The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The Southwest Coast Path: St Ives to Padstow

In October I continued my SWCP odyssey, walking in the “wrong” direction, eastwards from St Ives to Padstow in northern Corwall. My totals were: 105 km and 2550 meters elevation gain over the 6 days. Enjoy the photos and pardon the lack of usual verbiage!

St Ives to Phillack

13 km and 250 m elevation gain

View back towards St Ives harbor
A house for sale in Lelant, overlooking the River Hayle. A bit out of my price range, I’m sure.
The Hayle Mining Pump House monument
My Penellen Guest House balcony view

Day 2: Phillack to Portreath

18 km and 500 m elevation gain

Mutton Cove. Note all the seals hauled out.
Godrevy Lighthouse, marking a dangerous reef called The Stones
Sea Campion. As usual, not many wildflowers were out in the autumn.
Coast view back to Hell’s Mouth. The nearby Hell’s Mouth Café was a great spot for lunch.
Corvids (far left) and equines near Portreath
Portreath

Day 3: Portreath to Perranporth

20 km and 700 m elevation gain

Towanroath Shaft engine house at Wheal Coates
Convoluted erosional geology
The coast near Perranporth
My Seiner’s Arms hotel room view, Perranporth

Day 4: Perranporth to Newquay

14.5 km and 250 m elevation gain

Perranporth beach. The Seiners Arms is the rambling blue building
Looking back on Perranporth Beach
The “Commandant’s House” (my term – I’m not sure what this building is) at Penhale Camp. The camp was established in 1939 to train WW2 anti-aircraft gunners.
‘Shrooms & Sea
The Newquay tidal foot bridge

Day 5: Newquay to Porthcothan

19.5 km and 450 m elevation gain

Bedruthan Path, a gorgeous stretch of coast
Carnewas (Cornish, meaning “rock-pile of summer dwelling”) at Bedruthan
View towards Park Head. This was easily the best day for photography.
A pano just before reaching Porthcothan
An old curzyway dry stone wall, typical construction on this stretch of north Cornwall

Day 6: Porthcothan to Padstow

20.5 km and 400 m elevation gain

Trevose Head Lighthouse, featuring four holiday cottages
RNLI lifeboat station, Padstow, at Trevose Head
Prideaux Place Deer Park, Padstow. Seasonally open to the public, Prideaux Place has a fascinating history. I had diverted slightly to reach my inland Airbnb, where I stayed the final two nights.

This past six weeks I have traveled to northern Morocco to see some cultural sights and then to Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands for group walking weeks. They will all be subjects for a future blog post or two towards the end of the year or early 2026.

Tomorrow I depart for Kuala Lumpur and then onward to Taiwan for my 3½ month winter trip to Southeast Asia and Western Australia. Not to worry, though, there will be some hiking involved. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Algarve Coastal Hikes

For several years I’ve been trying to schedule a hiking trip to this area of southwest Portugal, but other travel plans kept on postponing it. In late September I finally managed a week at an AirBnb in the coastal town of Lagos, joined by Maggie. While we didn’t do as many hikes as I planned – barely scratching the surface of the potential for an avid hiker – our week was a great introduction to the area, its paths, beaches, food, and history. Enjoy a few highlights. . .

Morning balcony view from our Airbnb apartment. Located just outside of the Old Town, since we were renting a car, with all the mod cons it was perfect for a one week stay.
Jacaranda mimosifolia. In typical fashion, this tree was about the only photo I took in the lovely historic center of Lagos!

From Lagos to Porto de Mos and beyond

This 14 km started right out of our apartment door. Although popular on a Sunday, it was absolutely amazing!

Steps to the sea at Ponta da Piedade, the southern-most point near Lagos
An arch at Ponta da Piedade
Coastal grasses and rock formations, Ponta da Piedade
Praia do Canavial. A gorgeous beach that required a steep descent to reach. Either because of that or because it is a nudist beach, there were few people!

Rota Circular do Cabo de Sao Vicente

The southwestern-most point in Europe was our trailhead for this 17 km loop hike. The coastal portion was definitely more interesting than the inland part!

Forto de Santo António de Belixe
Red squill (Drimia marittima). I had seen this autumn-blooming species on both Crete and Sardinia.
Snails on a pole. Was it the warmth or the moisture that drew them?
Maggie at Praia da Ponta Ruiva where we had our picnic lunch
Selfie with Maggie near Praia das Eiras
Coastal view north from near Pedra das Gaivotas
Autumn squill (Prospero autumnale). If it weren’t for the squills, we would have seen very few wildflowers in late September!

Alvor Walkways

This wasn’t really a hike, more an easy stroll. My plantar fascia had become inflamed and I needed two days rest before attempting even this easy 8 km walk.

Marsh view. I was hoping to spot some migratory birds as this was right along the coast east of Lagos, but there was little to reward my endeavors.

Seven Hanging Valleys

Easily the most popular hike in the area, and perhaps the entire Algarve. With great weather, lunch at a beach café at the halfway point, and a spectacular coast, this must-do hike was a fantastic choice for our last day in Lagos.

