Pendeen Watch to Lands End

19 September 2009 - Pendeen Watch to Lands End

Distance - 11 miles

Weather - Sunny

We stayed at - Mount Royal Hotel, Chyandour Cliff, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 3LQ Cost - £80.00

We walked back from Lower Boscaswell to rejoin the SWCP just after Pendeen Watch. The landscape in front of us, around Trewellard Zawn, was full of the evidence of the former tin mining industry, in the form of old chimneys, engine houses and winding gear. In fact nearby Geevor tin mine only closed in 1990.

Our other excitement for the day was when we looked back at the view, we spotted a life boat just offshore from Pendeen Watch. I'm pleased to say we thought it was just a practice, as we saw no other craft or people in obvious distress.

This part of the coast path seemed steeped in history, sometimes quite recent such as the chimneys and engine houses perched attractively on the cliff belonging to Old Crowns mine, whilst at other times quite ancient, like the Iron age fortification and old ruins at Kenidjack.

Eventually we came across Cape Cornwall, instantly recognisable by its landmark chimney. We ventured down to the car park to make use of the facilities and grab some refreshments. Shortly after this the path climbed steeply uphill, where we paused for a moment to watch a sparrowhawk swoop on some prey and to view some almost ethereal-looking stones on the beach down below. At Aire Point, the tide was out so we played on the beach, jumping across the big boulders, until it turned and we were forced back onto dry land. After an obligatory ice cream at Sennen Cove, we joined the SWCP again to walk the last few miles to Lands End.

It was a lovely day and lots of people seemed to have left their cars in the car park at Sennen Cove to do exactly the same thing as us, as the well-trodden track was thronged with people. Lands End itself was exactly the same, very crowded, with people queuing to have their picture taken by the "official" sign post. Having seen the rip-off price, Alistair & I decided to forgo both the queues and the lifetime opportunity picture. We put our camera on a walking pole and took an automatic shot of ourselves in front of the first and last refreshment shop in England. A really kind bloke, saw us doing this and offered to take a picture of us both in front of the famous flagpole and lighthouse. We didn't feel like hanging around Lands End and so we walked down the road, through the theme park and caught the bus to Penzance. It felt really odd to be in a vehicle after a fortnight's walking. On arrival, we checked into our hotel, then went out to explore the town. We found an unusual pub, full of pirate related material where we had our tea.

The next day we caught the 08:37 from Penzance to London Kings Cross, arriving at 14:29. We then caught the 16:00 train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh arriving at 20:35. Our last train from Edinburgh to Stirling departed at 21:35 and got us into Stirling for 22:40. A final cab ride got us back home just before 23:00. It had been a long journey, but I couldn't wait for the Spring and to set off from Barnstaple on our next leg of our LEJOG!

Cost of train travel for two adults: -
Penzance to London Kings Cross - £43.00
London Kings Cross to Edinburgh - £98.00