Day 35 - 39 Par to Plymouth
Day 35 - Par to Fowey. This was a short stretch, its only about 8 miles to Fowey and fairly easy going. It was lovely walk in bright sunshine again, the path was mostly wide and the vegetation had been cut back recently. There were fabulous views of Par beach to start with and then some lovely secluded coves like Coombe Haven where I just sat in the sun for an hour or so. This was a really relaxing day, I strolled into Fowey early afternon and checked out where I would need to get the ferry from in the mornng before finding the pub I was staying in which happened to be about 50 yards from where the ferry goes !
Day 36 - Fowey to Looe. The Fowey to Polruan ferry runs continually and I only had to wait for about 5 minutes before it chugged over. I had been warned about this next section of the path by other walkers who said it was so overgrown it was virtually impassable in places. I'm not a Coast Path purist and I'm here to to enjoy myself so for the first few miles I took a detour inland on some minor roads. I'm quite happy with a bit of road walking and it was nice not having to think about where I was putting my feet with every step. Its a quick way to cover a few miles, these are tiny roads and I only saw 3 cars. I did see a farm gate with some dead birds strung up on it, presumably by a farmer who preferred that method to a 'no entry' sign, it looked like something out of a horror film and certainly had the desired effect on me, I didn't hang about ! I rejoined the path just before Polperro where I knew it became easier and also very picturesque. Looe soon came into sight and looked pretty in the afternoon sun and luckily my BnB was right in the centre of town, almost on the bridge seperating East Looe from West Looe.
Day 37 - Looe to Portwrinkle. Yet another day of sunshine although there were a few clouds about in the morning. This was another short day with about 9 miles to cover. The south coast is generally made up of rolling hills as compared to the north coasts steep ravines and that was certainly the case today. It was a lovely relaxing walk and I stopped for almost a couple of hours on the wonderful Downderry beach. The only problem today was losing one of my ear buds when I was waving my hand at a fly and caught my ear instead ! This might not sound much (get it ?) but I listen to music or podcasts for much of the day and I've now gone from stereo to mono !
Day 38 Portwrinkle to Plymouth. I have long since had enough of cooked breakfasts and today it was a healthy muesli and fruit before an 8.30am start. I had about 16 miles to do today but even though this was the twelth day in a row walking I was feeling really good, the blisters have gone and my legs felt strong. Most of the mornings path was on minor roads following the coast so I was able to cover nearly 10 miles by the time I stopped for a rest at the incredibly atmospheric chapel on Rame Head. This is not a particularly dramatic part of the path but it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful. The afternoon was an easy and fairly flat stroll around the coast and through the Mount Edgcumbe country park which was a bit too full of todlers and dogs. Lastly came the 10 minute ferry to Plymouth and an opportunity to do a bit of shopping. Nothing very exciting just things like toothpaste and sun tan cream but I also treated myself to a milk shake. As soon as I got to my accommodation I ordered some new ear buds which I can pick up tomorrow, I couldn't live without those.
Day 39 - Rest Day