Land’s End to Praa Sands
Day 1 is complete and it feels amazing! I started the day by walking from the hostel to Land’s End, for my official start point. I set off just before 8, with the wind behind me and no one in sight.
I headed off north along the coast path towards Sennen Cove. The coast path was really beautiful, with cliffs below and the waves crashing against them. The weather held off for the start of the day, there was a refreshing damp mist coming in off the sea.
Walking along the coast path, Land’s End started to disappear into the distance, and I knew I was truly on my way.
Sennen Cove was beautiful, with pale sand and crashing waves. I walked along the bottom of the sand dunes, watching dog walkers in the distance.
After reaching Gwynver, I headed away from the coast, to start my travel in land. My climb out of Gwynver featured about 100 steps, which definitely woke my legs up!
After heading in land and sheltering from the wind, it was snack time.
I then climbed over Carn Brea. This was a really pretty little moorland summit. There was a beacon and a topograph on top, and I got my last view of Land’s End (just visible through the mist).
Heading down Carn Brea, I met a man walking his dog, whilst he was on crutches. His determination made me think how all of our adventures and challenges are different, but all equally impressive.
I headed down along a lovely bridleway, that wasn’t too muddy considering the amount of rain that they’ve had down here.
The bridleway took me to Caer Bran, which was a 4000 year old stone circle! It was a really lovely surprise to come across and a really interesting place.
I then headed along a mixture of country lanes to get to Penzance. The sun came out from behind the clouds and it felt like I’d skipped forward a few months to May! The weather was lovely, and it was nice to take my waterproofs off for a bit.
I stopped to have some lunch in Penzance, just before the rain came in. Walking along the sea front with the wind and rain coming in, felt exfoliating. I love being on a mountain at the wind and rain lock up, being able to stand up against the elements, and this gave me that same feeling.
Walking along the sea front, I had the beach on one side and train track on the other. I could see St. Michael’s Mount in the distance and it slowly got closer as I made my way to Marazion.
The coast path takes you through the centre of Marazion, which was a lovely little village. This beautiful mural was painted onto the side of a house. It was so realistic, I thought the plant was flowering at first!
From Marazion, the coast path became more rugged (and definitely muddier!), as I walked through fields along the top of cliff edges.
I found a lovely bench to rest on, and watch the waves.
I could now see St. Michael’s Mount from the other side, and I thought about just how far I’d cover already. Sally the Squirrel enjoyed the view too.
As I headed along the coast path, the wind picked up again, and the waves crashed against the rock.
It’s almost inevitable to have done navigational errors. With a half an hour to go a very confusing sign pointed me left instead of right. Though I soon realised that I was heading away from the coast and retraced my steps.
Half an hour later I was in Praa Sands and had finished Day 1. It felt quite emotional to have reached this point. I’m truly on my way.
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