Saturday 9 May 2026

Day 18 of walking

Newquay to Perranporth
Distance: 25.16km
Total distance: 361.34km
Climbing: 579m
Total climb: 11,571m

Today should have been about a 17km day but ended up being 25.16km when all the extras were added on. There were four of these. Firstly The Great Western Hotel was near the entry to Newquay so there were some extra kms to get onto the start of this section of the Coast Path. Secondly it is always more difficult following the path through cities and large towns. We were doing okay until the path was closed above Newquay Harbour and there were no signs indicating an alternative route. Our Macs App just had the washed out route. We followed our instincts which were sort of okay and got us back on the path at Fistral Sands which was way past the Huer’s Hut (more on that later) that we wanted to see. So some back tracking there. Thirdly at the crossing of the Gannel river it was high tide so extra kms were added there, more on that later. Finally The St George’s Hotel is a few kms past the end of this section in Perranporth and also inland about a kilometer. So what should have been a cruisy day turned into a frustratingly long one.

The Huer’s Hut is a little white building on a headland just outside Newquay. It dates from the 14^th century and was used as a look-out by a huer. At the time of the year when shoals of pilchards were expected in the bay a call on his horn raised a hue and cry alerting the townsfolk to the arrival of the fish. By means of hand signals the huer enabled the fishermen to position their boats and encircle the shoals with their nets. Prior to its use by the huer this hut may have been a hermitage, the hermit being entrusted with lighting the beacon fire for the guidance of shipping.

After Newquay is Fistral Beach, the premier surfing beach in the UK where international competitions are held. Not good surf today though. We enjoyed a walk along the beach avoiding the sand dunes. After the beach is the obstacle of crossing the tidal Gannel River. There are four options depending on the time of year and the tide. From mid-May to September there is a ferry service that crosses on the high tide. It starts service next week! There is also a “low tide bridge” at the ferry and one hour either side of low tide the bridge can be crossed, otherwise it is underwater. Further up the river is the “high tide bridge”. It is underwater at high tide but is exposed up to about an hour before or after high tide. Lastly you can walk even further inland to cross at a road bridge that is always crossable.

Our timing was abysmal. We arrived at the river at 10.30 and high tide today was 10.38. The “low tide bridge” couldn’t be seen under the water so we walked up to the “high tide bridge”. It also was underwater. We spoke to a few very helpful locals who said the tide dropped very quickly on the Gannel River and it was better to wait at the “high tide bridge” for the water to recede than to walk on to the road bridge. We settled down on the river bank and had our coffee break there talking to more friendly locals. After 45 minutes the water level had dropped significantly and so we decided to take off our shoes and socks and wade across on the submerged bridge. It was all fun and a nice little adventure for us. Our hot feet absolutely loved being freed from their shoes and being in the cold refreshing water.

Today was much like yesterday, walking over low headlands separating sandy beaches, each larger than its predecessor. Fistral, Crantock, Hollywell and the mother of them all Perran Beach. The tide was now on its way out so we could walk along the beaches, much easier than walking in the sandhills. Before leaving home we had watched a series of Youtube videos by Simon and Elaine who were walking each section of the Coast Path. At Hollywell Beach they had raved about a cave, sometimes called St Cuthbert’s Well. It is only accessible at low tide and as the tide was going out we went and found it at the far opposite end of the beach. It was tiny and frankly underwhelming. It did have beautiful natural colours in the stone, greens, yellows, reds, oranges, blues. Worth a long walk to the end of the beach and back, not so sure.

Perran Beach is 3½ kilometres of golden sand bordered at first by dunes and later rugged black cliffs and caves. Another very popular seaside town and was buzzing on a Saturday afternoon. Such a change from the wild and desolate coast we had been on and we couldn’t wait to get out of there. First we had to buy something for dinner as the St George’s Hotel is about a further 2 km along the Coast Path and 1 km inland and except for breakfast has no dining, just a bar. There is a sign in our room saying PLEASE NOTE THAT TAKE AWAY FOODS CANNOT BE CONSUMED ON THE PREMISES. So no photos of our food tonight just in case they are used in evidence against us.