The plan of getting out and getting away whenever possible continued. Things are booked for the future weeks and months and loads of plans for weekends inbetween. Revisits to places, new visits to places, the idea is not to stay in the same town, Plymouth, that I’ve been forced to frequent these last 12 months and more. If we end up back locked up I want to have explored as much as humanly possible in that time. This time it was camping, not wild camping on Dartmoor this time (much to my youngest’s disappointment) but a camp site in north Cornwall near to Camelford. The site was perfect we slept well, but with other residents on the site, we were far quieter than on Dartmoor. The walk was good, I’d checked the weather and it changed overnight with rain now forecast for 3pm onwards, so we headed off reasonably early. All booted up by 10.30am we headed off down the hill into the harbour, having found some nice free roadside parking. We joined the coastal path and made good ground, however the constant up and down hit after a couple of hours. One particular section into the Rocky Valley was a real treat but energy sapping and nothing like any other part of the coastal path that I’d seen. However we were struggling on the climbs so I decided to stop short of Tintagel Castle and pick up the road back to Boscastle. We’ll have to come back, gladly.
Start – Boscastle
Route – Boscastle harbour – South West Coastal Path – Willapark Lookout station – Firebeacon Hill – Rocky Valley – Willapark – Bossiney – Halgabron – Trethevey – Boscastle
Distance – 7 miles Start time – 10.30am Time taken – 4hrs 15mins Highest Point – Willapark Lookout 97 metres
Weather – Cloudy, bits of sunshine, drizzle walking back to Boscastle
All setup at the camp site, bigger boys has meant a ditching of the 2 man tent in favour of this 3 manSunset from the campsiteStandard tent photo, our finest facesRocky road and roadside parkingDown in Boscastle now, back in August 2004 we would have been walking through a torrent of water coming through hereBoscastle harbourThe exit to Boscastle harbour, Meachard is the islandThe boys having a stand off with a horse by the Willapark Lookout StationCambeak away in the distance with Penally Point the other side of the entrance to BoscastleGrower Rock and Short Island as we leave WillaparkWillapark LookoutLooking back to WillaparkGrower Rock with some waves at its baseEverywhere around us seemed to have darker clouds however Boscastle had some nice sunshine at timesThey were yapping about tanks and computer gamesA speckled woodShort Island is below me to the left here as I look back at Grower Rock and MeachardFantastic stack of rock full of seabirds as we look across towards a second Willapark and the area around TintagelHeading into Rocky ValleyA brilliant place, the stream was much needed as it was hot down hereLooking back at Rocky ValleyLye Rock sits just off the headland over there, we will just make it that far before turning to head back to the car. We were tiring quickly by this point.The building sticking up ahead is the Tintagel Castle hotel, we won’t make it there as we head left into BossineyAlong the track into BossineyThe Tintagel hotelThe rock stack sticks up as we reach BossineyIt was only 1.30pm but the drizzle had started alreadyThe views were disappearing behind us as the misty conditions closed inTrevalga church and villageWillapark in the distance as we make good progress along the road. In truth the walk time was 2/3rds along the coastal path and only 1/3rd along the road.Easy walking and it has stopped drizzling nowThe large stone announces the arrival in Boscastle and the end of our walk, another cracker and it means we can do Tintagel next time and camp again!
I’ve read that Rocky Valley and Bossiney Haven beach are great places for a swim! Only walked that part in November though. Looks superb. Always love those manic tent photos of you and the boys 😀
Bossiney Haven is out of bounds for a bit due to some rock slides in the area. But Rocky Valley looked a great spot, plenty of pools as the stream cascaded down, and the sea at the bottom
Looks like a grand walk, that.
Ithink there’s a perception that coastal walks are a doddle, but, by the look of it, like many stretches of coastline that had plenty of steep ups and downs.
I’d certainly agree with that analysis having experienced coastal walks on the cliffs between Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby and on the South West Coastal Path near Lyme
treksandtors 
I really like that stretch of the coast path.
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It was very good, especially Rocky Valley, loved that part
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A very dramatic bit of coast.
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It was lovely, but the coastal path is a fantastic contrast to Dartmoor. It gives me some great contrasts to walks and keeps things fresh
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It looks a great walk with lots of rocky views. 🙂
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I’ve read that Rocky Valley and Bossiney Haven beach are great places for a swim! Only walked that part in November though. Looks superb. Always love those manic tent photos of you and the boys 😀
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Bossiney Haven is out of bounds for a bit due to some rock slides in the area. But Rocky Valley looked a great spot, plenty of pools as the stream cascaded down, and the sea at the bottom
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Looks like a grand walk, that.
Ithink there’s a perception that coastal walks are a doddle, but, by the look of it, like many stretches of coastline that had plenty of steep ups and downs.
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Inland areas tend to have ups that are longer and less of them, coastal walks and short, sharp and many of them which takes the effort out of you
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I’d certainly agree with that analysis having experienced coastal walks on the cliffs between Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby and on the South West Coastal Path near Lyme
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