Coastwalk , South West Coast Path

Newquay → Perranporth

Distance: 10.5 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration:

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It turns out that on this walk, the good thing about Newquay is leaving it. While I stand by my previous opinion of the town centre as somewhere best avoided, the west side of the town has some really charming moments.

Chief amongst those was crossing the Gannel estuary. We chose the most downstream point to cross: the Fern Pit Café. It's on private land, but freely accessible. The path leads past the café itself, then zig-zags down through a beautiful garden with an alpine feel to the river. At the river a tidal bridge offers free passage to Crantock Beach and a ferry runs when the bridge is submerged. Looking back at the path by which we had descended the headland, the beauty of the setting is unmistakable. This is a place to return to.

After the Gannel, Crantock, Porth Joke and Holywell: three beaches linked by cliff-top paths lined with bracken. Beyond Holywell, a beach that put the others to shame. Perran Beach is wide and long. Since the tide was low we walked its length on the soft sand as light aircraft from the nearby aerodrome buzzed overhead.

At the northern extremity we found the pattern of a labyrinth marked out in the sand, hoping to be walked before the tide wiped it clean. At the southern end of the beach we crossed the river in Perranporth by stepping stones and paddling: the stones only reached halfway across.

From our B&B window tonight we look straight down the beach back towards Newquay. It's a stunning view, a fitting end to the day.