Friday 22 May 2026

Day 28 of walking
Coverack to Mawnan Smith
Distance: 22.21 km
Total distance: 566.28 km
Climbing: 668 m
Total climb: 18,374 m

What should have been a day of fun turned into a day of unexpected missed steps. This was supposed to be a 27km day and we decided this was too long so had researched a variation using a bus. Later in the day on arriving at Helford Passage instead of walking around the coast we could walk inland about 400 metres and get a bus to Mawnan Smith (a 5 minute bus ride) then a 15 minute walk along a country road and public footpath across a couple of fields to our hotel. Theoretically the hotel was in Mawnan Smith but it is actually in the countryside and a couple of kilometres away from the coast path. We were hoping to shorten the day by about 6km by using the bus. There was a bus every hour except for a gap between 2.10pm and 4.28pm.

We had an early breakfast at Fernleigh and were walking by 8.15am. The disadvantage in being the first on the path in the morning is that you get all the spiders’ webs in your face as you walk down the hedgerows. The weather was ideal for walking and it was easy for the first part around Lowland Point which is all of 5 metres above sea level. The path then goes through an abandoned quarry and turns inland to avoid a large working quarry on the coast. We were happily following the posts with the acorn signs and yellow arrows down quiet lanes and across fields when they just petered out. A bit confused we turned on the Macs App. This showed a different route that we were miles away from. We backed tracked to get onto the Macs route but it didn’t seem right so took a road to the coast at Porthhoustock. There we talked to a lovely lady who was a walker and knew the area well. She explained that the original ‘official’ route was the road we came down to Porthhoustock and then went around the coast to Porthollow. But that path had been damaged by storms and a new inland route, the Macs route, was devised. The coast route was now repaired and the Macs route was redundant. To complicate matters our Trailblazer Guide book (now 10 years old) had another slightly different route. The lovely lady put us right and restored our confidence but we were still two old people dazed and bewildered about what had gone awry.

Today there was one point of special significance to Coast Path walkers. At Porthallow is a large sculpture marking the halfway point on the South West Coast Path – it is 517km (315 miles) back to Minehead in Somerset and 517km (315 miles) forward to South Haven near Poole in Dorset. On one side of the sculpture is a list of flora and fauna that may be seen on the path, and on the other is a poem which commemorates the life of Porthallow and coastal Cornwall. We stopped here for a coffee break and of course had our photo taken.

A short walk further on was the obstacle of the inlet of Gillan Creek. One hour either side of low tide the creek can be forded. Otherwise you could take the path around the estuary, a walk of 45 minutes, or you could take the ferry. An enterprising boatman offers to ferry people across for £5 per person. He has a little dinghy with an outboard motor on the back. It is a seasonal operation and runs from sort of April to sort of October and depends on the tide. On the Gillan side of the creek is a little landing with a large folding square. Normally the square is folded in half and shows as black. If you want a ferry you unfold it so the it shows as an orange square to the boatman who is based on the other side of the creek. When he sees the orange square he putters across to pick you up. This worked a treat as we were only at the landing for a minute or two before he was on his way to pick us up. It is a crossing of only about 100 metres to St Anthony-in-Meneage on the far side which has a gift shop and another of those lovely country churches. The boatman required to be paid in cash and this is the first time we have used cash since we arrived in the UK just over a month ago.

After a quick look in the church we set out on the path but were soon stopped by a notice on the first gate. The path to Helford Village was closed due to fallen trees and root plates. We knew Cornwall had been hit by a cyclone a few months ago and many places, including St Michael’s Mount, had lost a lot of trees. This meant the path around the coast was closed but the notice had a coloured map showing an alternative inland route on roads to Helford Village on the bank of the Helford River. We took a photo of the map for reference and set out. It turned out to be a nice walk on a very quiet country road. Narrow, just one lane wide, and with high hedgerows either side, not a road we would usually like to walk on, but it was faster and easier walking than the coast would have been.

Helford Village across the Helford River to Helford Passage is another ferry ride, this time in a slightly bigger boat that had a partial cabin and is a more commercially run year-round operation. It is a longer crossing than Gillan Creek, cost £7 per person, and accepted card payment not just cash. This ferry had an orange disc system instead of a square and when we turned up the ferry was on its way to our side to deliver some passengers, so good timing there. We were at Helford Passage at about 3 o’clock and the bus, only 400 metres away, wasn’t due until 4.28. To fill in time we went into The Ferry Boat Inn and did another first for this trip. We bought a coffee! So far this trip we have had coffee at our accommodation and a flask coffee on the walk, so we can have it when and where we like. The don’t make a Long Black as we would know it in NZ. In the UK they make an Americano which is an upside down long black but only one shot and far too much water. We found you can order a double shot espresso with a little jug of hot water and get the nearest thing to a long black. Coffee here is also expensive, two double shot espressos are £7.50, which is about NZ$18.

The bus was on time and the walk to the Trelawne Hotel was easy but we didn’t arrive until 5pm which is late for us. This hotel is a bit upmarket from what we have become used to. Dinner was a quite formal affair with all the staff in white shirt/blouses and black trousers. The food was excellent and beautifully presented and for the record Barbara had roasted cod loin with sauté seasonal greens, sweet and sour capers and peppers and sauté potatoes. I had pan seared pork tenderloin with apple and celeriac remoulade, teryaki sauce and parmentier potatoes. Each came with vegetables: broccoli, carrot, beans, corn and something else.

So today had a lot going on, we are past the halfway mark, wandered around fields confused, two ferry rides, a closed path with diversion, used some cash, bought a coffee, a bus ride and being hopelessly underdressed for dinner. I didn’t bring a tie and Barbara didn’t bring her pearls.