Monday 18 May 2026

Day 25 of walking
Penzance to Porthleven
Distance: 18.81km
Total distance: 500.90km
Climbing: 584m
Total climb: 16,272m

Today we took a bus. From our hotel in Penzance, 4.5km to Marazion. Our purpose was to make the walk today an hour shorter. 12mm of rain was forecast from 3pm so we wanted to ensure we got to our destination Porthleven before then. The walk from Penzance to Marazion is dead flat on the top of a paved sea wall. The beach on your right and the Great Western Railway, Penzance to Piccadilly London, railway line on your left. It also goes through some commercial and industrial estates so not the most interesting of walks. We didn’t actually save an hour because we had to wait 15 minutes for the bus and then it took 15 minutes to get to Marazion, so a half hour saved but we did start fresh from Marazion.

We rationalised this by thinking in the last 24 days we have walked 482.1kms. The South West Coast Path Association have the distance as 439.9kms, so we have walked an additional 42.2kms. Spread over 24 days this is an extra 1.8km per day. This is due to diversions because of path closures, getting to and from our accommodation from the path, and us getting lost. We reckon we can give away some of our additional 42.2km walked by sometimes getting the bus.

When we went down to breakfast there was light drizzly rain in Penzance and it was pretty bleak. By the time we checked out the rain had stopped, but on the bus to Marazion it started again and it continued for about the first kilometre of walking. From then the weather improved all day with just the occasional spots of rain and we got to Porthleven dry at 2.30pm before the forecast rain. It has now been raining lightly since about 4pm.

We discovered a new hazard today. Sometimes the path is very narrow and on the right side is a cliff or hedge. On the left side is a 5 strand barbed wire fence with each strand having barbs at 100mm centres. Today in places it was often windy and sudden strong gusts would push you off balance. I had been saying to myself a mantra: don’t grab the fence, don’t grab the fence, don’t grab the fence. But then if the wind does make you trip, stumble or fall maybe a gashed hand is better than a sprained ankle or twisted knee. The hand may have to be sacrificed for the greater good of being able to continue to walk. Then there are the single wire fences that separate you from the cows in a paddock. Every now and then there is a little tag on the fence that says Beware Electric Fence.

Macs Adventure let us down today. We were booked into The Artist Loft in Porthleven. We knew this was Airbnb type self-contained accommodation and there would be no one to check us in and we would need to collect the key from a key safe. The address was in Fore St above Stargazy Gift Shop and Nosebag Café. We went up and down Fore St looking for these shops but couldn’t find them. Eventually we saw a high level sign for The Artist Loft but it was above Just Lily Gift Shop and the Twisted Currant Tearooms. The previous shop and café were long gone. Our instructions were to go to the rear of the building, up some stairs and there would be a wooden cupboard opposite the front door. Inside the cupboard would be a lock box and our access code to it was XXXX. We thought this was a bit odd as lock boxes usually have a numerical code. Inside the wooden cupboard was not one, but five lock boxes and each had a name: Tregonning, Saltcellar, Harbour View, Penrose and Loe Bar. We were now totally confused. Luckily a very obliging young man, Robin, turned up. He was a sort of property manager for the building and thought the information Macs had given us was non-sensical. He was able to phone the travel company who managed the letting of the accommodation. They had a record of our booking, room name and numerical code to get the key from the lock box. So that all turned out well thanks to Robin. Strangely our bags were in the room so the luggage transfer company knew what room we were in and how to get the key.

It was a fairly easy walk today starting by walking along the edge of Mount’s Bay dominated by the iconic sight of St Michael’s Mount. Due to the rain it was not at its magnificent best today. We spent a wonderful day out there in 2018 so did not have a visit included this time. Mount’s Bay was left behind and after low cliff walking Praa Sands (pronounced “pray” locally) was crossed partly on the beach and partly on a sealed road above the dunes. We walked through an area of old mine workings with several engine houses and chimneys. The Wheel Prosper Tin Mine and the Trewavas Copper Mine. The last section was the hardest of the day with climbing and descending on a rugged path and a strong wind.

We are in Porthleven, another lovely Cornish village by the sea. It has a harbour built by prisoners from the Napoleonic wars as manpower. It was once a busy pilchard fishing port but today its prosperity depends on tourism.

The Artist Loft does not serve breakfast so for the only time on this trip we have to fend for ourselves in the morning. None of the cafes and tearooms open early enough for us so we purchased some supplies at the local grocer and will eat in our room. Tonight we went out to the traditional old Harbour Inn for a meal. For those who want to know: steak, beef shin and tribute (beer) pie, gratin potato, buttered carrots, beans and broccoli, red wine gravy.