Day 13 - Beeny to Tintagel - 5 Miles

The weather didn't seen promising when I woke up this morning!!! Overcast and it had been spitting with rain through the night. Karen and David decided that they'd leave their tent pitched and stay in the area, which meant that I could leave my tent up too and not have to carry the rucksack for yet another day!! They said that they would pick me up and bring me back to the campsite in the evening! marvellous!!! Moreover, Karen had decided that she'd join me today on the planned walk to Trebarwith Strand, which was a really nice surprise. Not only a strolling rest day with no weight etc, but a bit of company for some of my journey into the bargain.

I'd planned to walk down the road into Boscastle from the campsite, but karen wanted to rejoin the coast path where I'd left it the previous evening, despite it meaning that we'd have to cross the valley between us and the coast twice. It turned out to be a good decision as it was quite a pretty walk and the rain held off even if it was overcast.

The view as we set off from the campsite, the hill with the white folly/lighthouse on it, being the far side of Boscastle Harbour.

We set off from the campsite with the farm sheep dog and a burst basket ball in tow. Naomi had been throwing the ball for it to catch and return while we'd been getting ready for the day. It abandoned the ball at the end of the first field but carried on with us despite repeated 'Go Home!'s in a raised voice! Moreover it followed us all the way to where I'd left the coast path the evening before! Tsk! Talk about an extra worry to have when walking.. responsibility for other people's dogs!!

Karen and I sat on the stile for a while when we reached the coast path, looking back at the sheer black cliff face of Buckator, with the small rock island of yet another imaginatively named 'Gull Rock' in the deep blue waters at its base. The seagulls' cries echoed up to us from the cliff faces. While we sat there, who should appear, but the middle aged couple! They fussed the dog when it went to investigate them and from then on it was their companion as they made their way around the headlands all the way to Boscastle!!! Not only the guilt of worrying how the dog would ever get home now, but also the worry that the middle aged couple would be really annoyed at having an errant animal along for the day with them! I felt mortified that they would blame me and terrified that the dog would be lost for ever the further we strayed from its home!

The walk around the cliffs with Karen was beautiful, the pink of the heather and the blue of the sea just a perfect combination. The water was crystal clear and would have been bright turquoise if the sun had been shining. The inlet of Pentargon was beautiful even if the dribble of a waterfall was a bit disappointing!

The black cliff face of Bucktor from the coast path stile.

Karen as we begin our walk around the cliffs to Boscastle.

The beautiful inlet at Pentargon.

Looking down at the beach and clear waters from the other side of Pentargon.

Karen with Pentargon Falls behind.

We carried on over the last three undulations to the hill overlooking the fantastic natural harbour at Boscastle. After admiring the view we descended gradually down the valleyside, hoping to get a drink at the pub by the footbridge over the stream. It was still being rebuilt when we got there though. It was quite a shock to see how much of the place was still being rebuilt and repaired almost a year after the horrible flash flood event! We carried on up the side of the stream to the Bridge Hotel and went to sit out the back in their beer garden just over the river from the hotel. I found it quite impossible to comprehend that the now trickling waters between us and the building, could have been transformed into the brown swirling waters, up to second storey window height, that I'd seen on the TV the year before, with cars and all manner of debris being tossed like tumbleweed along the valley and washed out to sea. I had a pint of Kronenberg and a pint of soda water with an egg mayonnaise and tomato baguette. It started to drizzle as we sat there under our sun umbrella!! Tsk!! It could have been worse! both Steve and Martin had assured me of heavy rain all day so we'd got away lightly so far!

The wonderfully protected natural harbour at Boscastle (with the now famous 'middle aged couple' descending ahead).

The drizzle eased off again as we set off down the side of the stream and out towards the harbour, me now carrying the day sack! We stopped for an ice cream, me a ginger one and Karen an orange and caramel one.

We climbed up from the harbour towards the folly/lighthouse on Willapark Hill quite gradually, but with my full stomach and beer I was struggling a bit. We cut behind the Willapark headland keeping to the official route rather than going to investigate. At this point it started to drizzle more heavily and so we donned waterproofs, though mine of course made me horribly wet with sweat from the inside rather than fresh rain from the outside!

The way ahead from just beyond Willapark headland.

