Day 07: 30 Mar 2014; Porthcothan to Wadebridge

Walk descriptor	LEJOG2014		Day	07
Date	Sun 30 Mar 2014		Start to end time	08h 31m
Start point	Porthcothan		End point	Wadebridge
Miles today	20.34		Cu miles	139.37
Ft today	3,298		Cu ft	25,539
Route miles left	1,332.46		Route ft left	169,961
Today’s weather	Dry and hazy sun. Brisk easterly breeze. No rain, still quite cool (9C)

Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)		GPX based track of today’s walk (click here to access to access downloadable file)

Commentary

“Completed the first week’s walking now, so have treated myself to a night in a B&B in Wadebridge. A great opportunity to do some washing and dry off my things. Slightly annoyingly it is fine and dry outside – it would have been so much more satisfying to be indoors when it was lashing with rain! Covered 139 miles so far, which I’m pretty pleased about.

The first excitement of the day was when I got up this morning and found my tent was covered in Saharan dust (you get the idea of how exciting my days are now..) The other mystery of the day – i.e. why I was feeling so bleary eyed – was only answered when I read one of the comments on this website tonight – when someone pointed out that we had altered the clocks last night. So I had actually had an hour’s less sleep than normal.

This was another “walk of two halves” with the first part of the day comprising an elevated but undulating walk along the coast path from Porthcothan to Padstow. This was an excellent section of the walk – every bit as spectacular as the bits near Land’s End, but much easier underfoot – grassy rather than rocky, and the ups and downs weren’t quite as precipitous. Plus the fact that for the first time all week, it didn’t rain all day, and the sun actually shone a bit!

As the tide was out, I walked the last stretch to Padstow from Lellizick along the beach alongside the Camel river. Walking along beaches is a bit of a hit and miss affair. They are flat and very direct, but if you hit the wrong sort of sand it is a bit like wading through porridge. Luckily for me, I found that by walking near to the water’s edge, the sand was firm and I was able to make good time. I just had to remember to keep my eyes open and not accidentally wander off into the river.

Padstow itself was a bit of a revelation – unlike Newquay in almost every way sums up my impression of the place. A bit of a Knightsbridge on sea, it seemed, but very pleasant and looking pretty in the sunshine.

From Padstow I walked along the Camel trail to Wadebridge. This is a disused railway line (obviously Dr Beeching must have preferred St Ives for his holidays) which was scenic and flat. Along the way I met another “End to Ender” who was hoping to reach John O’Groats in an eye-watering 61 days – some 40 days quicker than me. I wished him luck as he sped past.

Going to spend the rest of the evening trying to find campsites for the next week’s walking, which should roughly take me to Woolacombe.
”

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


I found that the night’s rain had coated the tent in this reddish grey dust. Discovered from the ITV News website that the “southerly flow” of air over the UK had brought Saharan dust from Mauritania to cover large parts of the South West last night. So the mystery is solved!	On the beach at Constantine Bay. I am looking more bleary eyedf than normal because I hadn’t realised that the clocks had gobe forward overnight. My alarm had automatically adjusted so I had had an hour less sleep than I thought I had.

Looking out West from the tower at Stepper Point	They seem to have forgotten to glue this ship together…

Nothing at all pretentious about fish and chips in Padstow..	On the Camel Trail from Padstow to Wadebridge. On an old railway track. Cyclists can be a hazard!

Panorama of Padstow harbour. Obviously thriving. Completely different feel to it than Newquay!