Sunday 14th September 1997 - Day Two, Crackington Haven - Tintagel Prev Next

I had set the alarm for daybreak at 06:20 but I was awake before that. When I awoke I switched the radio on just in time to hear the shipping forecast say 'Lundy 3 - 4 becoming 5 good, Irish sea 5 - 6 becoming 8 poor'. To the north of me it looked poor, to the south of me it looked good, these met. office people know what they are talking about. I was going south, I could live with that. I lay around until it got light then cooked pasta and sauce, packed the tent and its contents as quickly as possible, and was moving by 07:30, just in case an angry farmer or bull came along.

After half an hour of walking I looked back and could see my spot. I looked on and saw a horse blocking the path. I took a small detour, you never can tell with horses. Down and up, up, up I ascended the highest cliff in the south, called very aptly 'High Cliff'. The view from the top up and down the coast was excellent. A little further on I climbed the stile out of the field to a small valley with a large wide but shallow stream flowing down. There were some stepping stones across the stream, but many of them were missing and it was a challenge to get across without getting my feet wet. A few yards further on was a stile so I stopped for a little sustainance. The walking on this part was much gentler as the path followed around the outside of the headlands. On the approaches to Boscastle I saw a waterfall and crossed over the stream on a bridge just above it. On the other side of the valley were some steps up to the top again. On the one hundred and eighty eighth step I met my first people I had seen that day, two and a half hours after I had started walking. It was two chaps walking the other way with an alsation dog.

We exchanged pleasantries, the second chap said it was alright from there on to Boscastle, but after Boscastle it got a bit rough. Round a bit more headland lay Boscastle, nestling in between some very large impressive rocky cliffs with sea gulls wheeling round. Boscastle is a very pleasant place in a tourist sort of way. There were tea shops, gift shops, souviner shops and a youth hostel. The niggle in my right hip which had been developing during the morning had become worse and I hoped it wasn't going to ruin my day. What I really needed was a food store to stock up, I found one up the main road through Boscastle where it joined the B something or other road. I bought a pasty for later, water, apple turnovers and a strawberry milk drink. I enjoyed the drink so much I went back and had another.

I rejoined the path on the other side of the harbour wall which was constructed something like a chicane. By this time my right hip was giving me a bit of pain and I was a bit concerned, but I could still carry on. After getting past the main traffic of people going up to see the white castle on top of the hill I found a bench in a little hedge alcove and ate my pasty. Several walkers passed exchanging good mornings. It was a good solid cornish pasty, not a light and fluffy, blink and you'll miss it sort. I continued and about a mile further on I passed a campsite and a small ravine which the path went round outside a stone wall. Inside the stone wall was a bloke on the edge climbing down with a huge drop underneath. I hoped he didn't slip and walked swiftly on. My leg at this point had stopped hurting providing I took small steps.

The path descended into Rocky Valley which has a bridge over the stream and is very picturesque. Climbing out the other side however was steep and my leg started seriously hurting. I took five minutes break on a convenient bench at the top overlooking Bossiney Haven, then hobbled on negotiating some very steep narrow steps up and through a rocky part. I limped along on the approaches to Tintagel. There was a footpath straight ahead but I elected to keep on the coast path because then I knew where I was. On the last bit before the castle came into view I found a slow worm on the path. It was a bit dented behind its head so I assumed someone had stepped on it, but when I picked it up it moved slowly so I put it into the grass out of harms way. It's the first slow worm I have seen in real life.

At last there was Tintagel castle with people swarming over it. I had an ice cream at the tea rooms and considered my next move. Clearly I wasn't going anywhere so the only thing I could do was find a campsite and stop. Even if my leg took a couple of days to get better I would loose too much time, and chances were it would just get worse again, so my ideas of getting to Newquay on this trip looked dashed.

The road from the castle is long and steep and I set off for Tintagel, slowly. Elderly ladies and their husbands raced past me on the way to the top, it was embarrassing. Since I was going to be stopping I wanted a book to read and King Arthur's bookstore had a fine selection of Arthur's legends, magic, mystique, yoga and 'Travels with Boogie' which is a combination under the same cover of '500 mile walkies' and 'Boogie up the river' which I hadn't yet read. This meant I could at least read about walking the coastal path again even if I couldn't do it. I had given my dad his copy of '500 mile walkies' back. I asked the girl at the counter about campsites and she said there was one a few hundred yards on the left, ideal. I limped off to the campsite and booked in.

I set the tent up between two others where there was a gap. Just by the entrance to the campsite there were a couple of lads in a driveway tuning up a go-kart, and periodically they would race it down the road to the hotel and back. Presently an RAF helicopter came along and buzzed up and down the coast for about an hour, and when that went the boys started on their go kart again. I wasn't long after the boys stopped for a break before someone got the site tractor mower out and started doing the campsite. I could have had a quieter afternoon camped next to the M4 motorway. I read for a bit then limped off to have a look at Tintagel.

The locals have caught onto the King Arthur's theme without a shadow of a doubt, King Arthur's/Alms/Car park/gifts, Merlin's Cave/groceries etc. There was a sizable quota of good to rubbish 'gift' shops doing a roaring trade.

Next page, Day three, 15th September 97, Tintagel.

Previous page, Day one, 13th September 97, Newbury, Exeter, Bude.

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