Our first coastal walk of the year but we managed to sneak one in before the end of January. This is just a simple route from Seaton to just past Portwrinkle (got to love the Cornish place names), with a bit of inland walking to make the route a bit different. The weather wasn’t great if I’m honest, low cloud everywhere, but slightly brighter by the coast than it was inland, in fact we didn’t see any of the Dartmoor or Bodmin moors at any point on the walk. As we’d headed inland on the return loop we hit a bit of drizzle around St Winnolls so we headed straight for the coast again to avoid any more of the wet stuff. There are some nice sections of path as you leave Downderry and if you need refreshments then Seaton, Crafthole and Downderry have pubs. For me this walk means I have competed the section from West Bexington in Dorset all the way to Pentewan in Cornwall which is 197 miles and almost a third of the total path on its own. As the nights get longer myself and Linda will be able to get up to the north coast, of Devon and Cornwall, more easily. But for now it was nice to tick off this little section.
Start – Seaton Beach
Route –South West Coastal Path – Downderry – Cobland Hill – Whitsand Bay Golf Course – Portwrinkle – Trethill Cliffs – Crafthole – Dunn Hill – St Winnolls – Trewall – Downderry – Seaton
Distance – 10.5 miles Start time – 10.15am Time taken – 5hrs 30mins Highest Point – Not really very high
Weather – Cloudy most of the way, drizzle as we reached St Winnolls
Starting out from Seaton beach, the cloud is down on the area over there by Looe, that’s Looe Island next to the headlandThe tide was in but unless there is a large swell then its safe to walk this path, on a stormy day I’d advise the road up to the left hereThe long section of Seaton Beach which leads to Downderry, which is behind meIn Downderry nowHeading left for PortwrinkleAs we climbed a bit to views opened to Rame HeadLooking back to Looe Island, you can just make out Gribben Head behind the islandSelfie as we looked for a spot for a brewWe found this spot for a coffee and whilst I packed the flask away Linda was off ahead Sunny spells out to sea seem to be the order of the day, dark clouds above us mainly thoughDownderry can be seen below as we reached Cobland HillAs we walked the cliffs we spotted this old house/tin mine building below usViews across Whitsand Bay to Rame HeadAnd againAround 10 miles out to sea is Eddystone Lighthouse. The one out there is the fourth to be built on the rocks of the same name, the third base is still out there (Smeatons Tower), with the rest now standing on the Hoe in Plymouth. The design of the third tower was the first of its kind and influenced all lighthouse designs since, alongside that of pioneering use of concrete in water (hydraulic lime). The first lighthouse out there in 1699 was the first open ocean lighthouse to be built (Winstanley’s). There was a fair bit of zoom on this picture.Portwrinkle now and a view back from where we have come fromClimbing out of Portwrinkle we reach the Whitsand Bay golf courseI now hit the point were I walked last year around Trengantle Fort (here)We then headed inland a bit, with some views down towards Millbrook and the edges of PlymouthWater pump at CraftholeLinda walking the path down to Trewrickle FarmPassing through St Winnolss as some drizzle starts to drop. Rame Head in the distanceDark clouds aboveLambs in the fields at the end of January, number 8 seem sorted. Number 9s however were bleating and running around looking for their mumDown at Downderry again and a walk back along the beach path to Seaton, a good walk as it always is by the sea, not the best of weather but really good to have completed such a long section of coastal path now.
We’ve just booked to do the Lands End section in June so looking forward to that. Its a real advantage being down here and having easy access to both coast and moors, although being this far away we miss out more on the big hitters like the Lakes and Scotland, so it goes both ways
The Lands End area is magnificent (apart from Lands End itself, although even there the views are wonderful if you can lose the crowds. Sennan is one of my all time favorite beaches.
We’ve hatched a bit of an unusual plan, its pretty difficult to get places to stay around Porthcurno, in fact it is impossible for when we want to go. So we have decided to park around that area and walk first to St Just (so passing Lands End and Sennan). Then from St Just to Gurnards Head and bus it from there to Penzance. Stay in Penzance before walking around to Porthcurno. So we get around the issue of staying in an area with little accommodation whilst still walking 10-12 miles each day!
treksandtors 
I think coastal walking doesn’t suffer so much from dreary days as the mountains do. Living “inland” I do miss a bit of coastal walking
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We’ve just booked to do the Lands End section in June so looking forward to that. Its a real advantage being down here and having easy access to both coast and moors, although being this far away we miss out more on the big hitters like the Lakes and Scotland, so it goes both ways
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The Lands End area is magnificent (apart from Lands End itself, although even there the views are wonderful if you can lose the crowds. Sennan is one of my all time favorite beaches.
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We’ve hatched a bit of an unusual plan, its pretty difficult to get places to stay around Porthcurno, in fact it is impossible for when we want to go. So we have decided to park around that area and walk first to St Just (so passing Lands End and Sennan). Then from St Just to Gurnards Head and bus it from there to Penzance. Stay in Penzance before walking around to Porthcurno. So we get around the issue of staying in an area with little accommodation whilst still walking 10-12 miles each day!
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Superb section of coast, hope the weather plays nice for you
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