I walked the first seven miles of this path at Easter and on returning to Tintagel I was looking forward to completing the whole stretch from Crackington Haven to Tintagel. The day was grey with a gusty wind and the promise of sunshine which never materialised. I disembarked the bus at the entrance to the bay at Crackington, wandered down to the sea, collected two interesting stones - one for my pot and one to throw into the water at Tintagel - reset my GPS and got underway.
The first climb 100m to Cambeak certainly wakes the legs and lungs up. Up, down then up again to the first peak where I stopped for five minutes to get my breath back and use my binoculars. From here I could see the headland of Tintagel far along the coast - probably less than eight or nine miles as the crow flies but much further thanks to the in-and-out, up-and-down nature of the cliffs. The next walk up to the nameless cliff at Trevigue past The Strangles beach is one of the toughest on the walk and had me puffing away once I finally got to the top. The view of the walk to High Cliff fills you with dread at just how long the path is but it's deceptive. Although it's long, the climb itself gets easier after the first two-thirds and you get to the top wondering what all the mental fuss was about.
I stopped again at High Cliff, which is almost in heaven for me. The highest cliff in Cornwall is very windy at 223m, or 734ft on the GPS, but a great spot for a refill and a moment to yourself.
The walk down off High Cliff is lovely, across a lower cliff then up, double-back and zig-zag your way up the steep cliff-side past Rusey Cliff. Coming down the other side, a cheery farmer was trying to encourage very resilient cows down the steep slopes to graze on better land. Around Buckator and up and around Beeny Cliff where I took the coastal path instead of the optional route. Last time I was here, the wind was so strong I opted for the optional track which kept away from perilous rocky edges and went across the fields towards Pentargon Falls. I was pleased to take the more difficult route this time as it kept faithfully to the edge of the cliff and seemed to make the walk more complete.
Up until the falls at Pentargon I'd not really felt any strain in my legs. The descent was fine - a couple stopping me to ask where I'd come from and where I was going. They said it was the best coastal path they'd ever done and they seemed experienced; when I told them that High Cliff was along the way they seemed elated that the best was yet to come. It was on the ascent from the waterfall towards Penally that my legs began to shout - a few dozen steep steps up the cliffside and me pushing on my thighs again to encourage them to work properly. I wandered along and sat on an outcrop overlooking Boscastle harbour for something to eat, a sociable blonde boy sat next to me waiting for his parents to come along and shared his experiences of the day.
After half an hour's rest I crossed the bridge over the outlet and walked along the quayside, past crabbing pots and small fishing boats and up the busy cliff past Willapark. This whole stretch to Tintagel is new path to me. It was considerably easier going than the first section but I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of particularly steep drops and climbs, the most memorable being the incredibly appropriately-named Rocky Valley which was, in a word, stunning. I'd like to come back at high tide to see the waves crashing along the rocks. After a brief stop, a steep climb past the headland at Bossiney and along the steady walking past Barras Nose. Finally, down to the beach at Tintagel Haven, heaving with visitors but with plenty of space on the beach to throw my Crackington stone into the sea and collect another one for my pot. I raced up the steep climb back into Tintagel town and up to treat myself to a diet cherry coke before heading home.
12.4 miles across some of the most incredible, hilly landscape I've witnessed. It could have been less windy, I was only slightly disappointed with the stretch between Boscastle and Tintagel, and a spot of sunshine would have been welcome, but otherwise it was the perfect walk. Having the sea to one side for the whole journey is beautiful and I'll try the walk in the opposite direction next time I visit to experience the climbs and descents in reverse. This is definitely my favourite walk and it'll probably be a long time before that changes. I hope to travel around the country a little more in the future and get some new walking under my belt. Watch this space!
A quick note: having plotted this route in software the total ascent for this walk was 1248m, 160m more than Snowdon! That's utterly brilliant!
New flowers and insects found: Common toadflax, white and red campion, wild basil, and a Sexton beetle pretending to be a bee.
