I got some brilliant advice today although it seemed, from the story, that you should be careful who you give the advice to. It’s funny really because I only heard the advice because I’d done what the advice suggested. Let’s wind back.

Chris, the campsite warden had kindly offered to charge up my battery bank when I checked into the campsite. It was especially nice because I didn’t ask him. I’d actually forgotten that I needed to charge one, despite thinking before getting there that I needed to ask, so the offer was both kind and had foresight. So, once I finished packing up my tent, I headed to his caravan to pick it up.

I really wasn’t expecting the offer of a cup of tea. I almost said no as I didn’t want to intrude but I figured, why not, I’ve not had a cup of tea for ages. I even told him I don’t have milk. He sent me off to a shed to get a couple of chairs and then I sat down next to Chris, his partner (I’m upset I’ve forgotten her name), a fellow hiker who’d been made breakfast, and their 9 week old puppy. It was very nice and we chatted about all sorts for ages. Chris was actually from Spondon in Derby and knew Ratby, where I live.

For part of discussion we talked about children. He had a son, who he continues to do everything for, as all parents do, even when they know they shouldn’t, and he said some of the issues he’d had with him may have been due to advice he gave him. This advice was, always say yes. Now, what he meant was to always say yes to opportunities. Like yes to a school trip, or yes to trying out rock climbing. Things like that. He never wanted him to miss out on an opportunity. Unfortunately, his son was saying yes to other things, less desirable things. I won’t spell them out here.

The good news is, like most children, he grew out of some of the less desirable things. It seems to take some of them into their 20s to calm down a bit.

Ignoring the required clarification though, I think Chris’ advice is pretty sound. I’ve said ‘no’ way too many times in my life and I’m sure I’m worse off for it. I mean, say I’d said no to the cup of tea, I’d have missed out on learning so much about those people and their lives. Things in their lives that I can now apply to mine. And that’s just a cup of tea. I don’t like to think about all the big stuff I turned down. So from now on, it’s a yes – probably – depends if it’s going to get me in trouble – then it might be a no.

Maybe I’ll check with Jenny.

What are they looking at

It wasn’t until around lunch time before I really got moving. A combination of a difficult path yesterday and very bad phone reception had meant I had 2 videos to upload so I decided I would get these done before I got going properly.

It turned out to be a much more pleasant day than I was expecting, certainly in terms of the weather. There had been a lot of rain first thing and the wind was strong but as I made my way along the path the rain cleared and I was often shielded from the worst of the wind. It really was a far cry from the ominous dark clouds the day had started with.

About a mile into the walk I could see a group of people looking down on a beach. I figured that either there was something worth looking at or one person had looked, and then another, and it’d sort of caught. And I’ll be honest, it took me a while, but I eventually saw some seals. It looked like they were playing in the waves, like I used to as a child. I wish my phone could have zoomed in closer but hopefully there will be something to see on the video.

The good news is that I’ve now seen seals, just. I wish I’d put my contacts in this morning as I may have had a better view.

It’s all relative

There was a cafe just off the path but on a main road. I suppose this was a good spot for an out of town cafe as there is trade from both cars and passing walkers.

I decided that I could probably do with having some lunch. It was about 1pm, and although I’d not done much walking yet, I still needed to be fed. Now, the prices were high. Really high. I ended up having a bowl of cheesy chips because that was the cheapest thing. But it tricked me into thinking they were cheap. They weren’t cheap at all. £5.50 for a small bowl of cheesy chips is expensive. But because it was so much cheaper than their other offerings £16 for chilli chips, it made me think they were cheap. However, despite my internal moans, they were quite nice, and I did need some food.

Gliding along

Up until the last mile the path to Portreath was very easy to walk. It’s a decent width and pretty much flat. I figured this would be a good easy day so I could build up my strength for the later sections. It was also a good recovery from the path yesterday.

Even when it gets a little more challenging near the end it’s ok. The wind was being a bit of a pain but there are steps and it’s all clear, so a bit of descent and incline is fairly painless.

Once in Portreath I marvelled for ages at how high the waves were, procrastinated for a bit, then made my way out of the town in search of somewhere to camp.

Is this Sally’s Bottom?

The last time I was here I thought I’d camped at a place called Sally’s Bottom. I’m now not sure as I think I was slightly further on. I think I might be at Sally’s Bottom now instead.

I’ve no phone communication so can’t check right now but I’ll take a look tomorrow. Either way, it seems like a good spot and hopefully I’ll have a good nights sleep. Despite sleeping well last night, and having an easy day, I feel like I need it.