LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

We drove to the North Cliffs of Reskajeage Downs on the B3301, and parked in the car park east of Deadman's Cove. We started cycling at 10:30am, and spotted a flock of sheep in a field near Porthreath, the first flock seen this holiday. We were looking for sheep and cattle because they were a rare sight just after the Mad Cow Disease problem. We arrived at Blue Hills Touring Park, Cross Combe, south west of Airfield, and after locking the bikes etc, we started walking at 12 noon. The breeze was helpful on our bikes and cool when walking. There was an immediate descent walking into Cross Combe, back up again to round the Blue Hills and down yet again to Trevaunace Cove. This was all action from the start of the walk. We watched a light aircraft from Perranporth Airfield, pulling a glider near St Agnes Head. When we rounded St Agnes Head the walking was good to the Chimney and Engine Houses. This is where we had lunch, on the luxury of a proper bench. The good walking was mainly on the cliff tops to Chapel Combe and on to Porhtowan. I asked the car park attendant the way to the South West Coastal Path (SWCP) at Chapel Combe, but he didn't know of the path at all. Just after Porthtowan we met a couple who were on their third week walking from Minehead, hoping to get to Penzance. This was only the second time we had met anyone walking the whole of the SWCP since a man we met just after Padstow. There were noisy jets flying around later in the afternoon. We also saw hawks flying around, possibly Sea Hawks or Osprey, they were very quiet in the afternoon sun. We had a pint in the Travellers Rest, in Porthreath, the first we could find all day. It was very difficult to get walking again after a pint, especially up hill. The walking & cycling was very hard on this section, with seven big hills during the walking and the Bike ride was very hard with four big hills. I'm sure you will agree, this was a grueling section, but still worth the effort to see the glorious Cornish Coastline.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, -
Start: St Agnes, - Blue Hills Touring Park, Cross Combe, s/w of Airfield, TR05 0XP
Finish: Porthreath, - Reskajeage Downs, B3301, TR14 0JG