8 miles walked today
1245 miles walked in total (10.462 average)
I left the caravan just after nine and was soon plodding through endless dunes and along Perran Beach, all of which played havoc with my calf muscles and bum cheeks. Who needs to join a gym when you can walk along Cornish beaches?
As I climbed up Ligger Point, I could hear the guns start to fire in the army camp and imagined I'd get sent back the way I'd come. However, there were no red flags flying and the signs all warned of live ranges and that I should keep to seaward of the red and white striped perimeter posts. I'm sure that, if I really wasn't meant to be walking there, someone would have rushed out and arrested me and put me in front of a court martial, or whatever it is the military do with stroppy walkers.
Holywell Beach was absolutely stunning and I dawdled somewhat as I trudged through yet more sand dunes to try and find the coast path. Signage today has left a lot to be desired. I'll say no more on the matter, except to record that a number of expletives were uttered.
The path over Kelsey Head and round the back of Porth Joke was nice and grassy and level - just how I like it! From West Pentire, the path started to go through sand dunes again, round the back of Crantock Beach and again the signs ran out - gggrrrrr! Still, it didn't take long to get down to beach level where I could cross the River Gannel. I'd checked yesterday that the ferry was still running and today is its last day. However, if the tide is too low for the ferry, you have to use the footbridge. This involved wading knee deep out to the bridge which was actually sitting in the water! As soon as I'd got over, the ferryman took up the bridge and started up the boat!
So it was a soggy squelch round the back of Fistral Beach and through the town to the railway station to meet Mum and Dad. There were far too many people in the town and I got quite aggravated until I changed from my boots into my sandals and went for a mooch myself. It makes such a difference in attitude, going from rambler to ambler. I don't mind people so much then.
So, that's the end of my week. I now have to make some very serious decisions. After my redundancy notice, is my job worth worrying about any more? Do I ask for four months' unpaid leave to go walking/ travelling? This was what I'd originally planned to ask on return from my holiday, but things look slightly different now in view of the work situation. Next time I come down here, will it be for a fortnight's holiday or will it be a longer sabbatical? Those people who know me well know how influential Andy is in anything I do - I'm finding it harder to think what to do and I wish he was here for encouragement and support. I need to do some serious thinking.
I've had an excellent week - I've got to the destination I'd already planned to reach. I haven't overstretched myself and I've really enjoyed the slower, less stressful, pace. Perhaps I ought to plan less generally - once the pressures of huge mileages disappear, everything becomes more fun.
So, bye bye Cornwall. Next time I'll be back, hopefully it will be for longer than a two week stretch. If work say no to my request, I may just tell them to poke their job.
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