Newquay to Perranporth, 17.5 km, 579 metres of climbing

‘If we are facing in the right direction all we have to do is keep walking’. Buddhist proverb

The thunder and lightning and rain continued last night but by this morning it was long gone.

We often find it hard to find our way out of towns and back onto the Coast Path. Newquay was no exception and we wasted a bit of time and did some extra distance getting through the centre of town. The small subtle acorn signs of the Coast Path either just disappear or are overwhelmed by the proliferation of advertising, bill boards, road signs, traffic lights etc. And we are distracted by traffic, crossing roads etc. In Spain they did it much better with scallop camino signs set into the pavement.

On the way out of town we came to the Huer’s Hut on Towan Head. This is a small white painted stone building with a disproportionately large chimney. Named after the Huer, an important figure in the pilchard fishing industry that once thrived in Newquay. The Huer would watch out from his high vantage point for the shoals of fish to arrive and then call out to the town ‘Heva, Heva’. Immediately the seine boats with their long nets would be launched but they had to rely on the Huer for directions. Holding ‘Furze Bushes’ in his hands the Huer would direct the boats first to locate and then surround the fish. Some sources put the origin of the hut as early as the 14^th century but most of the hut today is 19^th century.

Leaving Newquay we had to cross the Gannel River and wanted to take the shortest route. We knew it would be low tide and the Fern Pit ferry would not be running but at the ferry jetty there was a footbridge just long enough to get you across at low water. From there it was an easy walk across the exposed sand.

The theme for today’s walk was sand – both in the form of dunes and beaches. There were also headlands with superb views but at the end of the day we were emptying sand from our shoes. There was a succession of beautiful beaches: Fistral Beach, Crantock Beach, Holywell Beach, and the longest of them all Perran Beach. For the first three the path went behind the beaches in sand dunes and as anyone who has walked up and down sand dunes knows, this is hard going as there is nothing solid to put your foot on, just deep, soft sand sliding either forwards or backwards.

At Perran Beach we could get down on the firm sand and it was very easy going for a couple of miles into Perranporth. Our wonderful accommodation at The Red Fox Inn is about 2 miles inland from the coast and we were a bit confused getting out of a packed Perranporth absolutely teeming with thousands of holiday makers. Once we sorted ourselves out it was a very nice walk along quiet farm lanes among farm houses and meadows, away from the coast.

For lunch we stopped at the St Piran’s Inn at Holywell Bay. They had lots of sayings printed on the roof beams. One that caught my eye was ‘Never rub another man’s rhubarb’. I hadn’t heard this before but it comes from the first Batman movie in 1989. The Joker (Jack Nicholson) says to Batman ‘What you took her out last night? Never rub another man’s rhubarb’, I.e. don’t mess with another man’s girl.

Part of the walk today was past the heavily fenced scattered installations of Penhale Camp, a Ministry of Defence property. You imagine you are being watched as you pass concrete barracks, communication masts and signs saying ‘Do not touch any military debris. It may explode and kill you’. Our trip notes also said don’t go past red flags, they indicate firing practice.