Boog's Blog

Cadgewith to Coverlick by way of the Lizard.

Discussed H and Tre with a Cornish speaker and reader. H is of. Tre is house (someone else told us "tre" means farm in Cornish).

At Lizard Point lighthouse we learned that back in the day the locals did not want a lighthouse and did much to stop its construction. Their livelihood depended on luring ships to wreck on the rocks in the coves and grabbing the shipwreck cargo, particularly coal and timber.

Entering Coverack we saw a field of sculptures, picture of one such.

Many coves today. Each lovely and each with ascents and descents.

Tea and scones at the runner up Cornish cafe of the year. Served with damson, a UK plum, homemade jam. There seems to be a lot of "Best of" contests in the area.

Wildlife Sightings: two bird beaches and one mammal butt.

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On the Lizard peninsula, southernmost point in UK.

http://www.visitlizardcornwall.co.uk

Church in town. Bell ringing drew us to the sung Eucharist. Picture of Lord's Prayer in Cornish. Spoke with the bell ringers, only four, they have six bells but not enough people want to learn ringing. Asked me if I was a ringer. I was tempted.

Found Huntley and Palmers chocolate Oliver's for only 7£

Soay sheep and local ponies keep the national trust address of the lizard green and full of flowers.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soay_sheep

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Porthleven to Mullion Cove.

Passed the Loe, largest freshwater lake dammed by the Loe Bar 800 years ago. Did not see the migratory flocks that allegedly hang out at the lake. Might have seen a duck.

Stopped for a drink. Skinner's Heligan Honey beer. 3.7 Boogs

One of the best walks of the trip to date. Several, many, ups and downs but the path quality was good to excellent. Great views with water at its blue and sparkling best.

Marconi had a wireless station here. Sent the first transatlantic Morse code, letter S, to Newfoundland. Tower commemorates the location.

Hotel restaurant dinner not possible as KB does not have a jacket. Bar it was. Perfectly acceptable fare when finally delivered correctly. A bit like upscale Fawlty towers.

Good hotel at spectacular location right on the path. View from our hotel window is stunning!

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Praa Sands to Porthleven.

Have not as yet found out about the conjunction "H". Porthleven is, like many seaside towns, porthmaer for example, appears to be a conjunction of port and another word with the H seeming to be a conjunction of unknown origin to us.

In town a Scotsman explained it is Celtic. Of. As expected.

Porthleven looks a lot like Boscastle only a bit larger. Same harbor design.

Met Pauline and Julian at the harbor for a quite tasty cream tea. Pauline had worked with Dennis and Jane in Wales and were nice enough to meet us and show us around a bit. Hopefully we will be able to see them again in California.

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Walk to Marazion and St. Michaels Mount. The coast path between
Mousehole and a bit past Marazion is a cycleway, paved in parts. Flat, easy walking except for the knee deep puddles.

Wildlife Sighting: Many rabbit holes; we actually saw more rabbits today (2) than we have on the entire trip so far.

From Lelant to St. Michael's Mount is allegedly part of a pilgrimage path to Santiago. Another leg completed by QB.

St. Michael is the patron saint of high places. He was seen around the mount in a vision by local fishermen, so the story is not heavily supported by concrete evidence.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael's_Mount

Dinner at the Turks Head, a 300 year old pub, maybe the oldest around. Celebrated with Doombar.

The meal came with a creme sauce. We asked if the creme could be left off. The chef said the dish would be too dry and suggested a tomato sauce. I suggested the addition of some chili. It came with a spicy tomato sauce. This is not Bobby's England!

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Train to Penzance, another base stop for walks in both directions. Mousehole and a bit further west. Marazion to the east.

The coast has changed character and geology. Trees are more prevalent, but surprisingly, leaves are starting to turn on very few trees.

Boulders on the sea which is now part of the English channel. Less wind, warmer, big boulders instead of sandy beaches. Somewhat like the difference between road biking and mountain biking. The coast path, at times, becomes the technical mountain biking equivalent.

After some point on the way to Lamorna the boulders became, for us, impassible. Hips do not raise high enough to step over the large ones, so we bailed.

Returned the way we came, in the rain, watching wonderful waves beat the Penzance shore. A good days walk.

Beer: Skinner's Cornish Knockers ale, light. 3.2 Boogs

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Shopping and exploration of the town. Intended to see the Tate museum but…….. Closed.

http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives

..and had to settle for teas and scones.

Wine: house red. Break from beer and cider.

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Today's goal was Lands End. Reputed to be tacky. It is, but not much.

The coast has definitely flattened out. More frenquent ups and downs but each rise is lower than the North Coast.

The walk today is, according to the book, a "good" walk. It is except for a) two terrifying vertical ascents in the b)gale force winds, c)rock climbing on our hands and knees- we would have turned back at this point but the return would have been too hard. Also, dangerous mineshafts left over from the recent tin mining era. No choughs spotted. Some guillemots.

Lunch in Sennen Cove before heading to Lands End. A ham and mayo (WTF?) sandwich please and leave off the mayo. No problem. Arrived with no mayo but a very generous amount of butter was added. No concept that just mustard, as indicated on the menu, was sufficient.

Good lesson on fishing and mining in this area from the taxi driver who took us back to the hotel.

Beer. Tribute Cornish pale ale 3.65 Boogs. Lighter than Doombar.

QB had Dourade.

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Many The Mud Song versions on the path.

Coastal walk, part one of today ends at Hayle where there is a nature preserve in the estuary. Carried binoculars for just such an occasion.

Dunes, beach walking, and a visit to a tea shop in Hayles before the birds. Not so many birds. A swan and some water birds. Possibly an oyster catcher.

Beer: st. Ive's Boilers Cornish ale. 3.4 Boogs –a little light for our taste.

Dinner at Porthminster Cafe. Came highly recommended by several on the trail. Excellent. Mussels prepared in a broth of red chili and lemongrass with some bok choy thrown in for good measure.

Hotel is the Tide House. Ancient building, 16th century, recently renovated.

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