D140: PORT ISAAC to BOSCASTLE
Saturday 14th September 2024
Today miles: 13.9 Total miles: 2297.2
Getting to Port Isaac this morning should have been an absolute breeze, it turned out to be anything but. The buses are much less frequent on a weekend but I did manage to catch the first of my two buses from Tintagel to some unnamed junction near Camelford. At the junction there’s only one bus stop and I assumed (wrongly) that it was the one that I needed to stand at. I waited for around twenty minutes as expected, then as I stood there the bus appeared but went quickly across the junction and without stopping it drove off. I was furious. The next bus to Port Isaac is another two hours away. I’ve never, ever hitched a lift before but I thought I’d give it a go. Despite the traffic being light I managed to get a lift in less than ten minutes. Mark and Tracey, who recently retired were brilliant. They picked me up in their brand new campervan and took me all the way to Port Isaac, despite this not actually being their destination. After thanking them several times I walked back to the coastal path and set off for Tintagel. The first two miles were easy enough but then over the next mile I encountered four steep descents and ascents in very quick succession.
It was developing into a really nice day, with clear blue skies and a mild breeze blowing into my face. The path thankfully levels out for the next two miles towards Treknow beach. There’s an old Youth Hostel Association building close to the path and there’s several cyclist milling around in the courtyard. I did check out staying there several weeks ago but it’s exclusive use only. I can now see the remains of the Castle and the monastery at Tintagel Head. This is a huge highlight of the SWCP and Cornwall and as expected it was very, very busy. There’s a huge queue of people waiting to gain entry. I descended the side of the hill towards Tintagel Haven where there’s a shop, a cafe and several benches to sit on. I sat and watched hundreds of visitors crossing the bridge onto the Island.
An hour later there’s another steep zig zagging climb up onto Smith’s Cliff and as expected the crowds began to dwindle, considerably. The route then snakes around several small hills and mounds towards Trevalga, then further on to Boscastle. The last mile into Boscastle is down a steep road into the village centre. There’s a lot of pretty houses scattered across both sides of the valley. In the village square there’s a lot of young people hanging around, from the nearby youth hostel. I grabbed an ice cream and fizzy drink from the small store and consumed these whilst waiting for the bus back to Tintagel.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 