England,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  Walking

Cornwall Coastal Path

April 16, 2021 /
Morning view from our window

When you really fall in love with a walk, when you genuinely do have a favourite, your love of it doesn’t diminish with the number of times you walk it, in fact, if anything, you love it just a little bit more each time. And this is one of my favourite walks, probably anywhere, and Michaela has now fallen for it too.

Morning sun in the harbour

It’s still a little cold for the time of year here in the UK and England is struggling to shake off the winter; even on a beautiful day like today, the air has a crispness to it which is normally gone by mid April. But today, set relatively free after lockdown and back in our “happy place” after so many months, the bright weather seems to just bring Cornwall’s colours even more into focus and showcase almost everything that is wonderful about this stretch of Atlantic coastline.

Looking towards the mouth of the estuary

This favourite walk of mine is from Padstow harbour, out to Stepper Point along the southern side of the estuary, then along the coast path southwards as far as Mother Ivey’s Bay, from there returning to Padstow across the arable fields behind the headland. In all we cover just under 15 miles, every one of which is beautiful.

Approaching Hawkers Cove

Early morning brings a light mist tinted with the pastel shades of sunrise and a dew which leaves jewels on lawns. High tide has just passed as we start our walk, the estuary waters as calm as a lake. A mile away over the water the village of Rock rubs its eyes and squints across to its larger neighbour, the chugs of the early ferry echoing across the lapping waves. A little egret glistens white as it takes flight.

The colours of Cornwall

Stepper Point is the southern headland of the Camel Estuary, proudly visible from miles away in either direction along the coast, due in part to its tower built solely to aid navigation at sea and visible up to 30 miles out into the Atlantic. Leaving Padstow the path skirts Harbour Cove and Hawkers Cove before climbing steeply to Stepper from where the views of the deep blue seas are just stunning. Hidden beneath the blue depths here is the infamous Doom Bar, a sandbank at the head of the estuary which over the years is thought to have caused over 600 shipwrecks and groundings.

The tower at Stepper Point

But today the Atlantic is uncharacteristically benign, there is no crashing surf, no pounding of the cliffs, instead there is an unusual calm which brings with it a wonderful transparency to the water. You could study the sea here every day and never see the same mood twice; today is as calm as I have ever seen it.

A very calm Atlantic

Bird life is everywhere: skylarks soar, peregrine falcons hover virtually motionless searching for prey, stonechat chirp and oyster catchers call. And of course gulls and fulmar cry loudly while riding the thermals. As we sit and gaze across the blue, two seals pop their heads above the surface, and a handful of the first swallows of summer swoop in over the cliff, we so want to believe that these swallows are just making landfall for the first time after their trans continental migration.

Looking back to Stepper Point

Every now and again the air is heavy with the scent of gorse, the wonderfully coconut musk aroma of its bright yellow flowers is at its strongest at this time of year and is impossible to miss. The Cornish have a saying – “kissing is out of season when the gorse is out of bloom”…gorse, of course, flowers all year round.

Trevone Beach

We cross the gorgeous trio of beaches at Trevone, Harlyn and Mother Ivey’s, each of them wonderful and each with a different character. Harlyn, the biggest of the three, is today lacking its usual gaggle of surfers, with the Atlantic in quiet mood and the tide yet to turn, but there are families rockpooling and enjoying the sunshine in spite of the low temperatures. There’s also a few of those hardy “cold water swimmers” – we aren’t about to join them!

Rock pools at Trevone

Our 15-mile circuit is completed by returning across the farmland which covers the headland, young crops at various stages of growth pushing green shoots up through the soil. As we drop back down the hill to Padstow harbour to a well earned fish cassoulet – and a couple of beers – we reflect on a terrific day’s hiking along a route which will for ever be a favourite. 

Harlyn Bay
Mother Ivey’s Bay

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