Each day on the SWCP is different. Today’s was shorter than many, which introduced some frustration, yet allowed for some contemplation.
One of the great joys of these walks for nomads like us is the adventure of staying in a different place each night. Last night’s adventure was a small bedroom with en-suite bathroom, which was great. I need to remember that, while central locations look good, they might be close to a bar playing live music past 11pm, way past our bedtime. I could also have skipped the soloist who was exercising his vocal cords outside of our window at 5am! Anyhow, our room had a little fridge to keep fresh milk cool, and the associated good cup of tea or coffee in the morning puts everything right.
The contemplation started while waiting for breakfast. An included breakfast has worked well in the past. With just the two of us, we love getting away early when the air is crisper and it leaves us more time for rests. This morning’s breakfast was at 9am, so we had to wait, literally twiddling our thumbs. More to consider next time! I had tried to avoid breakfasts when planning this trip, but I could find few places which did not include it. We could ask for a continental selection earlier, as we certainly don’t need the full English breakfast every morning!
The impatience of having to wait for breakfast was amplified by our desire to get on with this. We’ve completed five days out of twenty. We still have a lot of walking to do! On reflection, I should have combined today’s 7-miler with tomorrow’s 7-miler, but then we would have missed a fine hotel. Good trail conditions make the walking much easier, but I couldn’t tell this from the maps. I need to fine tune my research! We will soon have rounded Lizard point and arrive in Falmouth.
Enough contemplating and back to day 5’s hike. It was full of wide open vistas with the path seemingly dancing with the cliff edge, which blessedly looked more stable in this section than yesterday. We saw more hikers and daytrippers, and even passed a golf course, so it felt more civilized and less remote.
It was fun visiting St Winwaloe’s Church of the Storms, with a history that reaches back to when the Romans left Britain in 410 AD. Our walking had brought us amongst lots of other people, though we were alone again in the church.
After the next cove, we came to where Marconi made the first transatlantic radio transmission, with his message received in Newfoundland in 1901. A large building had been built to house the workers. This was converted into a hotel, which struggled, and it is now a care home. It was having its roof repaired after a storm. Marconi’s radio apparatus were dismantled when the land was donated to the National Trust.
Just beyond the next cove was the day’s destination, the Hotel Polurrian on the Lizard! It was being extended, which did not impact us, though that was quite a climb from the bay to the cliff top!
A spacious hotel room facilitated some in-sink laundry, and we expect that the sound of crashing waves will be an improvement over last night’s band and 5am soloist! Though maybe it will be a seagull this time…
We had a very tasty seafood dinner before returning to our room, from where we had a fantastic view.
Tomorrow we hike to the end of the Lizard!
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 