Wow, what a trip so far! The last three days on foot have been truly epic & amazing.

Monday (Day 1 on foot) Mullion to Porthleven – The weather certainly tried its best to stop me from starting on time. The force 6-8 winds and horizontal rain, made progress difficult at best; being swept off my feet twice along the coast path! After two or so hours I retired for the day at a friend’s house, absolutely soaked and strangely hadn’t seen another sole all afternoon on the coast path……

Tuesday Porthleven to St. Buryan – The weather was much more favourable and this really helped me along. A pasty shop in a village before Penzance (sorry forgotten the name) donated lunch in the form of an excellent large steak pasty, which helped see me through the day.

Around Mousehole some local kids must have moved the coast path signs, since they made absolutely no sense taking me down dead end alleys and into back gardens! By this time I decided a B&B would be a wise move for the night, giving my shoulders & feet a chance to recover for the following day. However I hadn’t envisaged every B&B for the next 5-7 km being fully booked…

Fortunately this led me to Treverven Farm B&B near St. Buryan. All I can say to Rachel & Julian is thank you very much!!! They were amazingly welcoming hosts with an excellent B&B, really going the extra mile to help me out; which lifted my spirits no end ready for day three.

Wednesday St. Buryan to St. Ives - With an 8am start, I set my sights high and planned to get to a friends house at St. Ives by nightfall.

The previous evening along the roads looking for a B&B, highlighted the potential for fundraising inland. While the coast path is a lovely route to walk/run along, in many stretches people /civilisation is few and far between. This I found had limited the potential for fundraising with the collection pot and also didn’t allow me to raise public awareness of the charity Help for Heroes. While on the roads I found many people driving along, who saw the banner on my rucksack, would stop and donate. Therefore I made the decision that from then on I would remain on the coast path on popular sections and in those more remote sections, head inland going along the nearest sea road or via larger settlements.

While not totally sticking to my original revised route of going around the coast path for the whole of Cornwall, I hope people understand my decision with regard to the financial benefits it has for my chosen charity. Plus if anything it is increasing the amount of walking I’m carrying out as I zigzag between the settlements and coast!

As for the day itself, it was by far one of the longest days on my life! By midday I had made it round the coast path to Lands End, where my Mum was able to meet me to say hello and re-supply with new cloths (bliss!). Here I raised a reasonable amount of money with the charity box (over £100 in the last 2 days alone!!), further boosting my spirits. Then I had to escape to apparent invading force of German emits (the coast path temporarily tuned into busy central Berlin!), along the short hop to Sennen Cove. A final farewell from my Mum and I was on my own again.

The beach at Gwynver was magical, with dolphins playing in the waves amongst the surfers!!! It was simply amazing to watch and at only 15 meters from the shore! From here I headed inland slightly, along what has to be one of the prettiest roads in England. Passing through old mining villages and hamlets that time forgot, then over ancient moorlands with cuckoos calling into the clouds; while the whole time shadowing the Atlantic with the sun setting a deep red glow on the horizon.

After over 15 hours on the move, I reached St. Ives…only it wasn’t, but merely a signpost on the moors a good few miles out! With sheer exhaustion setting in, I hobbled into the Royal British Legion on the outskirts of St. Ives. Not only did they donate generously to Help for Heroes, but at the news that my friend lived in Carbis Bay (another 3 miles away) and seeing the state I was in, requested a taxi to take me the last leg of the trip. Something I am eternally grateful for, since those last three miles may well have killed me! However it does mean I now face the prospect of backtracking 3 miles in order to start from where I finished last night under my own steam.

Today (Thursday) I am taking it easy and giving my body a chance to recover. I shall probably walk some distance today, but with my little toe forming one big blister, the prospect of extra pain does not seem overly enticing the moment…..

Apologies about such a long post and thank you for your continuing support,

Tiff