Day 71 Gwithian to Penzance Friday 22 July

Distance 15 miles , cumulative 1,282.39 miles, time 6 hrs 45 mins, walking time 5 hrs 10 mins, pace 2.9 mph, B&B Lombard House
Today we crossed from the North coast to the South coast so our final walk in to Land’s End tomorrow is along the south coast, a route into Land’s End which we prefer. 

From Gwithian we walked through the dunes or Towans as they are called which collect all the sand blown across from St. Ives. The route into Hayle is through the dock area which is gradually being redeveloped. Much of the activity is connected to the wave hub site offshore for testing methods of harnessing wave and tidal energy. 

http://www.wavehub.co.uk

Hayle has a smart new Asda so tea and scones in the cafe beckoned. Following refreshment we left Hayle and the coastal footpath to cut inland and across to Marazion following lanes via St Erth. We avoided footpaths as we have found any paths away from the principal national trails to often be hopelessly overgrown at this time of year and a look at a couple of the paths we passed confirmed our decision to use the lanes. The route turned out to be the sustrans national cycle route #3. We dropped down into Marazion and had a good view of St. Michael’s Mount.

At Marazion we met up with Ryan, Geri and little Alexander, who has grown considerably since we last saw him over 10 weeks ago. We also met John and Sandra, Cornwall locals, and Ryan’s uncle and aunt, a perfect excuse for a coffee stop and chat. We all walked together towards Penzance and John’s local knowledge helped us to negotiate a footpath closure. 

We left them and we carried on into Penzance where we predictably had lunch in the Wetherspoons before finding our B&B. 

We did some shopping for a t-shirt and shorts so we would have something fresh for our last couple of evenings and to wear on the train home. Oddly we both found dawdling round the shops exhausting. We found an ice cream and looked at the newly refurbished lido. 

Steve bought a t-shirt in Saltrock, which was sort of appropriate as the two South African brothers who founded the company first settled in Penzance before moving to Croyde in Devon and establishing the clothing business selling t-shirts to surfers.

We met up with Ryan, Geri and Alexander for a meal in, you guessed it, Wetherspoons and wished them well for their first night of camping with Alexander. 

A busy day has helped us not to dwell on tomorrow, our final day. Thank you to everyone who has posted messages on the blog wishing us well for tomorrow – your comments are greatly appreciated. The whole ‘ blog thing’ has added an extra, and very enjoyable, dimension to the walk and without your comments it would not have been the same experience at all – thanks again. 

The weather forecast for our final day looks very good and today we had fine dry weather. So, all is set for the final day of ‘Lynn and Steve’s big adventure’ – bring it on!