WALKING THE PENTEWAN VALLEY TRAIL

We had a walk, or perhaps it was more like a stroll, along part of the Pentewan Valley Trail. This stretches from St. Austell to the sea at Pentewan.

It was damp under foot but very pleasant otherwise. We walked alongside the small St. Austell River which is also known, by some, as the Vinnick River or the White River.

Part of the walk veered through an attractive wood, with fallen leaves underfoot.

It had been raining a heck of a lot, so much water lingered either side of the path.

The trees and reflections made some confusing views.

The trail ended for us at Pentewan harbour. The photo below shows the sluice gate built in 1872. This  controlled the water used to flush out the harbour basin. 

A few more small trees and quite a lot of water.

And then we reached the land locked harbour at Pentewan.

From here we retraced our steps alongside the river.

I guess we walked about three miles. So nothing too strenuous. It's always uplifting though to get out in the fresh air and amongst trees and nature.

Footnote: The Pentewan Trail was once the route of a railway which travelled from St. Austell to Pentewan Harbour transporting china clay. I mentioned this at the end of my blog post AFTERNOON TEA & OTHER MEANDERINGS

Thanks for visiting my blog ~ Mike. 

Walking the Pentewan Trail to the Village and Harbour

Once upon a time this was was the Pentewan Railway carrying china clay - up until about 1918, Now it is part of the Pentewan Valley Trail.

We didn't walk the whole trail but started at a pull-in on the B3373. This leads to the bridge as shown in the first photo.

From here we simply followed the St. Austell River sticking to the riverside. The path isn't wonderful but less people take this option.

The path leads to the village of Pentewan.

And Bob's your uncle, here we are in the village. This cottage dates back to 1823

More of the village. At the far end of the road there is a steep hill.

We headed for the beach - can never resist a stroll by the sea. Pentewan Beach must be slightly over half a mile in length. All is very peaceful at this time of year, but it gets busy in the summer season.

To reach the beach you pass Pentewan Harbour.

The harbour is no longer used and is now  landlocked

In the late 1800s, and early 1900s, however, the harbour would have been full of tall sailing ships exporting local china clay, metals and the like all over the world.

Here's a photo of the harbour from 1900 with a few tall ships in dock.

Now on the way back from Pentewan to our car. On the return we took the popular path used for walkers, cyclists, and horses. Luckily there didn't seem to be any of these about, so an empty path ahead.

A bit muddy in places.

Nearly back to the start and a wooden bridge crossing the river.

A sign by the bridge points the way to Mevagissey, Heligan, St. Austell and Pentewan.

Two little ducks minding their own business.

And finally, here we are back to the bridge where we started.

That's all for today, thanks for visiting my blog. Enjoy your week ~ Mike.

The Pentewan Trail, Cornwall

We had a walk, or maybe it was more of a stroll, along the Pentewan Valley Trail.

It was a little damp under foot but all was very pleasant. We walked alongside the small river heading towards Pentewan harbour and village.

Part of the walk is a path through a wood, very attractive with the fallen leaves underfoot.

It had been raining a heck of a lot, so much water either side of the path.

The trees and reflections made some confusing views.

The trail ended for us at Pentewan harbour. The photo below shows the sluice gate built in 1872. This  controlled the water used to flush out the harbour basin. 

A few more small trees and quite a lot of water.

And then we reached the now defunct harbour at Pentewan.

From here we retraced our steps alongside the river.

I guess we walked just under three miles. So nothing very strenuous, but it's always uplifting to get out in the fresh air and amongst the trees and nature.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

A couple of random Pentewan posts:

Pentewan Harbour, Beach and Village, Cornwall

Pentewan Beach Cornwall and Seeing What is Sometimes Missed in Life