One thing for sure Pat would have reccied the route in keen detail and would have cut off points and alternative routes in the event of bad weather.

The bad weather forecast, a 40 + mile drive to get there, a distance of 9 miles and a grading of moderate to strenuous in places had the effect of limiting the number of ramblers who made it to the start point.

The 8 ramblers who made it to the start point were to be rewarded with an excellent walk, at a reasonable pace and actual weather of sunny intervals, only moderate winds and the occasional light shower. When will the forecasters get it even half right!!

This outline should be used in conjunction with a 1:25000 OS map of the area such as the OS Explorer map no 111 for Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel.

After a brief introduction to the walk, Pat led us out of the car park, opposite the visitors centre and we made our was along the main street of Tintagel heading north west towards the headland which has made Tintagel so well known.

This time we didn't go out to the tourist trap headland with all the ancient monuments but swung north east across level ground and just by the headland Camping and Caravan park we were off metalled roads and on our way to the coast path.

The large hotel building was off to our left as we headed out to National Trust owned coastal areas of Willapark was ahead of us with The Sisters rocks just offshore and Lye Rock just beyond.

The views from Willapark both west to the famous Tintagel headland and east across Bossiney Haven were splendid.

We stopped at Willapark headland for an early morning coffee break and enjoyed the views.

So far the going had been very easy, that was about to change very shortly after leaving The Willapark headland.

First though we savoured the good views.

After coffee, we headed south east towards Bossiney Haven, way below us.

Fairly abruptly, the level going disappeared as we were faced with a short, sharp zig zag descent to above the first of three small sandy coves nestling under the high cliffs.

Once we had picked our way down the steep steps both man made and across slippery rock and crossed over a footbridge we were climbing up again via and equally steep zig zag path.

I began to realise why Pat had graded the walk as moderate to strenuous in places.

The valley was steep but luckily it wasn't too long a climb out of the valley.

We were soon on level ground again but not for long.

Ahead of us was Rocky Valley and it soon became clear why it was so named.

We made our way down steep steps carved into the granite to the very rocky valley dropping down to the sea below. There was a stream tumbling down towards the sea through the rocks.

It is a beautiful place in its own right and is quite well known as a spot which visitors should walk to.

The path took us right down into the rocky area of the valley, then along the side of the stream, over a footbridge and then of course, inevitably, up the other side for a steep climb out of the valley, although not in my view as steep a climb as the descent into Rocky Valley had been.

Once out of Rocky Valley, we headed north along a relatively level section of coastal path towards Long Island, Firebeacon Hill and Short island.

I noticed on the map that there was a point on Firebeacon Hill shown as Ladies Window, what a strange name to give to part of the coastal path. As we reached Firebeacon Hill, all became clear.

There was big hole in one of the rocks standing high above the sea, large enough for a person to stand in and from inland it looked as if those walking through the hole were framed as in a window with the sea as the backdrop.

Over the centuries and particularly when photography became popular ladies would walk out to the headland to pose in the 'natural window' and have their photographs taken against the sea as a backdrop.

One or two of the ladies on the walk took the opportunity to pose in the window for their picture to be taken.

With the photo opportunity over, we continued on our way along the coast path heading towards Boscastle.

We passed by Grower Rock and on a headland not that far away from us we could see a small white building.

It was too far away for us to see what is was but I did notice from the map that it was on a headland called Willapark.

How strange, there are two headlands with the same name of Willapark , the first near Tintagel and this one just the west of Boscastle Harbour, out of sight nestling behind Willapark.

As we neared the Willapark Headland, not far beyond Grower Rock we had just one more steep descent into yet another valley going down to the sea followed of course by another steep little climb up the other side.

I think that makes three steep ups and downs, the walk - strenuous in places, yes it certainly is but not terribly long climbs I'm pleased to say with the biggest climb up only of the order of 150 ft.

On the way up we passed a derelict building, just off the coast path, and not one we were allowed to visit.

