Tuesday 29 May 2012

A Week in the Sun on the Cliffs

This is a post about my trip from Bude to Newquay (Cornwall). Normal posts will resume shortly!

I'm baaaack. I have weird tan lines, including hiking boot feet with flip-flop lines on top for good measure! That can only mean one thing: it was sunny in Cornwall!! Yessss!

We visited: Bude, Boscastle, Tintagel, Padstow and Trevone. (And much of the coast between them!)

We only spent about £100 each for the week too, including accomodation, food and drinks and fuel. We already had tents, hiking gear and rucksacks, but once you've got them, they last a LONG time, so if you fancy a cheap holiday, invest in some good camping gear!

The Plan
My Mum and I went hiking and camping around the northern Cornish coast. The original plan was to carry our gear on our backs like nomads/snails. Unfortunately, two people need almost as much stuff as four people (tent, food, fuel, camping burner, plates, pots etc. etc.), but with fewer people to carry it all!

We tried lugging it all in hiking rucksacks from Bude to Boscastle (17 miles), but it was roasting hot even at 8am and the cliffs are some of the highest in the country. We made it 11 miles (to Crackington Haven) and collapsed in a pub, calling a taxi to take us the few miles to the campsite!

(Check out my sweat patches in that photo! Niiiiice!!)

Change of plans!
That first day of walking was hard; too hot, too heavy, too far, too steep and no fun. Luckily we only live in mid-Cornwall, so we were able to rope good ol' Dad in to move our gear some days, so we could live it up with small day bags. The walks were still long, and it was still hot, but we skipped up 500+ ft high cliffs with relative ease! :) It was fun!


 







Look at the size of these cliffs!


 So here are a few photos of our trip. I would thoroughly recommend hiking the South West Coast Path. It is one of the best maintained paths in the country. We met some people attempting the 630 miles between Minehead (Somerset) and Poole (Dorset). (Even they only made it to Crackington Haven that first day!)

Alpacas in Bude!

Huge vegetarian pasties! (Not quite peppery enough mind you!)


Cornish language. (I can speak a little Cornish too. Little known fact for you there!)

Boscastle harbour. I loooove Boscastle. I don't think I've been before. It's a beautiful village.

The coastal watch outpost at Boscastle. Volunteers work 4 hour shifts to keep an eye on people on the sea and coast paths. They especially watch for people walking alone and make sure they reach the next outpost.


My Mummy. :) She loves her hiking poles!

The thrift was beautiful. It covered most of the headlands!

Me! :) Do you like my sunhat? :D

This is the remains of Tintagel castle, where King Arthur was meant to have been born. There's really not much there now.

Windsurfer in Padstow.
If anyone wants more info about Cornwall just leave a comment and I'll get back to you! (I live in mid-Cornwall, but have visited most parts of the Duchy by now!)

3 comments:

Pamela said...

Wow, Bryallen, what a lovely trip! The only places in Cornwall I got to were Penzance and Newquay. I'm so glad you and your mom had such gorgeous weather and views. And those pictures! Wow, they are fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Thankyou for that. Isn't it lovely in your part of the world. I want to visit Cornwall now . Well done both of you! Jules

Unknown said...

Beautiful Kernow. I lived in Penzance and at Land`s End 27 years ago. I sometimes wish I never left.