The South coast of Cornwall has a reputation of being less rugged than the north coast, and certainly compared to the section from Westward Ho! to Padstow (see my last post), this was true. The walks, though, were no less interesting for their more gentle character. From my cottage near Truro in Cornwall these past two weeks I’ve done several loop walks of lengths varying from five to twelve miles or so. Other than a short walk on Bodmin Moor, all my hikes involved sections of the South West Coast Path followed by an inland return to the start point. The inland portions of the walks were generally pleasant in themselves, by streams, through woods, across meadows, and along quiet country lanes. The Ordnance Survey (OS) Pathfinder Guide “Cornwall: Outstanding Circular Walks” was invaluable in route-finding for several of the walks. (At 1:25,000 scale, OS maps cover the entire country with detail similar to USGS Quads). It still amazes me that Public Footpaths and Bridleways crisscross the patchwork of private lands, giving right of way to walkers throughout rural Britain.
As walking options abound within a half hour or shorter drive, I never did get further afield to more well-known spots such as Land’s End or Lizard Point. In any event, the nearby coast of Roseland Peninsula is indistinguishable from these more famous landmarks, apart from having far fewer tourists. I chose the photos below to capture some of the variety of Cornwall’s landscapes. Enjoy!
On Monday Maggie and I are off to Bucharest. We will spend two weeks there, divided between the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania and the Danube Delta, with one day in the capital city of Romania. Until next post, keep hiking and enjoying nature!
The Vagabond Hiker
Wow, the rolling fields of Portloe. How beautiful!