The next bits of coastline were pretty spectacular, though the worsening rain soaked us both through and I took the executive decision to finish our day's walk at Tintagel rather than Trebarwith Strand as we'd planned. Firebeacon Hill was a fabulous stack of pinnacle like proportions and soon afterwards we descended to the bottom of the beautiful Rocky Valley. On a sunlit day it would have zinged and been out of this world, but hey ho! I had to change the camera batteries on the bridge over the gushing stream at the bottom of the valley and then it was a steep climb out again, but the beautiful views that it revealed made it all worth the effort.. even in the rain!

The way ahead and crystal clear waters from just beyond Willapark again.

Looking back from further along, the furthest rocky island being opposite Boscastle harbour entrance.

The beautiful, if very wet, Rocky Valley.

The view back along the cliffs on the climb out of Rocky Valley.

Bossiney Haven beaches and the cliffs we've already walked along beyond.

The beaches at Bossiney Haven looked perfect and empty except for a couple of people who'd made the effort to make such a huge climb down with the even worse prospect of getting back up to the path! We climbed steeply again after crossing the track going down to the beaches. We didn't go out to the headland here, but instead cut across its neck which is the official route anyway I think, and then took a path away from the coast to Tintagel town. Horrible as the place is to me, I was soaked to the skin and had had enough for the day. At least I'd walked some distance further on my day of rest. We walked into the end of the main street with its King Arthur this, and Merlin that and Camelot the other and ended up in the Malthouse Inn, where we had a few drinks sitting in the comfortable chairs in the nooky and quaint 'smokers snug'. I tried to live up to the name, much to Karen's amusement by sitting there and steaming profusely because I was so wet. Karen rang David and Naomi who had gone over to Bodmin and when they came back from there we walked along the main street to the Tourist Information Centre where they'd parked.

We drove off to the pub at Trebarwith Strand that Karen had been to before for food, though when we got there it didn't start serving until 6.30pm so we went down to explore the caves on the beach and built sandcastles by the stream, which we gave up trying to block off after a while. When we went back up to the pub we found the food to be the most amazing rip off!!! We had drinks while perusing the menu!! We decided that anywhere that could charge £3.65 for just a portion of chips on their own etc etc wasn't really worth patronising!!! We drank up and decided to go to Boscastle on the way back instead. We'd hoped to go to the Bridge Hotel, but bizarrely it was shut for the evening, seemingly like most of the rest of Boscastle?? We ended up in The Wellington, which is totally changed since I was last in there before the flood, the bar being on the opposite side of the room and a split level minstrel's gallery affair thing being added at the back etc etc. Nothing like using your insurance money for 'improvements' at the same time I guess?:)

We ordered food and 40 minutes later were still waiting for starters, though we'd received and enjoyed a selection of bread and olives while we'd been making up our mind. I complained to the waitress, though David jumped in mid flow about poor service, while the waitress was explaining that there was a technical problem and none of the recent orders taken at the bar had made it to the kitchen because of a computer error. I wasn't happy and the waitress sent over the bar manager who was an ineffectual twat of a man. In the end the waitress saved the day and did her best to make amends not just for OUR late order but for everyone elses too. Single handedly, and with the handicap of an ignorant waiter who spoke not a word of English and hadn't got a clue what was going on, she caught up our order and others, by rushing up and down the stairs with plates of food herself instead of using the food lift! Well done her, for doing her best in an awkward situation and even managing to check we were ok and have a laugh about it with us between her rushings. As far as I am concerned she'd make a much better bar manager than the ineffectual twat professing to be the current one, who ignored us for the rest of the evening despite walking by repeatedly. An 'is everything ok now?'should have been the least he could have done!! The food when it did arrive was actually really good and our waitress couldn't be faulted for HER effort! Promote her now as far as I am concerned!

Just as we were finishing, quite bizarrely, the gathered crowd began to sing unaccompanied folk songs. Very odd!!, but David's reaction was even more bizarre!! I was willing to accept it as a quirky Cornish custom, but he was up in a flash with Naomi and out of the pub before they could finish the second verse let alone the first song, leaving Karen and I trailing behind... very bizarre behaviour even if its not your thing!!?? We eventually caught them up near the car park and drove back to the campsite and went straight to bed!

Map of the day's walk:(click to enlarge)