LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

We left the Trevaylor campsite for the last time this holiday. We enjoyed all aspects of the campsite including the hospitality, the value, the swifts flying around during evening & mornings, the rabbits on the short grass at the end of the field, etc. I dropped my cup after washing it up for the last time of the holiday. We decided to shorten the walk and cycle ride from Land's End to Cot Valley because of insufficient time. We drove from the Trevaylor campsite in Botallack near St Just, to Cot Valley, the proposed end of the walk. We didn't like the parking option so we drove into St Just and parked in the centre of the village. We started cycling from the car park at 10:00am to Carn Galver Engine House Car Park, making 6.5 miles of cycling. Started walking with Colin for our last walk of the holiday at 10:45am The actual South West Coastal Path {SWCP) was only a very short walk from the car park, which was convenient and planned. There was an excellent view of impressive Castle Rock from the path at this point. We remained high on the cliff tops enjoying the views of he coastline until we reached Portheras Cove. The path skirted around the beach, then slowly gained height again up to Pendeen Watch and the Lighthouse. We chatted with a few Bird Twitchers. We saw Gannets flying around. At this point there were more wonderful views of the coastline in both directions. When we walked on, and slowly lost height until we reached Trewellard Bottoms. This is where the tin mining landscape started, which was very fascinating. The mines were opened in the 19th Century, mining tin & copper, and were closed in the 20th Century. The remains of many building were still visible and the desire to explore was irresistible, but time didn't allow unfortunately. The highlight of the area was the Lament Steam Beam Engine, still in working order, but again time didn't allow a thorough investigation. The steam engine provided the power to transport the workers between the different levels of the mine, which were up to 800 metres deep. Some levels were mined several miles under the sea. The mines continued all along the coast to Zawn, just before Cape Cornwall Peninsular. We had lunch high above the inlet of Zawn Buzz & Gen and when I looked over to Cape Cornwall it reminded me of an earlier holiday when an old lady was selling flowers in the car park. We continued walking south and south/east while we lost height to reach the lane at Cot Valley, the end of the walk for this holiday. It was very warm in the shelter of Cot Valley. We had a short walk up Bosorne Road to St Just Village and our car in the car park. That completed 82 miles of walking and 67 miles of cycling during this week's eventful holiday. Magical, never to be forgotten. We drove back to Carn Galver disused mine to collect our bikes, then drove home to a comfortable bed.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, -
Start: at Rosemary, - B3306, Carn Galver Engine House Car Park, TR20 8YX
Finish: Cot Valley - St Just, Town Centre Car Park, TR19 7NB