and the spring flowers are mostly over, just the last few bells of the foxgloves dangling at the tip. Bracken is abundant, sometimes tall and wavy and others more stunted. Brambles are flowering and starting to form their juicy berries, there’s occasional gorse and abundant wild carrot. A smattering of pink in the form of red campion and herb Robert and the occasional flash of creamy coloured honeysuckle and yellow mouse-ear hawkweed. We know when we are nearer civilisation when we see another towering blue echium. I’m rather excited to report that the three seedlings I bought in Marazion in the spring and starting to grow in my garden back home. I must remember to protect them from frost with fleece over winter.

The next stretch is long, in fact it takes an hour to reach a very rocky beach and another hour to reach Penberth Cove. The rocky beach is something else – the coast path takes us right across it – they really are oversized pebbles, up to a metre in size but round and sometimes rocky. The path is marked by yellow paint on the occasional stone and we head for the yellow way marker on the far side.

I am quite relieved when we finally reach the little cove of Penberth below Treen. I was expecting a sandy beach as told by a friend who frequents a campsite in Treen, but I’m one beach too soon. There’s a smattering of small boats and lobster pots on the landing area below the enormous wooden capstan, preserved beautifully but no longer used. It’s no surprise that this unspoilt little hamlet was used for the filming of scenes in Poldark. A local guy advises us of horses and donkeys on the cliff as we head on, which there are also signs about (the horses not the donkeys!) but we see none.

But what we do see on the last hours stretch of our walk is the most stunning beach that we have seen since we were probably in the Caribbean! Pedn Vounder Beach is stunning viewed from the cliff top and fairly busy on the sunny Saturday in July. The wide expanse of sand, backed by granite cliffs is breathtaking – the clear turquoise seas with tiny waves slowly lapping the sand you really could be in the Caribbean. There are people walking in and out of the sea and some gaily wandering around, from this distance is difficult to tell but I’m pretty sure are naked – gosh! I’ve forgotten my swimming costume but, maybe another day… There are several groups of people weaving their way down to the beach but we continue round to Porthcurno, stopping to admire the painted white stone pyramid. A National Trust sign explains how a wooden hut stood here to house the end of the submarine telegraph cable from Brest by Mr Faraday, which linked England with America.

Weaving our way down the pathways we are delighted to reach Porthcurno Beach, take a photo of my filthy, yes filthy feet in my new sandals and head to the Caribbean like waters. But this is where the resemblance stop – it’s freezing! Sitting back on the sandy beach I look out to see a dark shape moving swiftly through the water – the seal bobs up every now and then to say hello to the swimmers and admirers on the beach.

With no pub to wet our appetite we motor back to our farm cottage where I enjoy a shandy in the pretty garden and marvel on another first for me – a hedgehog wanders passed, stopping briefly to look up then back into the hedgerow.