Day 28: Praa Sands to Mullion Cove

Weather: Cloudy and cool with a little more sun

Distance covered today: 22.5km (14.0mi)

Last night's B&B: The Harbour Inn, Porthleven

% Complete: Cumulative distance: 50,2%: 508.8km

Total Ascent/Total Descent: 653m/609m

GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 28 (click!)

Today had its ups and downs. And I don't just mean geographic, though to be sure, that was testing enough. The guidebook writer opined that the walking in these parts would be easier along gently undulating cliff top paths. He clearly hasn't walked it! (Well, OK, maybe he's just a lot fitter!). True there were times when the going was easier than last year's horrendous experiences, but the SWCP hasn't lost its sadistic bite yet, and I doubt that it will.

That rant over, let me address the more esoteric ups and downs of the day. The first delightful experience was that just as I was approaching Porthleven along the path, I suddenly received a Whatsapp from Veronica to say that she was also just approaching Porthleven by car, having, typically, just been visiting a garden centre. She suggested we meet for tea at our Portleven Hotel, and this we did. It was the first time in my walking experience that I have had tea with my wife in my overnight accommodation in the middle of the walking day! A delightful experience!

Followed by a definite downer. We had just parted and I was heading for the coast along the narrow harbour road through the town, when I heard a car approaching behind me. As I turned to assess its distance, one boot hit the curb and bounced back, tripping the other, with the result that I came crashing to the rough concrete road like a pack of cards, all my electronics hitting the ground with a resounding crash! The driver screeched to a halt and stopped inches away. She jumped out to help and was most solicitous, though she was in no way to blame. She even offered to take me to her home until I recovered. I thanked her, and checked the damage: a grazed and bleeding hand and shoulder and a bruised knee, but no electronic damage! I argued that I was a complete idiot, undeserving of any sympathy and that instead of receiving tea and sympathy, I was going to give myself a stern telling-off, and a punishing itinerary! We parted as friends.

Before this unfortunate incident, I had been the recipient of a distinct upper. I had been buying refreshments for Veronica and me, and chatting idly with the bar steward. She asked me where I was headed and on hearing my goal for the day, informed me that the coast path had collapsed for a short distance right on my track. If I walked as I intended, I would face a diversion of about 5km, a punishing increase on an already taxing itinerary, so early in my trip. She knew of a short cut, still unfortunately longer than the original, but adding only a couple of kilometres to the journey. In the event this took me through the delightful Penrose Estate and ultimately along the banks of the Loe Pond, the largest fresh-water lake in Cornwall, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Hardly had I crossed the Loe Bar which separates the pond from the sea than I was confronted by yet another path collapse, necessitating yet another diversion, though less significant in this case.

In all, these diversions added just over four kilometres to my walk, and I was feeling it by the end. I first encountered coastal erosion on my trip along the North Norfolk Coast and discovered that the authorities are no longer trying to prevent it in all but strategically important locations. The accelerating erosion is a clear effect of changing weather patterns and rising seas, and is something with which we will just have to learn to live. It does affect the South West Coast Path more than most, because the path typically runs right along the edge of the cliffs for historical reasons and hence is vulnerable to any erosion of the cliffs. I will have to be a little more observant of these diversions ahead of time, to avoid nasty surprises!

Before these troublesome tribulations, I did have one delightful encounter. I passed a dilapidated but brightly coloured VW Combi with German plates with an inspirational message on the side, exhorting the reader to "Die with memories, not dreams!" I couldn't help interviewing the travellers and discovered that they were indeed a pair of young Germans who regularly toured Europe in their van. I asked them why the message was in English, rather than German and of course they said this was because everyone in Europe spoke English. They told me they often come to Britain because everyone is so friendly. I decided not to talk to them about Brexit....

The friendly memory-makers

More industrial archeology. There were many examples, including one that was used in the 1995 filming of "Poldark" by the BBC

A house with a view!

Camel Rock. If you look closely, you can see his eye and mouth!

Incredible repeating sedimentary layers. Why?

At least half a dozen of these enchanting little coves today

Before the Gryll's Act of 1808, any sailors drowned at sea were left were they were. Since the Act, the bodies have been buried in the "nearest consecrated ground". This cross commemorates the unburied.

The Bickford-Smith tower and Porthleven come into view

Porthleven Harbour with our B&B, The Harbour Inn, just beyond

The dreaded diversion that I partly evaded

Walking along the shore of Loe Pond. It had the feel of a Scottish loch

Major works to repair storm damage at Loe Bar, separating the fresh-water pond from the sea

This cross commemorates the crew of HMS Anson which was wrecked at Loe Bar with the loss of 100 men. Henry Trengrouse of Helston was so upset by this tragedy that he invented the life-saving rocket apparatus that has been instrumental in saving thousands of lives. The only problem is that I thought I had heard the same story at Robin Hood's Bay! Two different rockets? Or perhaps the same man? I'll have to research it

Another diversion! Drat!

Fun at the beach in the Easter hols. No sand and no sun, but fun all the same!

An isolated church in the middle of nowhere! It was called "The Church of the Storms"

Perhaps the most magnificently sited Care Home in England!

A statue to Marconi in Pordhu, commemorating the first radio message transmitted from this very spot across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901. It was the letter "S" in Morse code. Modern communications owe everything to this invention.

And to finish, a gorgeous rough sea at Mullion Cove