Friday 8 May 2026

Day 18 of walking
Portcothan to Newquay
Distance: 17.00km
Total distance: 336.18km
Climbing: 441m
Total climb: 10,992m

For breakfast this morning we thought we would have a rest from eggs, bacon, hash brown, tomato etc. Instead we chose a Pancake Fruit Stack: American style pancakes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, Greek Yoghurt, “maple flavoured” syrup and mixed nuts. Except they missed the good part, the mixed nuts. This choice turned out to be not a good one. It was probably about 90% refined carbohydrate. This gives you a sugar high then collapse. Not a good idea when you are walking all day.

Breakfast was from 7.30am so we took advantage of that but our taxi pick up wasn’t until 9.30. Right on time it turned up with a different male driver and our two young German friends from yesterday already on board. The driver was very chatty and at one point we asked him what the low tide time was as we have to cross a river tomorrow. He said he didn’t know but dived into his phone which was on a bracket on the dash board. Driving one handed at full speed on twisting country roads he was tap tapping with his other hand to find tide tables. We were thinking Yikes! Isn’t this illegal back home? Fortunately he found them quickly and got both hands back on the wheel and his eyes back on the road ahead.

We didn’t get to start walking from Porthcothan until 10am and shortly after on the first little hill we both hit the wall and “bonked out”. Absolutely no energy. We stopped, had a Ryvita biscuit with aged cheddar and a handful of mixed nuts and after a while were back to our usual energy levels. I wasn’t as bad as Barbara as my metabolism doesn’t have the same insulin reaction as hers.

Today was another relatively easy day. No headlands of any great height but lots of cliff walking interspersed with attractive sandy beaches. The cliff walking was flat and on the ideal walking surface, short, dry, soft grass with no cow pats. The sea water was absolutely crystal clear and you could clearly see the sea bed. Many of the beaches are tiny with no access from the Coast Path. The only way of getting to them is by boat or maybe abseiling down a cliff.

There were also large beaches at Mawgan Porth and Watergate Beach. These are your full on beach resorts with all the usual life guards, surf schools, cafes, bars, hotels, car parks (you always have to pay) and toilets (you usually have to pay). This morning the kind lady running breakfast broke a 5 pound note down into 50 and 20 pence coins for us so we are now well prepared.

At Carnewas we were actually able to recognise an iron age fort before coming to the National Trust Information Centre, shop, café and car park. Usually we walk all over iron age forts without knowing it because they are now just lumps in the grass or covered in gorse. Just before the Carnewas fort are the Bedruthan Steps, these are massive stacks of rock on a beautiful beach.

Yesterday on leaving Padstow we caught up to a couple from Bribie Island Brisbane. They are here for a week walking Padstow to St Ives, so it was their first day. We met them again today, and maybe we will see them all week. They are good fun and like a bit of banter. All of our friends from the first two weeks are ahead of us, or behind us, or have gone home. We don’t meet many people doing the entire Coast Path but we meet lots doing a day walk or maybe up to a week. Parts of the path are quite busy but only for 2 kilometres either side of a car park, and all the walkers will have a dog.

Tonight we are back at The Great Western Hotel in Newquay. This town is known as a destination for stag nights and hen parties. When we were here last there were groups of young people in outrageous attire staggering through the town. Tonight is Friday night so we will wait and see.

For those who are only interested in the food, we ate at the hotel tonight. Cauliflower soup and pizza of goat’s cheese, caramelised onion chutney, spinach and cheese.