Rocha do Elefante
Farol de Alfanzina
Praia do Carvalho

I’m not sure exactly when this post will be published, but I am either in Morocco, the Canary Islands, or back for a short stay in Hastings before heading to Southeast Asia and Australia for the winter.

Happy Trails wherever you happen to be,

The Vagabond Hiker

The Southwest Coast Path: Minehead to Westward Ho!

More precisely, this installment of my SWCP odyssey turned out to be 5 days of hiking divided into two parts: from Minehead to Combe Martin, and – after suitable recovery – from Westward Ho! to Barnstaple. Enjoy the photos and chronicle. . .

Minehead, Somerset, has the distinction of being the official starting point for the Southwest Coast Path, now a part of the almost-completed England Coast Path. As I just missed the bus from the Taunton train station, I chose to take a taxi to save nearly 2 hours’ journey time. Big mistake. That 23 mile ride set me back more than 110 GBP, about twice the cost of the First Class train from Hastings! Other than the typical August beach vibe, Minehead has little to recommend it and early the next morning I began walking. As usual for these shortish segments, I carried all that I needed in my rucksack, taking advantage of lodging and restaurants each day.

View of Minehead beach towards the west and the start of the Coast Path, on a gray day.
Minehead Coastguard Cottages in a lush garden along Quay Street.
The SWCP starting monument
A long way to go!
View along the path, with bracken. Despite the overcast, at no time during my walks did it rain.
Valerian. Ok, I was a bit desperate for wildflower photos at this time of year!
Steep descent danger sign. I wimped out and took the slightly less steep, but better protected, route.
Wayside Cottage, looking almost Swiss

Porlock Marsh. It was at this point early on the 2nd day that I performed an emergency duct tape repair on my water bladder. This just about lasted the day.
The remote and picturesque St Beuno’s Church, Culbone
The path through oak woods, with the Bristol Channel below
An elaborate entrance gate along the path. No signage to give a hint of its history.
Two heathers together: common (left) and bell (right). By this point the path had left Somerset for North Devon.
Countisbury Parish Church, appearing half-submerged on its eponymous hill east of Lynmouth
Orchard House Hotel, Lynmouth. A Grade 2 Listed property and highly recommended for an overnight stay if you’re ever in Lynmouth.

Looking back to Blacklands Beach, Lynmouth, on the initial climb to Lynton.
The Valley of Rocks, by a long shot the most popular walk in the area.
A bold robin, hanging out near the bench where I consumed my packed lunch
Looking back on the Coast Path and vertiginous Heddon’s Mouth below
An impressive waterfall. Nearly all “combes” (deep, narrow valleys) had some sort of stream flowing down them to the sea.
An atmospheric coastal view back to the east. This is my favorite photo.
Heather (and gorse) on the Great Hangman
Summit rock pile on the Great Hangman. At 318m, this is the highest point along the SWCP.
View towards Combe Martin. . . still a long ways down!

The first three days of what was intended as a 7 day walk to complete this section of the SWCP ended at Combe Martin. As you can see from the All Trail stats, the walks were long and had many steep ascents and descents. By this point, my plantar fasciitis had become so excruciating that the next morning I resorted to a taxi to my next hotel, and then a bus the following day to my hotel in Barnstaple, essentially granting me two days of rest to recuperate. It was just what the doctor ordered!

After two days lazing around, with limited time completing the entire section of the SWCP was off the table, so instead I chose to walk the last two days in reverse direction (west to east) from Westward Ho! as the path was essentially flat and buses were readily available if plantar fasciitis reared its ugly head (foot?!) again.

The market town of Barnstaple was far better than my (admittedly low) expectations. Staying here the final three nights (that was my plan all along) meant that I only carried a light day pack, taking advantage of the bus connections from the nearby depot. A great vegan restaurant provided a respite from the heavy Devon cuisine. Add in live music one evening and a reasonably priced, yet elegant hotel, and what’s not to like?

Surfers at Westward Ho! beach. Westward Ho! is the only town in the English language with an explanation point in its name.
The natural pebble ridge and sandy beach at Northam Burrows Country Park
Saltwater marsh with Appledore
View from the RNLI Appledore Lifeboat Station. That’s a Tamar-class lifeboat on the right if you’re curious.
Irsha Street, Appledore. The Coast Path follows this picturesque street.
Old boats and the River Torridge

Bideford’s Tarka the Otter, from the book by Henry Williamson. The Long Bridge is behind.
View of the River Torridge
Blue houseboat on the River Torridge
Bridge spanning the Tarka Trail, which here coincided with the Coast Path. The entirety of this day’s walk was on tarmac, hence the 3 star rating.
Barnstaple and the River Taw, end point for my week’s (well, 5 days) walking

A rainy day in Hastings and my mind beginning to shift to my next trip. . .

In six days I’m off to Uzbekistan for some hiking & culture in the country at the heart of the Silk Road. I’ll leave you with two photos from my balcony at Rocklands in Hastings, once again my home away from home.*

Rocklands Dawn
Rocklands Dusk

The Vagabond Hiker

* – when queried about my “home”, depending on the context I respond either “Utah” or “Planet Earth.”

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