A short walk from Carlyon Bay to Spit Beach and Beyond

The weather was in a quandary. Should it rain, dabble in sunshine or be dark and menacing? 

Whatever the weather we decided to go for a walk and headed for Carlyon Bay golf course. Not to play though, as I agree with Mark Twain who said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." I guess I should apologise to any golfers! 

Alongside the golf course, overlooking the sea, there is a public footpath with some lovely views. You have to be aware of any stray golf balls, of course.

With the golf course stretched out before us it turned quite dark with a few drops of rain.

Clouds formed as we walked.

We decided to keep walking and visited Spit Beach. From here it is also possible to carry on walking to Par Beach - though the footpath is a bit grotty.  The sun did its best to shine.

For a brief moment Spit Beach looked great, with blue-green sea lapping the shore.

We decided to retrace our steps alongside the golf course. Dark clouds built up once more.

The clouds appeared to be almost hovering above the horizon.

With Carlyon Bay beach in view we are nearly back to where we started. 

To walk along the side of the golf course park in the Carlyon Bay beach car park. It's a bit bumpy but is often free out of the tourist season. Walk down the hill a short way and on the left is a Public Footpath sign, follow this to where we started our walk. Note that the path can get a bit muddy following heavy rain. 

To finish today's post the azalea in our front garden. Thanks for visiting my blog - Mike. 

PORTHPEAN, CORNWALL BEACH AND CLIFFS

What a lovely surprise, a blue sky day so we headed for Porthpean Beach, which is about two or three miles from the town of St. Austell and is part of St. Austell Bay.

Porthpean Beach is simply a stretch of sand backed by cliffs, as can be seen in in the the photo above. It's not a hot spot for tourists but is somewhere the locals visit. 

The name Porthpean is from the Cornish language words 'porth' meaning cove and 'pean' meaning little or small.

I always find cliffs interesting.

Some of the Porthpean cliffs are topped with trees.

There are a couple of sets of steps for anyone (like me) who wants to get to the top of the cliffs. The steps also lead to the coastal path.

Looking down from the steps, half way. Not many people on the beach today!

A view now from the top of the cliffs looking down on Porthpean beach.

At the top of the cliffs is an old look-out used during World War 2.

From the look-out the surrounding countryside can be seen. Lots of fields of green.

I reached the coastal path which heads towards Duporth Beach and Charlestown. 

This a wonderful positive about Cornwall, there is a coastal path all along the county and beyond. The path isn't always as neat, tidy and flat, as shown in my photo below, but is walkable as long as you don't mind ups and downs.

That's all for today.

Thanks for visiting my blog ~ Mike.

Portmellon

Today a walk from Portmellon along the coastal path towards Gorran Haven. The weather wasn't particularly too kind to us.

The first two photos show the sea at Portmellon, which is just along from Mevagissey. 

We parked our car in a side road at Portmellon and walked to the start of the coastal path - up a long hill, of course!

Once on the actual coast path there were some lovely views, though a little muted because of the hazy weather.

The coastal path is quite narrow in places but easy to walk - lots of greenery on display.

The next section of the walk was straight across a field leading to Chapel Point headland - the yellow arrow showed the way.

On Chapel Point there is a wonderful property - a very special house - you can just see the building in the photo below.

Chapel Point House is Grade II Listed and was designed by the renowned Arts and Crafts architect, John Campbell in 1936. The property has been featured in several publications over the years and is reported to have been the subject of a novel by Daphne du Maurier.

Looking out at the cove near Chapel Point.

Now it's a walk downhill, on the coast path, to sea level where there is a boathouse.

The boathouse belongs to the house on Chapel Point.

Continuing on the walk there are green fields inland and a few sheep. 

Below is looking back at the cove and shows the coastal path walked so far.

We now reach Bodrugans Leap and, of course, there is a story to be told! The story varies but the outcome is the same.

Sir Henry Bodrugan was a powerful Cornish land owner and a High Sheriff of Cornwall. Some say he was also a pirate and thief but, whatever, back in 1487, he was being chased by Sir Richard Edgcumbe and associates for claims of treason.

Bodrugan made for the cliffs south of St. Austell. His only escape was to leap off the cliffs, probably with his horse, at Turbot Point.  With or without his horse a boat was waiting for him, which ferried him across the English Channel to safety.

The terrain gradually becomes more rugged.

There is a seat for those who may wish to contemplate the sea.

The path became quite steep.

It was interesting to watch the sea and the waves crashing onto the rocks.

Unfortunately we could feel that the weather was about to take a turn for the worse.

We decided to make our way back to Portmellon, but did stop to watch a seal in the sea. I couldn't get a decent photo but there's a small black dot in the photo below - that's the seal!

The next two photos show how everything was getting less and less clear ...

... the views were gradually disappearing.

We got back to Portmellon, and the sea was crashing onto the road!

Our car was just round the corner from here, so we made a run for it - though I did manage to snap a couple more photos.

Our car was fine and dry, but we did have to drive along the wet stretch of road. We managed to dodge the waves - so all was well, and we'd had an interesting walk.

So, that's all for now. Enjoy the weekend and the week ahead.

All good wishes ~Mike.

AN EASY RIVERSIDE WALK TO ST. CLEMENT, CORNWALL

We went for a short walk along the tidal Tresillian River, our intention being to visit the lovely village of St. Clement and its fine old church. This is about 3 miles from the city of Truro.

It's a pleasant walk - simply follow the river path. The tide was on the way out on our visit. 

On the right is we passed a small lake. All was silent other than a dog barking in the distance.

I'm always fascinated by the old Cornish dry walls. In the example below there are sections of vertical and horizontal stones.

The gate below indicated that we were approaching St.Clement, which is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The village backs onto the river.

Our first sight of the village. A few cottages have a prime view overlooking the river ...

… and they have their own access to the river.

Turning right into the village the tower of the church of St. Clement comes into view. The old name was the church of Moresk.

Strange to see the traditional red phone box. It seems out of place - though it's reasonably up to date and can be used for e-mails and texts.

There are more old cottages on the approach to the church ...

… plus Church Cottage with the church tower in the background.

 It is believed that the church was built in 1249 but was enlarged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

A quick look inside the church.

We now followed our footsteps back to our car passing the riverside cottages ...

 ... and The Old Vicarage, dating back to the 1500s, but not as it once was! It's now an upmarket Bed & Breakfast emporium.

The tide was on its way out and the river was turning quite muddy - so lots of free food for the birds. All in all a very pleasant walk, which can be extended by following the local footpaths - perhaps to Malpas.

Parking the car:

We parked at the end of Tresillian village (3 miles east of Truro). We were driving from the St. Austell area, on the left, there is a big car dealership, after this is a pull-in off the main A390 - just before the sign as shown in the photo below. There is room for about five cars - if everyone parks neatly. otherwise there is some parking on the opposite side of the road.

Hope you have a good week ahead. To close the post a few flowers my wife received from our son.

All good wishes ~ Mike.