Headlines
We Drive up Talland Hill !
Via Bodmin to Wadebridge: Deb gets a walking stick
Onward to Boscastle: a six mile walk takes us eighteen kilometres
Towards Rick Stein in Padstowe: but we eat at Chapel Amble
We Drive down Talland Hill: and manage to reverse park
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Stream of Consciousness
We Drive up Talland Hill !
I've been putting it off. Agreeing to walks which start and end in Polperro. Relaxing at home rather than exploring the countryside by car. But today...
We drive up Talland Hill !
Worry A: It's a tricky parking spot. I managed to reverse in once. (And had to reverse till the reverse warning beep became a continuous scream... Then had to do that again.) What if today's continuous scream means that I've just reversed into the stone wall?!
Worry B: The bottom of the Hill is one way traffic. I think that it's two way up from our place. What if it's one way all the way... down?! Worry C: What if I'm going up and there's another car going down?!
Time to bite the bullet. We drive out -- and up. With caution...
The only vehicle coming down is a van. It leaps quickly out of our way. A few pedestrians step to the side. It's just under a kilometre to the top. I'm sure the climb is 45 degrees in some places.
No worries! We make it! Driving down -- and parking -- will be a piece of cake :-)
Via Bodmin to Wadebridge: Deb gets a walking stick
The GPS is set to Wadebridge. Specifically, to Country Wise, an outdoor shop in Wadebridge. We are going to buy a hiking pole for Deb. It's taken a while but we are now mentally committed.
Our South Down walk comes with a discount card for Cotswolds Outdoors. They don't have a shop convenient to Polperro. A search of Google Maps finds what looks like a good quality shop in Wadebridge -- which is on our way to today's walk.
On the way... There are a few narrow roads, one lane roads. There's a lot of traffic on the wider roads, traffic which wants to go faster than me. We drive cautiously on the narrow roads. Sometimes it's a bit of a squeeze to get by an oncoming car -- or truck. I pop off into parking areas, to let traffic go by, on the busy roads. No troubles.
We're just coming off a narrow road and onto a busy road, when we pass under the most amazing stone arch! Twenty or fifty metres above us, several arches spanning across our road, nineteenth century stone construction, I guess. But I don't have time -- that is, I don't have space to pull over -- to admire the stonework :-(
We glimpse similar stonework off to the side, later, a few times. It seems to be a railway, parallel to the road. Magnificent ! I think that these giant stone arches are as impressive as any complete cathedral :-)
On this main road, still busy, all traffic slows down. And stops. For a kilometre or two it's stop start driving. Which is very relaxing for me, no-one wanting to pass me! There's been an accident, half the road is closed. Ambulance is there, police (more police?) arrive as we pass.
And then we arrive in Wadebridge.
What a great little town!
I'd studied the Google View version of the shop that we want. I wish I'd also looked for convenient parking! No worries, just a few hundred metres through town. We walk back.
We walk back to the Country Wide shop via various useful shops... Spot them, will go in on our way back. Hiking pole first...
Why a hiking pole? Deb already has one! Deb's hiking pole is just too long to fit conveniently into her case. I had caught a glimpse of poles which look as though they fold shorter... Very useful!
The man in the shop guides us through their various poles. There are very expensive ones which are held to the required length by a clip rather than a twist system. Positive grip, very easy to use, very expensive, made in Eastern Europe. We buy a pole which is quite standard but made in England. So counts as a souvenir :-)
I also look at gloves... Try on an XL "Sealskin" brand. Feels very nice! We will both need gloves for Antarctica... but that's next year. For now, I'm happy to have briefly worn a warm glove that fits, well, like a glove :-)
Did I mention that I looked at Antarctic-strength jackets? (A week ago.) Some good looking ones are two layers... two separate layers. Can be worn as an outer, a poly inner, or both together. Which makes me think, we already have raincoats and thermals...
So, Deb now has a new hiking pole. The man threw in a rubber tip as a freebie... Not sure if he meant to, but he suggested it after we'd paid...
Next stop, The Photo Shop. Where we buy spare batteries for my camera. One pair ran flat two days ago, I like to carry a spare set. We also buy the cheapest recharger for the GPS. No point stinting on its use, just because we can't recharge batteries! Though I must say, we have been very lax in looking for geocaches... Partly because there are not many where we walk, partly because of the difficulty of parking anywhere.
Then on to Tim's Place. A good name for a cafe :-) We buy coffee to drink and a sandwich to go, for lunch on our walk. A "home made fish finger" sandwich because, why not! There are three young women serving. As I leave I ask, So, which one of you is Tim?
And here, I will make a confession: Only once, on this holiday so far, have I tipped. Tipping is against my principles. It's a bribe for the service that I have already paid for. Also, I usually do not think of it, at least not till I am walking out the door. Nobody has complained. But then, we very seldom visit the same place twice.
We arrive back at the parked car just five minutes after our ticket has expired. Just one minute before the parking inspector passes by! Phew!
A lot of money spent but a very pleasant town We're glad we stopped here.
