Walking From Porthpean Beach to Duporth and Charlestown, Cornwall - Part 2

Today I'm continuing from my previous post.

After climbing a lot of steps, from Porthpean Beach, I walked along the coastal path to reach Duporth beach. Photo above and also the two below. 

Such lovely views. The two people on the beach below look very small!

Continuing along the coastal path Carlyon Bay comes into view ...

… but first comes Charlestown.

At Charlestown I did an about turn and headed back to Porthpean. Unfortunately I was limited for time.

There is a sign on a wall showing the way to Porthpean - but you can't really get lost following a coastal path.

I was soon at the steps leading back down to Porthpean beach.

The beach is considered to be safe and is popular with families - it's a beach that the locals visit.

I noticed a few rock pools and the like as I made my way to the car park ...

… passing the Porthpean Sailing club.

There has been so much rain recently, water was running off the grass.

And there we are, back at the car park. 

The car park is sizeable. It's quite a narrow road though leading to and from the car park.

It's lovely walking this stretch of the coastal path with some great views. It's possible to walk the coastal path for many, many miles. I guess walking from Porthpean to Charlestown and returning is only about four miles, so nothing too strenuous.

Walking From Porthpean Beach to Duporth and Charlestown, Cornwall - Part 1

What a lovely surprise, a blue sky day so we headed for Porthpean Beach, which is about two or three miles from 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 the first photo above. It's not one of the hot spots for tourists but is somewhere that the locals visit. 

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

I always like to look at cliffs, I find them fascinating.

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 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 green grass from all of the recent rain.

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

This is the wonderful thing about Cornwall there is a coastal path all the way round 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.

I'll continue on in my next post with more photos: of Duporth Beach, Porthpean, Charlestown etc. See:
Walking From Porthpean Beach to Duporth and Charlestown, Cornwall - Part 2 

Walking On The National Cycle Network in St.Austell, Cornwall

Looking over the bridge at the railway lines in St. Austell, Cornwall

The weather wasn't too good, it had been raining cats and dogs but we decided on a quick walk along the cycle path at St.Austell - part of the National Cycle Network. I snapped a few quick photos as we walked.

Along the way there are some old industrial buildings where nature is doing its best to make them a little more attractive.

Then the sun came out and dried the pathway.

This part of the path is looking down into a valley along which runs the Bodmin Road. A viaduct is used to get trains across the valley.

Looking down is, what is known locally as the White River. The river is often coloured white by local china clay deposits.

Trees grow alongside the pathway sometimes blocking the view.

I had to zoom in a bit for the next photo. On the opposite side of the valley there is a home for the elderly and an 'Elderly People' sign has been placed by the roadside.

Back on track the pathway meanders a little.

A peek down into the valley ...

… and some more trees.

It seems the path is also suitable for horses.

Another look down into the valley, which by now isn't quite so steep.

From here we retraced our steps as we wanted to go into St. Austell town. Once back on the road there is a viaduct ...

… with a view of some of the houses on the west side of St. Austell. The town is the most populated in Cornwall.

Along the road is a house that was once a tollgate in days of old.

Add caption

Finally another viaduct used by trains to and from London.

And then the sun came out to play, well at least for a short while.

The Luxulyan Valley Cornwall

An interesting place to walk in Cornwall is the Luxulyan Valley, even if it can be a touch cold in winter - icicles above! It is considered to be somewhere of natural beauty.

One of it's attractions for me is the 100 feet high viaduct which is also an aqueduct. It has 10 arches made of Cornish granite and stretches for some 650 feet in length.

We scrambled up the valley side to reach the top of the aqueduct. The 'roadway' across appears to have a surface of solid granite slabs but, as you walk across, there are gaps in the slabs and it can be seen that there is water running across the viaduct.

To give a little of the history of Luxulyan Valley it was once known for the production of granite and industrial minerals. This was during the 19th century.

The impressive viaduct was dreamed up by the imagination of Joseph Treffry. Between the 1820s and his death in 1850 Treffry's buildings, tramways, viaduct and leats transformed the valley into an area of industrial activity.

The valley became a centre for granite quarrying, copper and tin mining and also china clay and stone production.

Times have now moved on and we are left with a lovely area for walking.

Water seems to be flowing everywhere along leats. A leat being an artificial waterway or aqueduct made for supplying water to industry.

In 2006 the valley's copper mining association led it to being inscribed as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage.

All in all an interesting place to walk ...

… a final look at the Luxulyan viaduct. 

For a good sized map of the valley by The Friends of Luxulyan Valley please click here.

For another valley walk with a viaduct and 33 photos go to: 33 Photos: A Circular Walk Based On Gover Valley, St.Austell, Cornwall

A Peacock Seen While Walking - Are Peacock's Feathers Lucky or Unlucky?

As you may have gathered from my blog posts I like to walk, wherever I am. You never know what you may see - even a peacock or two!

My wife and I were walking along a normal sort of road, with average houses and in the front garden of one of the properties was a peacock. Most unexpected.

The bird was happily preening himself and didn't notice us at first.

When the peacock did spot us he seemed to get into a bit of a tiswas and his feathers seemed out of control

Then came the full fan tail in all its glory, quite magnificent and enough to entice any passing peahen.

I don't know if the peacock actually lived in the modest garden, next to the garage door, as seen in the photos. Perhaps he was also on a walk and felt like a short break.

It's a strange old world. Straight away I thought of my mother, who is no longer with us.

I remembered how as a boy of six or seven she took me to London Zoo. We lived with my father in west London at the time.

Having always loved animals it was a great day out. At the zoo we saw peacocks and a couple of feathers were on the ground but out of reach. I so wanted one of those feathers. One of the zoo keepers was nearby and my mother asked if we could have one of the feathers.

He said he wasn't supposed to let anyone have them but he still wrapped one in some brown paper and gave it to me. I was so excited.

I took the feather home but my father said that peacock feathers are unlucky and he didn't want it indoors. I didn't fully understand this but, being an only child, I did get my way and the feather was placed by the living room mirror.

The feather remained there for a while and then, suddenly, it was gone. I presumed some sort of magic must have happened.

I have read that peacock feathers are deemed as being unlucky in England because the feather represents the evil eye - so the devil is watching.

In many countries though, the feather is believed to be sacred. In some Buddhist ceremonies they represent purity. As in life, it's up to us what we want to believe.

I also saw the peacock below when we ventured into deepest Devon. He was in the garden of a restaurant along with two peahens.