Port Quin and Port Isaac

What a lovely day for a walk!

Ten of us congregated at the NT car park in Port Quin, from where we set off on this delightful 10 mile stroll.

A high level cross country route proved to be a quick way of reaching Port Isaac, where we found some benches on which to enjoy elevenses and a mandatory helping of Sue's chocolate caramel shortbread (above).

Five of the crowd turned around, and the rest of us continued a little further along the coast path, admiring banks festooned with thrift as we went.

A very leisurely lunch was taken by a point where a side path then took us inland to a road. My planned route then took a hit from an uncooperative farmer who has effectively blocked off the path I wanted to access. So we retraced our steps and found our way past rampant foxgloves to return to the coast path at Port Gaverne.

It was annoying to effectively be barred from using some of the public rights of way around here, but now we could enjoy the splendour of the relatively quiet coast path all the way back to Port Quin.

Steep steps led out of Port Isaac, after which we were rewarded with a fine view back to the town, where a red double decker bus was plying the streets.

The coast path offered fine views and steep undulations, and took much longer than the morning's more direct inland route.

After a while, all but Sue, Gaynor and me opted to avoid the final headland leading to Port Quin. The three of us continued along an excellent path with fine views seawards.

We finally regained the car at around 4:30, having walked about 16km, with a fair amount of ascent, in a little over 6 hours.

Then Sue and I joined 'the gang of 13' at Polmear Barn ('the big house') for a sociable evening involving a bbq, and tasty desserts on the patio.

Around Camelford - A 20km Circuit

Sue and I walked on our own today. We had expected to have to spend time finding a chemist that was open on a Sunday, for a medicine issue, but a doctor's appointment at 1am in Liskeard- 30 miles away - resolved that problem. Good old NHS!

After starting off dull, with some drizzle, the weather cheered up and we finished in sunshine.

We enjoyed luxuriant views to Bodmin Moor in various directions, and of babbling streams and wild flower meadows during the varied walk.

There was hardly anyone about. Just four jolly cyclists on a designated bike route (number 3), and a chap mowing his lawns at Henon - he had time to chat for a while, and to extol the virtues of the nearby picturesque ford.

Quite a bit of our walk was beside the pleasantly burbling River Camel, enhanced by continuous bird song.

Once we were back in Camelford, a pleasing field path saw us home in time for a pot of tea by 4pm.

Here's our route - about 20km with 350 metres ascent. It took us a little under 6 hours.

And here's our home for the week - Bramble Cottage, at Juliots Well. 

Camelford

After thanking Helen and Paul for their hospitality and paying our farewells to them, an hour and a half in the car took us to Camelford, where we weren't allowed into our rented cottage at Juliots Well until 5pm.

So we had coffee at the Four Seasons café then went to seek out Andrew at his 'Friday to Friday' cottage. "Hello Andrew and Lucy" (the dog).

Camelford isn't a 'picture postcard' place, but the path by the River Camel is pleasantly scenic, even in the light drizzle that had descended on us as we travelled west.

We enjoyed a 6 km circuit around Camelford before returning to Andrew's cottage and Betty's excellent lemon drizzle cake, before sorting ourselves out at Bramble Cottage.

Then, a visit to 'Peckish' for fish and chips and a reunion with old friends from the Coast Path days.

Totnes, Coleton Fishacre, and the SWCP

On this lovely sunny day, Helen and Paul joined us on a stroll around Totnes.

Then we visited the Coleton Fishacre National Trust property. Interesting house; superb garden

After lunch on a lawn, we strolled around the South West Coast Path nearly all the way to Dartmouth. Undulating but interesting, with a plethora of wild flowers. 

Room with a View

There's a castle, Dartmouth, and Hay Tor in these views from tonight's bedroom window.

Thanks go to Helen and (lost musketeer) Paul for having us to stay in their house in Totnes. 

On the Run

(not)parkruns continue on a daily basis. Here are a few images taken on these run/jog/walks during the last few sunny days. 

Spring is turning to summer. It doesn't seem like only ten days since we were battling a sleet storm in the Lake District, needing all the clothing we could find, just to stay warm.

Anyway, residents of Timperley should be able to work out where the various pictures were taken. And it's good to see that the mowing and trimming of overgrowth has been selective, resulting in a nice blend of close cropped grass and wildlife meadows.

Going on Holiday!

Here's a memory from 15 July 2006, looking towards the Sella Group from above Passo Gardena.

This year's holidays are more mundane, but at least, for the moment, they are happening.

In fact we will be having lunch with Julia, pictured above, on Thursday, and we will be staying near Andrew, in the background above, and others soon after that.

Meanwhile, there's a bit of traveling and visiting to be done, and mobile postings will now take over, starting on Friday. I hope!

Before I go - I've just noticed that this is blog posting number 4000. Cause for some celebration later. I wonder how many words that is since October 2007? And there's lots more on topwalks.com (currently needing serious attention) from about 2000.

