Distance: 11.03 miles
Time: 4 hour 38 minutes
We were now onto walk 7 of our Cornish Coast Path Challenge and we wanted to gain some miles, so planned to walk from Porthleven to Prussia Cove. But as with all adventures sometimes things go wrong. We started off on the Loe Bar side of Porthleven where there is a small car park on the cliff top. This is a free car park if you're a National Trust member, and if it is full there is another one about a 5/10 minute walk back towards the town. We packed a lunch for this (using our sustainable food wraps from The Cornish Highstreet of course) as we knew it was going to take a bit longer.
I'll be sharing tips from all our Cornish Coast path walks in a series of blog posts; check out our previous blog post all about our walk from Porscatho to St Antony. Or this one from Carbis Bay to St Ives.
The walk through Porthleven is amazing; it is such a quant village with so much history. It's a great place for a walk; whether you're wanting a relaxing stroll around the harbour or a cliff top hike, Porthleven is a great place to have as a starting/end point. There are some lovely shops selling treasures from Cornish creators, and some wonderful old pubs, where you can enjoy a pint in the sun overlooking the harbour. This cat was basking in the sunshine on the warm car.
Naturally the views are spectacular. I wouldn't expect anything less from a Cornish cliff top walk. There is something in particular about this stretch of the South Coast that I find amazing. From Perranuthnoe right the way round The Lizard there is a rugged sense of freedom from the ocean. The steep cliffs and crashing sea take you away from the bustle of the last village you passed through, making it feel as though there isn't another soul in the world. Despite the wild weather and swell, the sea is always a striking turquoise- so inviting on a summers day. I get this same feeling from the coast at Porthcurno right round to Zennor.
There are many up and downs on this cliff path and, surprise surprise, it had been muddy. My knee started to hurt almost immediately after setting off so I wasn't feeling too optimistic about this one. But then we came to a viewing point...
and this was the view back towards Porthleven- stunning! Every steep set of steps was worth it to see this view.
We carried on along the cliffs chattering about nothing and taking in all the scenery; the birds, the waves, the sea air and the occasional under the breath "hello" and socially distanced dash in the bushes to make way for other walkers (yay pandemic). On the way we saw this adorable little mouse who came to say hi!
By the time we got to Praa Sands my knee was not enjoying itself. I was having to do a very wonky walk to stop it hurting so felt that, due to the fact that this is a loooong challenge, it wouldn't be a great idea to have an injured knee! So we stopped at Praa Sands for a quick bite to eat before heading back to Porthleven.
We sat down on a bench looking out at all the keen surfers. The conditions were good and it was sunny so the shoreline was full of surfers dipping in and out of the waves. There was a helicopter flying overhead. As we ate and chatted, we noticed the helicopter circling the beach over and over and at one point we joked that it was coming right at us. Funny thing is it was! I captured this fab video of it landing in the field right next to us! It was very exciting to see one land that close.
Excitement over, we said hello to a dog and then psyched ourselves up to walk back. With the days still being quite short we had to pick up the pace to get back before dark, however my knee was not letting that happen! We arrived back in Porthleven at last light, watching the very last surfer jump out of the sea.
Top Tip: Give yourself time to explore Porthleven's shops, cafes and pubs. The Ship Inn has a wonderful beer garden decked into the cliff, making it feel like you're actually on a ship!
Picture 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and video- mine
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