Day 8 Treyarnon Bay to Towan Head

We set off from Treyarnon at just before 1030, with the aim of making it to car park 1 (Whipsiderry!) in Newquay.

There are quite a few islands on this stretch of coastline. It is easy to see that they would have originally been part of the mainland, but have broken away at some time in the past. We came across a great example of this almost straightaway – Trethias Island.

Trethias Island

 Followed by Minnows Islands which seems to be made up of many smaller rocky outcrops

including this one which was a great slab of slate.

Minnows Islands

The coast continues to impress us but there did not seem to be anything of outstanding interest on this stretch.

Over the last couple of walks we have done there are areas which have been set aside to encourage the corn bunting to breed, it seems to be a major project, and today was no exception.  We were frequently asked to avoid certain stretches to stay clear of their breeding grounds.

Corn Bunting (library image)

Porthcothan caught our eye as a most beautifully sheltered bay with a popular sandy beach. It looked like it would be a great place for kayakking with some little islands nearby to explore,

 

although it looked like it might be a bit of a trek to get the kayaks down on to the beach.

Porthcothan Bay

Just beyond Porthcothan we came across these man made caves with Trescore islands in the background.

The caves had obviously been used by smugglers in the past, and there is still some evidence of their heritage.

Soon after we came to another a hidden gem – Porth Mear which seems a particularly good example of a little known cove, off the beaten track and another ideal candidate for exploring with kayaks, if you are prepared to brave the rough track to get down to it.

Porth Mear

We continually see kestrels hovering, in search of food

Kestrel hovering

or being hassled by crows. Though generally today we felt that the birds were being very quiet, the gulls seemed to be resting on the side of the cliffs.

On Many of our walks we have often seen an evergreen shrub being used as a kind of hedging. It has a soft feel but is very effective as a screen. We think it is the quite delicate tamarisk which is mentioned in Hilary’s book called ‘Exploring the Cornish Coast’.

Tamarisk (library image)

At Bedruthan Steps we became part of a popular tourist destination and on such a beautiful day there were plenty of people enjoying the surroundings. It really is a beautiful spot and we decided one worth visiting again sometime, just to be able to take time to experience it fully.

Looking towards Bedruthan Steps viewing point

Looking back towards Bedruthan Steps

Shortly after, we came across Kernow300 training to run the Cornish section of the South West Coastal Path, she was recceeing it and getting in some practice. She has set aside ten days in October to run it – hoping to run 30 miles each day. Good luck!

Along our route we saw this amazing slate wall. Evenly constructed and clearly pretty old but nonetheless very impressive.

And following this we passed this beautiful stretch of low lying heather and gorse. Much of the heather was past its best and appeared bronze, but there was still some purple showing, and along with the yellow of the gorse the effect was stunning. The photo doesn’t really do it justice!Pressing on we headed towards Trenance where we could see evidence of a canal bed which was apparently started in the 18th century to carry sand, but never completed. It is now home to 2 garden sheds, a green house and a trampoline! But we were incredibly impressed with the effect of the water as it swept in to the bay

Trenance Bay

Soon we were looking down along Watergate Bay, which is quite a well known surfing beach in the area, and knew that we were heading for the homeward stretch. We had been making good progress and decided that we would be able to get through Newquay this time, rather than facing Newquay at the start of our next leg. We primed our support man, Mike, accordingly.

Watergate Bay

As we headed into and through Newquay the photos dried up, as it took all our concentration to find our way through the crowds of people and maze of streets. Although we did catch site of a surf school on the beach

Surf School (library picture)

and Gig racing in the harbour which had been postponed from the previous day.

Gig racing (library picture)

Feeling particularly satisfied after this stretch, having made it further than we intended we now we find that we did just over 14 miles which is brilliant. And the weather was amazing too – we both had a glow on by the time we reached Towan Head, where we hooked up with Mike.