07/06/12 - Holidays from Heligan

Distance - 3.75
Caches - 2.25
Walk Inspiration
Weather - A new phrase has been invented - Squallish

Yesterday
Well the afternoon really picked up.  I may be the only man in the world who is suffering from both hypothermia and sunburn at the same time.  With glorious weather we hit Gorran Haven beach.  Dog friendly, fish and chip shop on the front and enough room for both football and cricket.  After a post match wind down, I sat in the sun and burnt to a beautiful red hue. 

Home for the weather reports.  Our fellow holiday makers have packed up in anticipation of the incoming force 8 storms.  No word of a lie, the weather report suggested that it was "bad enough to blow down a small tree".  Then Friday looks good again, so they had an about turn.  Party night at the Mapp's where we drank and ate everything that remained, whilst playing retro games on a console.  I can still do Pacman.

The Walk

Mevagissey & Heligan

I have a date with Kwik Fit.  The saga of the tyres runs on.  So I decide on the shortest planned walk of the holidays today.  A quick blast from Mevagissey to Heligan and back down the coast path.  The weather people are spot on - its fierce.  I goretex up, top and bottom, and head for the carparks of Mevagissey.  It is lovely - very narrow roads and a nice drive through Port Mellon.  High Tide at 8am and the waves are onto the road.  Park up and looks for the first cache - a DNF on a road sign.

Find Cheesewarne Lane to take me to Heligan.  There are a few caches up here - first is a DNF, Second one found and third is missing its bottom half of a dog tag.  But I am still going to claim it.

Hit the roads and a horrible bit of road walking.  This is not the weather to be on a country lane with no escape path and a high density of large vehicles.  Really pleased when the coast path is picked up at Pentean Sands.  The GPS then gives up and I have no battery to find the rest of the caches.

Meet my only two other walkers mad enough to be out in this.  We try and pretend that what we are doing is normal by giving extra hearty hellos.

At Polstreath, I walk through a field of young cows.  The wind is that bad that I don't hear them following me until I get to the gate.

Moove Closer

The coast path is good, but to be honest, I am looking forward to getting out of the weather.  A few ups and downs and Mevagissey comes into view.  Sea looks angry.  There are a few hardy souls prentending to enjoy themselves by eating pastry based snacks in a monsoon.  God bless the British.

Any port in a Storm

Then I hang around Kwik Fit for 5 hours.  You can read about that tomorrow.