Onward to Boscastle: a six mile walk takes us eighteen kilometres
The cottage comes with a book of walks. There are two "hard" walks in northern Cornwall (where we are now): at Tintagel and Boscastle. Tintagel sounds interesting because of its (imagined) relationship to King Arthur, and its ruined castle. The town is described as a tourist trap. We choose a walk from Boscastle. With a possible, subsequent, visit to Tintagel.
On the way, the biggest town we pass through is Bodmin, near the moor. Bodmin Moor is a possible destination... for tomorrow or Thursday.
We drive to and through Boscastle, on to Boscastle Harbour. Pay for 24 hours parking (70p more than for four hours). Dig deep and find two 20p pieces so we can use the public toilets. Follow the walk book directions.
It's an interesting harbour. There's a distinct twist in the narrow river inlet, so there's natural shelter from storms. Lots of buildings catering to tourists. A very steep climb to start our walk.
It's a coastal walk, with hills and fields to one side, cliffs and sea to the other. There are a few steep bits where I wish I could close my eyes. Mostly, though, it's just a steepish slope below us -- which I don't mind -- until the slope drops vertically into the sea.
There are several areas where a hundred or more steps take us down... then more steps take us up the other side. In one of these gullies we say hello to two older women who came up the hill non-stop, though it did wear them out. Two more women carrying full backpacks, looking fit but working hard. Three young women who don't look dressed for track walking. It's the sort of gully where you stop and say hello, just to get a rest.
We stop for lunch -- our sandwich, the fish fingers are real fish, delicious -- at Seal Rocks. We even see a seal ! Just its head, in the sea. Fifty metres below us. It's a pleasant spot to rest: a bit sheltered, soft dry grass, an area with no blackberries, no gorse thorns, no nettles... Very pleasant.
Onward!
Away from the sea. We miss the track but soon (well, eventually) get back on track. It's through fields, over styles, through gates... Kissing gates, the sort that swing between two posts, so we can get through but sheep and cattle can't.
After some confusion we find St Joliot's Church, a feature shown on the walk map. It's an interesting old church. Way out in the middle of nowhere. "Nowhere" for England, that is. We admire but don't stop... From here, it's an almost direct walk back to the car.
This final leg of the walk is -- to me -- the most interesting. Through woods, following a river valley. Eventually, walking next to the river (or stream). Very pleasant! Coastal walks are fine but I prefer the variety of woodland.
One stretch of the path is a Public Footpath along the edge of farm fields. I suspect that the farmer is not happy with walkers... There is a line of electric fence, to keep walkers on the path next to the fence.
And finally -- back to the car! 18km in five hours.
We have coffee in the Cobweb Inn. Buy a few minor items from the supermarket. Start the drive home.
Towards Rick Stein in Padstowe: but we eat at Chapel Amble
First stop: Tintagel. Will we look at the castle (the ruins of the castle)? Nooo... Too late in the day. Too much walking already.
The main tourist attraction in Tintagel appears to be, parking for tourists! There is no parking near the castle, everyone has to park in town. The locals have really leapt at the opportunity! Car parks everywhere!
We drive through town, with no sight of the ruins. But there is a Camelot (I think) Hotel... a massive thing, clearly designed to impress. To me, for some reason, it looks like an oversized Fawlty Towers. I take a quick photo -- of the hotel -- and we drive back out of town.
Just for variety, we set the GPS for Padstowe. If all else fails, we will look for Rick Stein's Padstowe cafe. We won't be looking hard, we're already booked for Rick Stein in Winchester... Today, it's just somewhere to go.
It's past six o'clock. No longer too early for dinner. I spot a sign, turn off...
A couple of kilometres down a narrow road and we reach The Maltsters Arms, in Chapel Amble. Yet another old inn :-) We stop for dinner. The woman who welcomes us to the inn is a cheerful and extremely buxom woman. Her assistant looks like her daughter, where "buxom" has extended to the rest of her body.
It's a friendly place, with good food. A dozen people come and go. Most seem to be locals, well known. One bloke sits by the bar discussing, with the bar manager, a forthcoming wedding. He's not as cheerful as the hostess, I hope it's not his wedding.
Deb has spicy pumpkin vegetarian pastie, sort of. It has a much fancier name. I have "delice of Cornwall plaice". A "delice" is fish fillet skinned and folded. It's a mild flavour, very tender. We both enjoy our meals. Deb has chocolate icecream for dessert, I have sticky toffee pudding. Again, delicious.
Back on the road. We retrace our path home, with just a few variations. No further stops. No stopping to admire... anything. (Just another quick gasp of amazement as we drive under those stone railway arches.) Deb comments that there are now more cars in Bodmin. I comment that they are now all parked, so driving is easier.
We Drive down Talland Hill: and manage to reverse park
And so, back to Polperro. Where we drive cautiously down the hill. Reverse park. Pull out, go in straighter. And again. And... it's good.
Inside, drink tea, relax.
Another excellent day :-)
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." — William Arthur Ward.
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