D133: LANDS END to PENDEEN
Saturday 7th September 2024
Today miles: 10.4 Total miles: 2182.1
Approximately four weeks ago whilst walking in the Galloway Forest, Scotland I turned by ankle over which resulted in severe soft tissue damage. Thankfully, I was wearing walking boots and not shoes, as I’m sure the incident would have resulted in a breakage and not just tissue damage. The doctor advised between four to six weeks of rest, so of course here I am twenty two days later about to leave Lands End. I’ve planned for a nineteen day trip which should, hopefully result in me reaching the end of the South West coast path at Minehead. I’d purchased a pair of lightweight walking boots last week and I’m hoping these will give me some additional ankle support as I attempt to walk over two hundred and seventy miles and conclude my English coastal path journey for 2024.
I arrived in Lands End around 8am this morning. Despite the recent bad weather and the met offices warning about a month’s worth of rain in two days the ground is now again reasonably dry. There’s a lot of people milling around. The route is gently rolling without any difficult issues and there’s lots of nice stone features to admire along the way to Sennen Cove.
There’s not a lot to mention about Sennen Cove, I personally found it to be a pretty bland place. I did use the public toilets to change my clothes and give myself a good wash, I’d been feeling pretty rotten after almost twenty four hours sat on hot coaches on my way to Penzance. I had already heard from several sources that the route from Sennen Cove towards St Ives was ‘difficult’ and was anticipating plenty of steep ascents and descents over the next few days. I took my first and only refreshment break at Porth Nanven. I’d brought enough food with me for the first couple of days so I had a fairly decent lunch. As I was sat down eating I could see that darker clouds were beginning to gather overhead, I anticipated some rain so stuck on my waterproofs before moving on. Soon after setting off, as expected, it began to rain and it would continue between ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ for the next few hours. At Cape Cornwall there’s numerous remains of the generations of mining in the area, including a tall chimney stack at the head of the Cape. This monument had originally been retained as an aid to navigation for shipping, more than one hundred and thirty years ago.
Unfortunately my new (value) lightweight Karrimor boots were now soaked through and I could feel several hot spots. I planned on stopping near to Pendeen at the Old Coastguard campsite. It’s a no nonsense campsite located close to the Pendeen Lighthouse. As I spotted the lighthouse in the distance the rain suddenly stopped and any thoughts of pitching in the rain were gone. The sun began to descend as I walked the last mile and I finally arrived at the site a very tired man. Although today was only an average ten mile walk, it felt tougher than I anticipated. I was pleased to have finally reached Pendeen and to catch up on some much needed sleep.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 