Treyarnon to Newquay

Treyarnon to Newquay

Distance - 19.5Km
Time Taken - Hard to say with tanning breaks
Assent - 450m ish

Day 2 of the South West Coast Path (SWCP) adventure.  Another glorious day, it was hard to imagine that we are still in February.  February is still supposed to be winter?  After day one the only injuries were a slightly burnt face and to the wallet (Hostels with bar and cafe are not cheap...).

View from the hostel.

This section of the walk was much quieter and more 'wild' than the day before.  We only saw a few other walkers (and a couple of runners...) mostly near to the villages on route.  The route is again very easy to follow and should not pose any navigation issues, I carried a map but it was only really used to see how far we had gone (and how far it was to the hotel!). 



Many sections of the walk are dominated by the constant and inevitable erosion and the forces of the waves.  This leads to sections (Treyarnon to Porthcothen for example) of switchbacks which are at times annoying, backwards and forwards without really going anywhere.  Saying that the views are again stunning with the path right on the edge of the sea.

The higher cliffs led to a few steeper sections as you climbed up from beaches or valley's.  This led to me being knackered but got greater views.  In the summer sun Bedruthen Steps stood out showing their rugged beauty.

It was steeper than it looks....honest!

The Trevose head lighthouse steadily fell behind us and we averaged approx. 2 mile per hour, including breaks, general viewing and photos.  We didn't have a set schedule apart from the start and end locations but the longer we went on the less we cared about keeping a good pace.  So much so we had over an hour on Watergate beach just relaxing.  I don't get on the beach often and to have a warm day in the sun was too much of an opportunity.  Yes we could of gone faster and powered in to Newquay but sometimes that misses the point of the walk.  Today it was good to forget it all and chill a little.

This walk seems to have 2 endings, as you reach Porth beach and enter Newquay you get the feeling that the walk is over, but with another mile to go it can be deflating!  The legs were stiffer today and the lack of miles in my legs from no training was being felt.  Two blisters/pressure points on my heels raised their ugly heads in the latter stages of the walk.  They didn't appear to be from rubbing or friction, just purely the weight on each heel strike.