In my opinion, she was spot on in both the distance and the severity. When I walked from St Austell to Mevagissey, seven years earlier I noted it was a strenuous section of coastal walking.

The coastal path doesn't change overmuch and it is still a strenuous section. In fact is seemed even more strenuous but that may be a function of being 7 years older

Despite the grading and an alternative shorter and easier walk on the list up on Dartmoor at Pork Hill, we still managed to have a dozen keen walkers congregating at the car park ready for the off on Sunday 27th June 2004.

Our numbers included 3 prospective new members of the Ramblers Association, walking with us for the first time; they certainly had chosen a good walk for their first outing.

The UK weather was reasonably benign on the day with long sunny intervals, the previous day had been absolutely abysmal so we had been very lucky.

An outline map of the route is shown to the right.

To follow the route properly, particularly on the return leg which took us through many fields then you should relate this route to a 1:25000 map of the area such the OS explorer map no 105 which includes St Austell and south down to beyond Falmouth.

Any photograph with a border around can be enlarged by clicking on the image. To return to the walk description click the BACK button.

At 10.30 AM we left the pay and display car park (£2 all day when we used it) at Charlestown and made our way down by the old harbour, once owned by Charles Rashleigh, as I found out from a plaque on a high point nearby.

These days it still remains in private hands but it is now more of a tourist attaraction with old schooners in the harbour which regularly venture out with paying guests on board.

Just by the pub at the harbour entrance we turned right onto the coastal path, very clearly signposted from the harbour.

The coastline from Charlestown to Pentewan runs more or less due south apart from a blip to the east from Gerrans Point to Black Head.

Just to remind us that there were plenty of ups and downs on this walk we were soon climbing up to a local high point overlooking the harbour.

We soon began to enjoy good views out to see although there were plenty of trees as well from time to time to obscure the views.

Very soon we passed by an old wall looking like a mini fort. It turned out that this was in fact a private gun battery built under the instructions of Rashleigh to guard his harbour.

Beyond the battery we passed by the back of several houses and the map indicated we were walking by Duporth and above Duporth Beach. This beach remained virtually invisible to us.

The ground rose a little as we passed another small headland and then came the first major descent of the day, a steep drop down to Porth Pean beach, aided by plenty of concrete steps.

As we descended, we had great views of the beach and of the sailing dinghies being launched from the sailing club at Lower Porthpean.

The sun was shining nicely as we stopped here for our morning coffee break sitting on the sea defences and path across the beach, immediately above it.

There is a toilet above this beach, the last one encountered until we reached Pentewan.

Not surprisingly, since we were at sea level, we climbed up and away from the beach, soon back onto the rough coastal path again, just beyond the sailing club.

After a steepish climb we were walking along field edges just above the cliffs off to our left. For a few hundred metres the going was relatively easy but all that was about to change.

We descended again and then came a very steep nip up and above Phoebe's Point. Once at the top we had another steep descent immediately followed an even steeper ascent.

This section was a real switchback of ups and downs and a good test of fitness for coastal walking along the SWCP. No wonder the section is graded in the SWCP books as strenuous.

Both the ups and downs in this area were stepped as the terrain was too steep to traverse without steps to help us.

The map indicated that we were in the vicinity of Gwendra Point and the farmers in this area, aided no doubt the SWCP Association had constrained the track with fencing on the landward side.

We followed virtually every in and out of the coastline as we made our way along.

At one point we emerged out on a country lane which led down to Trenarren, we were only on the lane for a few metres before we turned off it to pick up the enclosed footpaths again running so close to the sea below.

The ups and downs continued as the footpath led is through Ropehaven Cliffs Nature reserve and on by Gerrans Point.

Ahead of we could see Black Head Point with an old Hill Fort defensive position shown on the map. We meandered our way towards the Point until we came to a footpath junction by a large stone memorial to a Cornish historian and poet.

At that point Julie offered us the option of a quick there and back out to Black Head, about 200 metres further on, or to swing right to follow the coast path back north west and down to a beach for our lunch break.

Three of the group made their way out to the old hill fort at Black Head, one acted as bag minder whilst the rest headed north west, attracted by the thought of lunch on the beach and the chance to rest the limbs.

Those who had visited the headland raised the walking pace a notch or two in an attempt to catch up the rest of the group before they reached the lunch break point at the beach just below Hallane Mill.

As we approached lunch break on the beach we could see the beach below us with a brook making a little waterfall as it tumbled down onto the beach.

The cliff just beyond the beach looked very high, surely we would not be going to the top of that cliff. Wrong again, it was graded as strenuous and Julie was not taking any short cuts.

To get down to the beach we initially headed in land a little and then a sharp turn left and through a gate marked as Hallane Mill and down to a junction in the path just before the old mill building.

The coast path veered right but we continued down with the old mill, now a cottage incidentally, on our right hand side.

After a nice short sharp descent we were down on the stony beach for a waterside lunch break and well earned rest. All too short since after 20 minutes we were on our way again.

