A BIT OF EVERYTHING – 4 Aug, 2018
Day 2 Land’s End to John O’Groats – Zennor to Gwithian
Distance: 27km
Cumulative distance: 52km
Had a decent sleep in the farmer’s field, all by myself. It was about 2km to get back to the coast path though (grrr bonus miles) but I filled up again at the white coast house and resumed. I knew I was facing a much different day with the town of St Ives looming, and all that would bring. But I had 6.5 miles of clifftops to navigate before then and had been told this was one of the toughest stretches on the entire path. It was more up and down, up and down, bouldering and the like. Often I’d be taken almost all the way down to sea level before immediately having to scramble right back up to the height I had just descended from. I passed a few people then ran into a lady who was waiting for her friend, while looking out for seals around the little islands off the coastline. Turns out I had passed her friend about 20 minutes earlier, and she eventually came meandering up the hill and they were reunited. Before I left them they told me the last few miles into St Ives were meant to be a bit easier, and thankfully they were. I went past two mates who were close to finishing the South West Coast Path, which they’d set out section hiking about 15 years ago. I think this might have been their last stretch.
Anyway I eventually came to St Ives bay, and looked down at St Ives the town which resembled a metropolis. I hadn’t really seen a town of any note since leaving Penzance for Land’s End on Friday morning. And this place was positively heaving, being a Saturday in the middle of summer, and the middle of holidays. It’s a cool town St Ives, very artsy with plenty of galleries and such and a few different beaches. I ploughed through the back streets in search of an ATM, a smoothie and a shop to top up a few supplies. In the shop I ran into one of the girls from last night would you believe, on her way to the festival.
Leaving St Ives the walking was much different. I followed a paved path which ran parallel to a railway line for several miles, crossing over it occasionally. It was nice going through the trees and the hills weren’t nearly as punishing as yesterday. I made it to Lelant and had to cross a golf course, being told by a sign in the process to watch out for golf balls. Soon enough I heard a loud THWUCK behind me, and there was a golf ball nestled just about in one of the footprints I’d just left. I continued without further incident, past a lovely old church and into the residential streets of Lelant. The next few miles were uninspiring road walking, into and through Hayle and then back up towards St Ives bay.
A sign told me it was 4.5 miles to Gwithian which is where I was stopping that night. I followed the River Hayle downstream for a bit, then got chatting to a local for a little while as I approached a huge stretch of sand dunes. Beneath the dunes was a beach stretching for miles off into the distance, and towards the end of that was Gwithian. At one end was St Ives which I’d come through earlier that day, and right at the other end was Godrevy and a little island off its headland with a lighthouse. I took the coast path for a while past some houses, then decided to head down to the sand, and took my shoes off for some beach walking. This is pretty tough with a pack on I can assure you, but the worst was still to come. Once I’d had enough beach walking, I tramped on up a very steep sand dune, put the boots back on and pressed forward. The next few miles was tough through endless sand dunes which stretched out like some kind of hilly maze before me. Soon enough I lost the coast path so tried to invent my own route. Up and down through thick sand, with my legs and feet burning more and more as I went. I figured out a tactic – get up a head of steam running downhill and take it into the uphill. That way your momentum gets you about halfway up before you have to start powering the rest of the way with your legs. I eventually rediscovered the path and it kind of became a game of discovering the big grey stones that marked it out through this section. I passed Upton Towans and eventually made it to Gwithian Towans with incredibly sore feet. I ducked off track and found the campsite I was looking for, only to be told by the owner that he was completely full. He then quickly followed up by saying he never turns away walkers, and showed me a patch of grass on which to pitch my tent. PHEW! What a legend.
I cooked up some egg noodles and tuna (delicious) on my little stove then ducked over to the pub for a pint. I got chatting to a couple Dina and Paul. Paul used to live in Manly in a house owned by the Divinyls, and said the drummed used to live downstairs and that Chrissy Amphlett used to visit frequently. They went off for dinner, and soon enough one of the bar girls came up and said the people at their table wanted to buy me a beer, and just to stick it on their tab. What a world!