Memories

Just a quick posting tonight as blogging is low priority on a fine summer's day such as this one. I struck at random in my picture files and this one came up. It shows Sue and Andrew on Jenkin Crag in the rain, on 3 July 2004.

You can see my Shogun bike, and the orange bike next to Andrew's is Sue's mountain bike that hasn't been used for years. But she had it serviced last week, so it's ready to roll! Meanwhile, Andrew has recently had a hip replacement, which he's using as an excuse to hanker after an electric bike.

I wonder whether the three of us will do this route again. I described our 'biathlon trip' here. I've just enjoyed reading that again.

Isabella's first visit to Timperley

Before Covid took over our lives, Sarah and Mike were frequent visitors for Sunday dinner. It's well over a year since they were last in our house, and the seed that caused Sarah to mysteriously decline wine on her last visit has now morphed into eight month old Isabella. She was very well behaved, despite an inability to control her bowels or differentiate between a spoon and her fingers.

We really do hope that the current 'getting back to normal' continues, and we look forward to Isabella's next visit.

Grandchildren to Stay!

It was a pleasure to have Jacob and Jessica in the house today, baking and generally enjoying themselves, followed by a visit to Newton Park. The first time since early last year. What a pleasure, and whilst Jess went home with her mum, Jacob became our first overnight visitor since Lockdown began last March.

Great!

Primrosehill Wood

This was another recce for Jen Darling, should she get around to issuing a new edition of 'Walks in West Cheshire and Wirral'. It's basically a shortened version of her 14 km route described in 'More Pub Walks in Cheshire and Wirral', which we walked on 5 April 2019 - report here. Neither of my companions on that occasion were present today.

Seven of us - me, Sue, Jenny, Graeme, Philip, Keith and Carol - assembled efficiently at a lay-by on Stoney Lane, Delamere (SJ 553 683), on an overcast but comfortably warm morning.

After a brief period of unpleasantness on the pavement of the A54 main road, we found ourselves making our way through damp grass at the side of a field to a wooden post that neatly housed my camera for the self-timed group picture shown above.

We then ascended a path at the edge of Primrosehill Wood, into which we could see other pathways leading to the interior of the wood, with magnificent beech trees in this detached segment of Delamere Forest.

From the edge of the wood at its high point, Philip assured us that on a clear day we would be able to discern the distinct outline of Shutlingsloe. Today it was a little hazy for that, and some imagination was needed in order to pick out the outline of the Peak District in the distance.

After joining Tirley Lane, and passing Tirley Farm, our path took us pleasantly around the Tirley Garth estate. The large country house seemed to be shielded from public view. Built in 1907, the building has an interesting history, and was bought by Mersey Television (founded by Phil Redmond) in 2002. That is now known as Lime Pictures, so perhaps the internal cloisters of the building provide the set for many a Lime Pictures production?

A quiet lane, John Street, led into the pretty village of Utkinton where we turned right down a snicket and passed an unusual wall structure, despite a 'footpath closed' sign. We soon discovered the reason for the sign - about five metres of pathway have disappeared, leaving a 3 metre chasm with vertical sides.

We adjourned for elevenses and some of Sue's chocolate caramel shortbread.

The path may have completely disappeared, but five of us found a way round, whilst Graeme and Philip were sensible - their longer route to a rendezvous point got them there rather more speedily than our adventures in the gully.

Once 'out of the woods' we could enjoy views across the Cheshire farmland to Beeston Castle. (Click on any of these images for a better version/slideshow.)

The Sandstone Trail path was now joined, and a good footpath led around the side of a field.

Note, below, the yellow latch on a kissing gate. Under the initiative of Michael Gove, supervised by Dominic Cummings, the Tory government would appear to have required each Local Authority to appoint a 'latchperson' to paint all gate and stile latches yellow so that their voters, now released into the UK countryside instead of being allowed to stumble around the crowded beaches of Spain, can find their way from yellow latch to yellow latch across the countryside of their homeland where they've never previously set foot ...

Jen's book eulogises Summer Trees Tea Room. Sadly, this former haven for walkers was sold some time ago and is now a private house.

Soon after this, we veered right, off the Sandstone Trail, heading past a meadow filled with buttercups and Ribwort Plantain, before returning to the delights of Primrosehill Wood.

Beyond the wood, gallops and horsey infrastructure - believed to be part of the Michael Footballer Owen Empire - on an industrial scale lay before us, but luckily the yellow latches (not to mention the footpath signs) led us with the aid of our resident cow-whisperer (Sue), through a field of cows and back to Stoney Lane.

Here's our route - 9.5 km with 200 metres ascent, taking rather less than three hours.

Graeme and Phil returned home. The rest of us drove a very short distance to Abbeywood Gardens for lunch after this sociable outing in lovely countryside.

Our next Friday walk will be as follows; all are welcome under the current rules:

Friday 18 June, 10.00am start - A 14 km circuit from Rose Hill, Marple. Park by the Middlewood Way trail at Rose Hill station, SJ 949 887. Bring a sandwich.