Devon and Cornwall - 3

 Jul 1 - 5 2021

 In an English Country Garden 

Having watched a number of Julia Bradbury’s walks on TV, we had filed away Porthcurno for a visit. Accordingly, on Thursday morning we took the Coastler in the opposite direction, past Land’s End, and on to Porthcurno. Our walk took us inland from the village, across fields to the pretty church of St Levan, before the path gradually edged closer to the coast, climbing up to Gwenapp Head. We sat by the Coastwatch station, having a picnic and admiring the views along the coast. Now back on the South West Coast Path, we headed back to Porthcurno, the path rising and falling steeply around the beaches at Porthgwarra and Porthchapel.

Towards the end of our walk, we passed the famous clifftop theatre at Minack, which we had hoped to visit. Sadly, this was not to be, as a production was in progress. We consoled ourselves with an ice-cream at the beach café in Porthcurno, until it was time to catch the bus.

Our last day at Sennen; another bus ride and another walk. This time we took the bus to Land’s End, and, dodging the crowd heading into the “Landmark attraction”, we made straight for the coast path. Walking past the First and Last House, we came to Mayon Cliff, looking down at the remains of the RMS Mulheim, wrecked on a foggy morning in 2003. We continued around the headland, passing a group of male cyclists, who had abandoned their cycles and were taking a break to admire the view. Then down into Sennen Cove to once again catch the bus back to our site.

The remains of the "Mulheim"

The Longships

En route to our next destination, we found yet another NT house and garden to visit – this time at Trerice. More modest than Lanhydrock, this is a solid Elizabethan manor house, with compact but interesting gardens. Continuing the garden theme of the trip, we then headed for our campsite at Heligan Woods, adjacent to the Lost Gardens. On arrival, the lady in reception told me that we were on a “self-levelling pitch”. Somewhat confused, we headed to our designated spot, to find that the hardstanding had a gentle concave shape, meaning that the van could be rolled back and forth until level, without need for blocks. Simple but ingenious!

The self-levelling pitch

Elsewhere on the site, the modern facilities block was amazing, with spotlessly clean and heated individual bathrooms. By way of contrast to St Ives, the nightly fee was only slightly more than a club site.

Once again, a bus stop was close to hand; after early morning rain on Sunday, we caught the bus down into Mevagissey. Our only previous visit here was 39 years ago, with our one year old son in his buggy. It was damp weather then, too…

We walked around the harbour and up to the cliff to the south; the showery weather was not conducive to lengthy exploring. 

Monday saw us walking the couple of hundred yards to the Lost Gardens. The story of their recovery from dereliction is a tale of devotion and hard labour; the result makes for a fascinating day out. We covered a goodly portion (but not all) of the site, from kitchen gardens to jungle walks and the suspension bridge. Even a non-gardener like John found it enjoyable.

 

And so, time to return; a busy summer ahead, but hopefully a short trip will be possible in September.