At the top we climbed over another nice well made dry stone wall, with yet another National Trust plaque indicating the area was known as Forrabury Stitches, Forrabury I could understand since the area inland was so called, but "stitches" I couldn't fathom. Doubtless the locals would be able to tell me.

We walked by some very distinctive rock formations leading to Willapark and the white building. It was incidentally once a coast guard lookout station and an ideally situated one too.

Since the Coastguard service no longer use local lookout stations, it is now manned by a group of volunteers known collectively as the National Coastwatch Institution where they man such stations to give the local knowledge flavour to watching the coastline of the UK.

Before reaching the white building, we swung off right along a well signed footpath heading up towards an old church on a prominent position. The old church is called Forrabury Church, located in the parish of Forrabury, just on the outskirts of Boscastle.

Pat told us that she didn't intend taking us down into Boscastle and down to the old harbour since there is as steep climb back out of the village to reach the vicinity of the church. Noticing that the church sits at a height of approx 250 ft, it seemed a sensible decision to me, particularly as from the church we had a climb up inland to the highest point by far on the walk at an elevation of just under 700 ft.

We stopped for lunch just outside the churchyard and we could see a long way up the channel and could even see Lundy Island out to sea, it must be all of 40 miles to Lundy from our vantage point, so once again the visibility was excellent.

After lunch we popped into the church and then headed up through Forrabury and then Paradise, so there is Paradise in Cornwall, we've always thought there must be!!

Leaving Paradise we climbed solidly uphill along tracks, by Shetland ponies and over a few stiles until we reached the high point, mentioned earlier, at just under 700 ft.

Although we had splendid views of the sea, the return route to Tintagel was inland all the way.

We made our way out to a road, headed west for a short period before a footpath across more fields, descending to another road and a walk downhill by Trehole Farm offering amongst other things 'pony trekking'.

Not far beyond Trehole Farm, we climbed over a stile into one of many fields.

For every field there was a stile, sometimes two stiles per field boundary.

At one point Joe managed to slip into the lead and the proof is her captured on camera.

We descended down towards a lovely valley which had we followed it all the way down would have led us directly down to Rocky Valley about two miles further down.

After getting on for a mile of walking through fields, we were into woods in the valley with the stream tumbling down.

We were walking down an area rich in history and legend.

As 1:25000 maps show, the valley has many links to St Nectan, with St Nectans Kieve, St Nectans Glen and St Piran's Well to name but a few.

We walked by a waterfall, we could hear it but not see it, you have to pay to visit the waterfall. Everything has a value to the tourist trade.

On down through the path down the wooded valley we went, twisting and turning at times as it follows the course of the stream as it made it's way to the sea.

Eventually we came to a signpost in the woods indicating directions to the well, St Nectans Glen and Tredole and up out of the woods across a footbridge to Halgabron.

Halagbron was on the way back to Tintagel and we followed the footpath up through the woods to emerge through a metal gate into a field, with houses off to the right.

We stopped for a 10 minute break in the field for a drink before the final mile or so back across to Tintagel.

Out of the field and onto a road we turned left up the road for a short distance and then over another stile to the right and south west across more fields to come out by buildings in the area of Fenterleigh.

Onto the road once again we turned right and walked along the road for 200 metres or less before following a footpath west across a field, followed by what looked like a potato field. there were many discarded potatoes left on the ground, as the farmer told it, rejected by the grader as being the wrong size or too green.

Finally we crossed over another stile and walked through a field with horses in it to emerge out onto the road just on the outskirts of Tintagel.

The last 400 metres was along the road until we reached the visitors centre car park with the car park we used, the Sword in the Stone CP, just across the road.

It had been a good 9 mile walk, strenuous in places, inevitably but lots to interest us, those who had decided not to come because of the weather and the distance had missed out on a good day out.

The weather had been kind to us all day and it was good walking weather, the heat of August was now a memory and the temperatures were much more conducive to walking than those in the high 20's we had been experiencing during August.

We thanked Pat and her recce team of Jean for their hard work in putting this walk together and made our way back to Plymouth, no more than 45 miles door to door, and well worth the effort of the hours drive to get there.