Straight away I could feel the difference. I was noticing more today. Be it the wild flowers lining the path or the cliff formations projecting into the sea. I instantly knew I’d made the right decisions the day before.

The path was quite difficult as well but I was enjoying myself. I knew that if I’d carried on the day before I would have been struggling, but now, although challenging, it was fun.

Everything was working out as well. Just before Portloe I was running very low on water as I was drinking a lot to try to keep me hydrated in the warm weather combined with the physical exertion. Just as I was starting to worry, as I exited the village, a toilet block appeared with an outside tap. The timing seemed like a miracle, a tap had never looked so good, and I was grateful to stock up.

It looks so near

Once I got to Nare Head I decided to sit down and have a rest. There’s some kind of historical installation here, I’m guessing something to do with the UKs defence system, but I’m not sure. I assume in the past this area would have been closed off but now it was open for everyone to enjoy the views.

I watched all the small boats out at sea and thought that I’d like to be out there. Enjoying the sea. It looked like fun. Expensive though I would imagine. It reminded me that I’m not working at the moment and how that might have been a stupid idea. I quickly caught myself with those negative thoughts and looked down the coast at what was to come.

Visibility was really good and I could see Portscatho and St Anthony Head. Just a few miles past St Anthony Head is where you can catch the ferry over to St Mawes and then, from St Mawes, catch another ferry over to Falmouth. It didn’t look far at all, just a walk around the bay. It wasn’t late so I thought I could easily catch the ferry today and then be in Falmouth tonight. That felt like good progress.

I must have been running

When I walked this section in 2023 it was quite late in the day and I was rushing to get to a campsite. I honestly don’t know how I managed it, because despite it looking near, it’s quite a long way. It’s a nice little walk though and today I was in a much more relaxed mood.

I briefly spoke to a couple as I left Nare Head and said how close St Anthony Head looked and they said it was deceptive and they were correct. It was probably a good four hours walk. I told them I was thinking of getting the ferry today but was unsure if that was the right thing to do. I decided I was going to be open minded about it and just see what happened. They were a nice couple, but that goes with the territory here. I should probably only mention when people aren’t nice, as that is the exception, but I haven’t met them yet.

Cravings

I real wanted a cold drink and an ice lolly. I think the memories of the lolly the day before, and how good that felt to eat, was making me want another one. It was probably around 1pm when I walked past a cafe and considered sitting down to eat something and treat myself to one. But then I saw the prices, the fact they seemed to mainly do Cornish Pasties for food, and that I might still want to catch the ferry, and decided to give it a miss for now. The lolly could wait. I’d get something in Portscatho.

I’m sure the mileages on signs are made up. They don’t always say a mileage but I’m sure at one stage the distance to Portscatho went up. I could be wrong of course. I don’t always remember things so there is a chance that I’d just forgotten the previous number. But I’m sure at one stage it went from 3 miles remaining to 3.25, and that’s after I’d walked for half an hour. I reassured myself that Portscatho wasn’t actually getting further away, its position was fixed, so the signs didn’t matter.

Missed on purpose

I was now seriously considering leaving the ferry until tomorrow. This section was taking quite a long time, I wasn’t sure if I’d actually make the ferry as the timings were tight, and once in Falmouth I knew I’d have to carry on walking for a while before I was in a spot rural enough to pitch my tent. Although I still liked the idea of making progress and I knew there was a Tesco in Falmouth where I could get supplies and hopefully an ice lolly. My mind was skipping between both options. Both had their positives.

And then it all became clear. I was walking relatively fast when I passed a lady sat near the path. It looked like she was drawing. I said hello, but I had no intention of stopping to chat, until she asked me where I was walking to. So I stopped – because I can’t tell people I’m in a hurry. Even if I’m late I can’t do that, I have to stop. It’s a bit of a curse.

I’m glad I did stop. We had a nice conversation about all sorts and then got onto what I should do about the ferry. Having the conversation out loud made me realise that I didn’t want to make the ferry today. It made much more sense to get to the ferry point and then head back towards Portscatho. Use the campsite there and then go to the shop (which thanks to this lady I now knew would be open until 7) and buy as many cold drinks and ice lollies as I could carry. This was a much better plan than risking pushing on to Falmouth and the big unknown of finding somewhere to stay. This way I could relax much earlier and enjoy the items I was going to buy from the shop. Yes, I was going to play it safe.

It’s amazing how this conversation with a total stranger made everything so clear. She made me think of other, more long term things, as well.

A little rushed

It’s a long way from Portscatho to the ferry point. I’d forgotten how far it is. As always, a lovely walk, but a long one.

I met a man walking the other way, backpacking like me, and he was going very fast. Much faster than I’d want to but also faster than I’d be able to. I was impressed though. One thing he said that I remember strongly was that he’d been humbled by how difficult this path is and how he’d underestimated it. I think the SWCP does that to us all. It made me feel proud to be walking it though.

I got the ferry point just as the last ferry left. I think if I’d decided to go to Falmouth today I would have caught it with time to spare but once I’d made my decision I’d slowed down a lot. It was now 5:30pm. I then remembered to switch off the tracking for my website as I didn’t want to confuse it.

The plan was to head inland back to Portscatho, dump my backpack at the campsite, and then get into the town – or village – I’m not sure of the difference – and buy things. Especially an ice lolly, but also food because I’d eaten everything I had.

And it all worked out perfectly.

It was a fast march along a road and then a bridal way but much quicker than the coastal path. I was slightly kicking myself because if I’d made the decision earlier to miss the ferry then I’d have gone to the campsite first, before waking along the coast path to the ferry, to save having to carry all my gear, but as Jenny pointed out I might have felt like I’d cheated.

My luck was in as I got into the campsite as the owner was just leaving his office. He checked me in, let me put my bag in his van for safe keeping, and I headed into town. Ten minutes later, I was equipped with all the things I needed to get through the night and a bit of tomorrow.

But I wasn’t ready to savour that lolly yet. I walked back to the campsite, grabbed my bag, went to my pitch, and sat down using my pack as a back rest.

Now I was ready for that lolly.