GRID REFERENCE: 173 518
Trish and Mitch had introduced innovation into the planning for this walk along this beautiful section of the South West Coastal Path by offering two start points, one from the National Trust car park at Lansallos for a 9.5 mile walk and a slightly shorter walk starting from Frogmore NT car park (GR 159 519) for a 7 mile variant. It was good thinking on their part since some ramblers prefer the slightly shorter walks.
About 20 of us gathered at Lansallos for a 10.15 AM start and we met the 17 or so from Frogmore on the coast at about 11 AM.
The simple map below shows the two starting points and the approximate routes.
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Once again it was a lovely morning with plenty of sunshine and quite warm. We left the car park spot on time and walked down past Lansallos Church and followed a track south which soon brought us down to a little cove on the coastal path. This had only a small beach and we were soon making our way along the coastal path westwards towards Polruan. Lantivet Bay has a few of these small beaches and coves as we could see from the coastal path.
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There were a few stiles to climb on the walk and these always serve to spread the group out. It was not difficult walking as we passed above some excellent beaches below us. The visibility was excellent and we could see for many miles in either direction.
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There were splendid curved beaches with narrow paths leading down to them which we skirted. From a high vantage point looking east we could see as far as Bigbury Bay and Bolt Tail and to the west as far down as the Manacles and the Lizard about 12 miles beyond Falmouth. A breeze was building and there were lots of boats on passage from Fowey to Plymouth and beyond. Rame Head looking really close, yet it was at least 15 miles away.
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We took our morning coffee break at about 11 AM and sure enough the group from Frogmore appeared right on cue. The group, now doubled in size was soon on its way as the coastal path stretched out in front of us. It was relatively easy going along this section as compared with some sections we have walked there were no huge ascents or descents for the section in view
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We soon reached a prominent headland. There were excellent views from Pencarrow Head and Joan can be seen trying to find out just what headlands we could see on either side of us. The fog we had seen as we drove across the Tamar Bridge at 9.15 AM had certainly cleared quickly. Following the headland spotting event, we turned north to follow the sweep of the coastal path around the enticing Lantic Bay Beach. |
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None of us ventured down the path to the beach however and we all maintained the high ground. I have memories of the 300 ft climb from the beach back to the coast path a few years ago and wasn't too keen to repeat the performance. There was a very steep descent as we followed the curve of the Lantic Bay beach and then climbed up to Blackbottle Rock and good views the the Gribben across the bay.
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We followed the coast path and we were soon on the outskirts of Polruan with good views of the entrance to this very popular boating harbour and to Moneypenny beach on the Fowey side of the bay. There were lots of boats out in the bay enjoying the increasingly fresh breeze. As many have found out the entrance to this sheltered harbour can get very choppy and indeed rough at certain times of the tide in windy conditions. Those who suffer from mal de mer please note!!!
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Daphne Du Maurier had lived down here for many years and had penned some of her best known books inspired by the beauty of the area. As we made our way down into Polruan we had splendid views of Fowey and of plethora of boats nestling in this deep water natural harbour. We made our way down to the harbour and had our lunch right down by the water.
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Although the wind had risen during the morning Polruan was very sheltered and we had a pleasant half an hour break watching the activities on the water. The little foot passenger ferry was doing a very steady trade as it carried passengers to and fro across the river. After lunch and a sneaky ice cream for Joy and me, who succombed later, we were soon making our way up a steep path up out of the village and following the Pont Pill inlet on our left hand side.
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With the narrow path and steepish uphill climb we managed to spread out quite well. We normally finish lunch with a good uphill section and todays walk was no different in this respect It was amusing (to me anyway) to see smaller groups of walkers who were approaching from the opposite direction, giving way to this long crocodile of chattering walkers, wondering just when the crocodile would end.
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We were soon back on tarmac as we made our way up past Churchdown Farm and a church on our left hand side. Continuing our climb up through a narrow lane we met the 'main road' at Triggabrowne car park, the nearest car park to Lantic Bay which we had walked by some 2 hrs or more before. The group followed this road east for a mile or so and we were at the Frogmore NT car park where we had our afternoon break and said farewell to those who had opted for the shorter walk.
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With the increasing cloud cover and threat of rain we were soon on our way back to Lansallos Church in the distance. John predicted rain before we reached the car park. We left the narrow road to Lansallos after half a mile and climbed a steep stile to cover the final mile across fields and down a steep valley, through a little copse with a stream and up the other equally steep sided valley up to the church itself. With a final uphill section across fields, we were back at Lansallos church and the car park by 3 PM. The rain had not materialised and we had once again all enjoyed a very good Sunday walk.
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Thanks to Trish and Mitch for organising the walk and indeed for all the work they do on behalf of the Plymouth Ramblers group.
Footnote:
The rain front came through just after 5 PM with some very heavy rain. We had been lucky, once again.