Jeri’s Steps: 29,854
Miles walked: 9.96
Elevation: 1,377
Walking Time: 4hrs 32 min
Pints: 2
Churches: None
Stiles:6
Benches:4
“A meal without wine is breakfast.”
And so we set off. Years of planning and finally we get to start doing what is in fact a pretty basic activity. Walking. Best not to think of Scotland as the objective. The fleshpots of Land’s End receded behind us as we struck out north west for Sennen Cove.
Weather was superb, sunshine, temps were low 60s (for our Americans) 16 centigrade, most of the day. Winds were present but light. Moderately breezy. The path was more difficult than we had imagined and our progress was slowed by a lot of scrambling over rocks near the points and very narrow paths; we often had to stop to give way to others. And there were plenty of people on the path; this section north of Land’s End must be very popular. Sennen Cove beach was very inviting and the path brought us right down on the sand. There were numerous descents and climbs around inlets.
Our spirits were in good condition but our bodies suffered from 10 days of enforced quarantine sloth; the idea here is that we get fitter as we walk. We’ll see how that goes…
One of the things we anticipated on this walk was the beauty of the Cornish coast and our hopes were totally fulfilled in that regard. The dramatic cliffs and amazing turquoise seas were spectacular. There was so little background noise as we walked along. I could hear the birds, the sea, and Tim’s footsteps.
We stopped at Cape Cornwall for a can of fizzy water and we were lucky as the cafe closed at 4.30pm. In summer? Seems odd.
Tin has been mined in Cornwall for about 4,000 years with varying success. We passed the ruins of the Levant mine, site of a catastrophic disaster in 1919 when 31 miners lost their lives. The mine used a steam driven ‘man engine’, basically a system of ladders and platforms which allowed miners to descend to the mine in stages. In October of that year, a bracket sheared and the engine tumbled down the shaft. The mine closed shortly afterwards. Commercial mining has since moved elsewhere leaving only the starkly beautiful ruins.
Common Birds Foot Trefoil 
Sennen Cove 
Shipwreck RMS Mulheim 
14 Responses
Well, looks like a fantastic first day – photos and the map are great. Hope all is going ok today !
Hoping the weather behaves; it’s been good so far…
Will be following your journey with interest. It was so lovely meeting you on the path (just out of Sennen Cove.). We will look out for you on the Pennine Way. We will be at Keld on 17 Aug and 21 August. Safe travels.
Megan and Anthony Austin
Thanks Megan and Anthony it was great to meet you and chat. Good luck with your trails!
BRW we arrive in Keld on the afternoon of August 17th. Hopefully we can share a meal or at least a beer!
Hi Megan, We’re leaving Hawes on the morning and we will be near Keld tomorrow, but we’re staying in Upper Swaledale. Passing through quickly so it looks difficult to meet up. Will you guys be walking the Pennine Way near there? We’re heading to Bowes the next day
Lovely views wish we were with you on your epic hike, good start
We’re probably not as excited as you, but we’re pretty excited that you are finally off on what will be a great adventure. Good going!
Thanks dad, you’re probably not as tired as we are either!!!
Did you really climb 1,377 feet? Are you counting both the up and down sides? Or maybe you didn’t subtract the down side? 🙂
It looks to me like the highest points outside of Scotland are about 3,000 feet so you must have been pretty high.
Well, we only count the up side of the hill….
So cool guys – your adventure has started!! Enjoy – love the blog – keep it up!
Thanks Gary. The first week is going well but the climbing is tougher than we thought. Somehow, planning the route on the PC is easier than actually doing it. How odd.
Love these photos!