There’s a meditative quality of walking in west Penwith that always heals me and fills me again. My walks this May were sometimes on my own, sometimes with a sister or two, sometimes with the whole gang. They were filled with wildflowers and big blue skies. The ocean churned beneath me, so far away downContinue reading “Walking”
Category Archives: Walks
Caer Bran to Sancreed
Another section of the family tour of ancient sites in West Penwith. It’s an easy walk from the road by Grumbla up to the Iron Age (800 BC – 410 AD) hill fort of Caer Bran. It’s not as easy making out the described two concentric lines of ramparts and their ditches and the interiorContinue reading “Caer Bran to Sancreed”
March
Early spring in West Penwith… some good walks and sunny days in between more unsettled wet weather. Saw some wonderful wildlife – soaring buzzards (Buteo buteo), kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), seals and oystercatchers, the peacock butterfly (Aglais io) and miner bees on dandelions. Did quite a bit at the flat, as well, including more plants andContinue reading “March”
Eight and a Half
I set off walking on a glorious Saturday morning through the village of Tregeseal in the Kenidjack valley and then up to Hailglower Farm and the moorland beyond. Views of St. Just – the Medieval parish church tower stands on the left, and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel on the right. The ocean beyond. I loveContinue reading “Eight and a Half”
Walking to Sennen
The coast path to Sennen makes its way along the edge of the ocean, rising to a clamber over rocks at Aire Point before dipping to the white sands of Gwynver Beach and Sennen Cove. From St. Just you can start this walk by heading to Cape Cornwall, or Carn Gloose and the Ballowall Barrow,Continue reading “Walking to Sennen”
Sennen Cove
Almost a mile of fine sand and a great spot for surfing. L described it as the most beautiful beach she’d seen outside of Hawaii – it’s the combination of the sweep of the sand, the colours of the water, the cliffs and rocks and sky. And you can get to Sennen Cove with aContinue reading “Sennen Cove”
Poldark Country
We walked north and west of St. Just this time, up through Botallack to the coast path and then south again to the Kenidjack Valley. These clifftops hold tight to the ruins of the 19th century copper and tin mining industry, with chimneys and towers rising into the sky and mine shafts striking deep intoContinue reading “Poldark Country”
Newlyn and Mousehole
My guess is that for quite a few centuries the villages of Newlyn and Mousehole (pronounced mowzel) would have looked and felt pretty similar. The 19th and 20th centuries brought change. Somehow Newlyn managed to hold on to its fishing industry and remains one of the largest fishing ports in England, whereas Mousehole lost manyContinue reading “Newlyn and Mousehole”
To the Supermarket
Sometimes you have to go to Sainsburys, or The Range, or H&M. Maybe you need Twiglets. The supermarkets are strung out along the main road to the east of Penzance with their car parks and bus stops and click and collect stations. Unlike most supermarkets I’ve ever been to in my life, these are accessibleContinue reading “To the Supermarket”
Tregeseal and Carn Kenidjack
More amazing weather, and me taking wrong turns on lanes into farmyards and alongside old streams. Bovine encounters. Ancient paths from St. Just down into the valley of Tregeseal, and then finally out onto the moor where gorse and heather and bracken lie below the scudding clouds. A kestrel hovering. The ancient stone circle, andContinue reading “Tregeseal and Carn Kenidjack”
Flat Two 