Friday 25 April 2014

25/04/14 - Saving the best till last

Distance - 6.75 Miles
Geocaches - 7
Walk Inspiration

Last Night
Our final day on holiday.  Where to eat.  Well, something is missing from this holiday and that is Fish and Chips by the seaside.  We do our research - even the Chippers are on TripAdvisor these days - we return to the location of our 2nd Walk, St Agnes.

You know you are in good hands when there is a queue and when you get to the front, you are asked "what type of fish would you like?".  I didn't get asked what type of cow I wanted when I had a steak on Tuesday?  Looking like I know what I am doing, I peruse the whiteboard and recognise Pollock.  You wait for it to be cooked, but handily, the people that own the Chipper own the Driftwood Spa pub.  So pint, beer garden and then the shout of 35. 

Top pollocks.

Then drama - people start running to the beach, including the bar man who had given me my Skinners.  Everyone leaves their chips and makes their way to the RNLI lifeboat.  I am tempted to head back in the bar, as it is now unguarded, but there is much excitement.  The lifeboat looks like its going to get launched.  Cue 10 minutes of more men running downhill and some delicate reversing of a tow truck in and out of a garage and then its all over.  False alarm.

The Walk
Holywell at EveryTrail

At times during this week, I have claimed to have found the best part of the SW Coast Path.  I have been lying.  This is it.  An absolutely wonderful walk.

We start off at the National Trust car park.  I am offered the chance to join, and I will.   Just as soon as I retire.

In a first for this week, we walk away from the coast and through a caravan park, with a strange dune system to our right.  Nice stream and first micro cache of the day.

Dunes
Dunes
Next cache is a DNF, despite a good fingertip search.  Get back to the walk and drop down through a farm and up the side of a golf course.  Superb views.  I am 224 miles from home and the next cache we find in the National Trust car park in Porth Joke has been previously signed from cachers who live four miles away from us.  What are the chances.  I hope they found it quicker than we did, with it taking me a good 10 minutes.  I am not having 2 DNF on a row.

First Glimpse of the Sea
First Glimpse of the Sea
Sign
Take your pick - they are all superb beaches
We arrive at the coast path at Crantock.  What a sight.  High on the headland, with low tide, it is acres of golden sands, blue skies and seas.  Really is special. 

Sonia checks out house prices.

Crantock Beach
Location, Location, Great Big Mortgage

Crantock Beach
Smartphone is looking up removal company phone numbers

Another cache is the only disturbance from the clicking of both our cameras.

We walk around the headland, making our way to Porth Joke.  The views just keep on coming.

Porth Joke
The U Shape walk that is Porth Joke
There is not a short cut directly across, so it is all around the headland, dropping down the beach.

Walk the Plank
Walking the Plank

Porth Joke
Team Mappiman - Joy only tempered by the sadness of a last day on hols
Three more caches on the last stretch of headland.  Number 1 is a nice easy micro, recently chewed by sheep.  Cache 2 is a bit more extreme.

Extreme Caching
As this took a while, I give number 3 a miss
Then back to Holywell beach, working our way across the impressive dunes.

Back on Holywell beach
Admit it, it could be the Caribbean
That's it - 8 walks over a long Easter Week.  Best walk ever saved till the last day.

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