Coastwalk , South West Coast Path

East Looe → Portwrinkle

Distance: 8.26 miles
Ascent: 649 metres
Duration: 3 hours 28 minutes

Undulating
« Polperro | Plymouth »

Here's a surprise: we're in Cornwall. It seems a bit of a long way to go for the weekend, but the gorgeous weather, fresh breeze and stunning cliff top walks are well worth it.

The goal of this weekend is to complete our remaining gap in the Cornwall South Coast Path. All being well, tomorrow we'll cross the Tamar into Plymouth.

Starting at Looe lifeboat station we didn't take the signed coast path, which rises by road from the town centre, but instead took the zig zag path up behind the cafe on East Looe beach.

Looe is under construction. Or rather, the modern holiday home part of the town is. It seemed as if every other plot of land was half built, with luxury villas - far beyond the financial reach of the locals - rising from the ground. Somehow, all of this building seemed wrong.

Notices posted along the sea wall at Seaton do their best to discourage walkers from taking the beach route, instead offering the road through Downderry as an alternative. We took the beach, and would recommend it although at high tide it may be impassable.

The remainder of the day was along undulating cliff paths, through woodland and along field boundaries. Take note of the word "undulating": there was significantly more ascent and descent here than was readily discernible from the map.

The Gook cafe at Portwrinkle provided a welcome cup of tea after this tiring afternoon's walk. It also provided a moment of excitement as we noticed in the adjacent car park a litter bin which appeared to be on fire. Someone had discarded a smouldering barbeque, which in turn was heating up the contents of the bin. I doused it with what remained of my day's water.

We stopped just east of the village, at the top of the next climb. Here a path runs inland to a point on the road between Portwrinkle and Crafthole, where we're spending the night. This should spare us a steep ascent first thing tomorrow morning.