The next climb served to remind us that our rest was just a temporary lapse. Leaving the beach we regained the coastal path, initially up through a wooded valley but then we came to a footbridge over the stream and we departed the valley path and began our ascent up through the woods to the top of the cliff we could see as we took lunch. Steps, yes there were a few!!

At the top of the cliff along the coastal path then the next stage was down again as the path closely followed the line of the coast as it rose and fall. We made our way stteeply down across another stream and up again heading generally south west towards Pentewan Sands and the holiday camp site immediately behind the beach. At various high points the beach came into view and as we passed Polrudden Cove so the views of the Pentewan improved.

Beyond Gamas Point we were looking directly down on the beach and the masses of caravans.

The coast path emerged out onto a concrete road and we made our way past Pentewan Church and some strange looking cottages. Once this terrace of houses might once have been a retreat linked with the church, they had that sort of look about them.

Further along the level (ish) road by the houses, we emerged out onto a narrow road leading right down to Pentewan Sands.

Our route didn't take us down into Pentewan. Instead we turned right to start the inland section of our return to Charlestown.

Not all roads are level or easy going. On the 1:25000 map the road we took has a double chevron pointing down, we were heading in the opposite direction, now what does that mean???? We sound found out, a very steep road and we headed up and up the narrow lane, stopping as cars went up and down. After about half a mile we reached the top and made our way along a relatively level section for about 500 m looking for the footpath off to our right.

Although the coast path is well signposted it is not always the case that inland footpaths are similarly signed. Where Julie told us to turn off the road through a gate there was absolutely no indication that it was a path. No wonder there is little indication of a track across the field, very few people know where it is!!

We made our way across the field to a hedge just beyond a house. There was a discernable path at this point which we followed downhill and so into a valley with a very wet area to traverse. I imagined this to be the Spring shown on the 1:25000. Beyond the wet area is was a case of following the path down along the valley. The area had a very strange name, Hydraulic Ram, on the 1:25000 map. I wondered why it merited that name, more research needed.

Thanks to 'Ask Jeeves' I've found out that a hydraulic ram is a mechanical device used to pump a quantity of water from a lower level to a higher level. It was invented two hundred years ago and is still in use in some undeveloped countries. I imagine it was used to raise water from the stream in the valley up to the Trenarren area we pass by a little later on this walk.

As we walked down through the wooded valley with the stream, we passed the wooden footbridge we had crossed over just after lunch and we made our way down to Hallane Mill again.

No visit to the beach this time. We turned left and started yet another climb up, now heading due north. We were still in the woods and going uphill again. Shortly after passing a donkey in a field we came out onto a very narrow country lane. Back on tarmac again for another section of road walking.

The hamlet we were walking through was Trenarren and there were some lovely old properties in the area. Further off to the left we could see the remains of what once had been a fairly substantial property, now derelict. Obviously this area had been industrial at some time in its past.

My guess is that the hyraulic ram was used to raise the water up from the stream to operate some equipment at this point

We continued to walk uphill passing by spots we had briefly walked along during the morning. This time we continued uphill along the road, briefly sheltering by a small car park above Trenarren to put our wet weather gear on for the first, and as it turned out, the only shower of the day.

Just beyond where the road bends sharply to the left, we made our way into a field following a signed right of way and made our way through a variety of fields, some grass, some corn. We were now heading north again and the grass and corn was very wet after the shower which had stopped again by the time we left the road.

I noticed the map indicated Castle Gotha off to our left although I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary from the path we were on.

We came to a narrow road leading down to an old house, shown on the map as Castle Gotha, named after the historic monument a few hundred metres to the west.

We crossed the narrow lane and made our way across a field of corn descending again as we headed north east back down towards the coast path we had walked along during the morning.

The views from above the coast path were again spectacular looking out to sea and north along the coast and we stopped for a few minutes to savour the views and to rest before the final section retracing our steps up and down along the coast path to return to Charlestown.

We descended down to Porth Pean beach by the sailing club.

No boats were out this time so straight across the path at the top of the beach and then up several dozen concrete steps up and across Carrickowel Point and along the wooded section of coastline above Duporth Beach, with the house gardens immediately behind the coast path.

After another slight incline, we were by the old gun battery once again and the end was in sight, literally!!.

There is a newly erected plaque describing the history of the battery and why it had been built, obviously Charlestown needed protection against the pirates all those years ago.

We made our way down the fairly steep and slippery path (after the shower) from the battery down again to Charlestown and the old harbour.

It was now 4.15 PM and we had been walking for approaching six hours, just a slight uphill to end with to return to the car park and the cars for some of us.

For Julie and many of the ladies it was the traditional cup of tea and doubtless cornish jam and cream scones to end the walk. I fought off the temptation to visit the nearest pub since I was tired enough and a pint to end the walk might well have been my undoing.

It had been a hard walk, certainly, it had been graded as strenuous and upon reflection it was one of the most strenuous 10 mile walks I had done in a long time.

The strange thing about the walk was that the highest point of the whole walk was only 340 feet so why was it so strenuous?

Thanks Julie! Pork Hill must indeed have been very tame in comparison!