Report of walk on 13th May 2025 Plymouth

 

Everything but an aeroplane

 

Thirteen caught the 10 o’clock train to Plymouth, but thankfully one had already boarded at Par, making it a safe number for our waterside walk.

 

 

After a walk through the city centre, with its cut down trees and boarded off construction areas, we cut through the back streets to have coffee on the Barbican.

 

 

We met up by the Mayflower Steps and promptly lost 2 to the ferry to the Royal William Yard.  The remaining 12 set off up the slope overlooking the bay to pass the citadel, Hoe and lido to watch a returning warship be towed into the River Tamar.  Keeping to the shoreline, we walk passed major new developments overlooking the Roscoff ferry docks to emerge on the side of the river overlooking the Royal William Yard.

 

 

We lost one of our group to Devil’s Point, who had to return for a meeting in Fowey, but we met up with our 2 ferry short-cutters and took lunch in the Royal William Yard.

Report of our Crantock to Holywell bay walk 29^th April.

Arriving at the National Trust car park in brilliant sun twelve of the walking group met up. We set off along the coastal path towards Holywell Bay taking in the stunning scenery of Crantock beach.  At times with the perfect weather  what better place to be than on the North Cornwall coast.

We wound our way round the coast line to a point where two weeks ago many seals could be seen, unfortunately today they must have known we were coming and decided to swim off and entertain others along the coastline. (Sorry from the leader).

After passing Porth Joke beach we headed for the sand dunes at Holywell Bay we clambered down onto the beach where our picnic lunch was eaten, some even venturing into the water for a paddle.

We meandered our way to the beach bar at Holywell, a welcome stop  for ice creams, teas and some indulging in a Guinness. From here we set off inland passed the golf course across The Kelseys and Cubert Common back to the beach car park at Crantock. We had walked about 6.5 miles and everyone said they had had an enjoyable day.

Report on walk of Tuesday 8th April 2025

Hessenford - Seaton – Looe

Seven members of the walking group, not put off by the prospect of challenging uphills, gathered in good time at the bus stop opposite the fire station in West Looe to catch the number 10 bus to Hessenford. The sun was shining and there was not a single cloud in the sky.

The first section of the walk was an easy two mile walk through the Seaton Nature Reserve. The source of the river Seaton is in Minions and it connects with two tributary streams running through St Cleer. It runs for just over 10 miles before reaching the sea at Seaton beach where we had our first refreshment break of the day.

We then rejoined the Southwest Coast path to walk to our next destination, Millendreath. The coast path stretches from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset.  It was created as a route between lighthouses for use by the coastguards so that they could overlook the bays and coves to catch smugglers.  A similar coast path in Brittany is called “Le sentier des douaniers”.

This was the most challenging part of the walk as the path seemed to go up and up, again and again.  Fortunately, the views were glorious, the spring flowers (wild garlic, violets, bluebells, primroses, three-cornered leeks) and the coconut scented gorse were in the glorious abundance.  We heard many skylarks in the field close to the monkey Sanctuary (now permanently closed) and we saw two of them having an airborne fight.

As we got close to Millendreath, we stopped for lunch in a grassy area on top of the cliff and sat around a picnic table. It was time to have a “culture stop” too.  In March 1944, the crew of a battle-damaged B17 Flying Fortress long-range bomber aircraft bailed out over the land, leaving just to pilot who took it out to sea to avoid civilian casualties before he himself bailed out. The plane crashed into the sea a short distance away from Millendreath Beach and the pilot was rescued by a local man who rowed out to sea in a leaking boat whilst a local woman bailed out the water.  The engines and propellors from the plane were recovered by divers and are now in museums in Looe and St Mawgan, respectively.

Once in Millendreath, Annie took pity on us and we had our third stop of the day for drinks or ice creams (she is definitely getting much softer in her “old” age!).  She caught up with a friend and indulged in a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows – very decadent!

We had been warned that there would be another uphill from Millendreath to Plaidy – there were indeed over 120 steps to climb.  There was a third climb from Plaidy Beach to Looe. The writer Eleanor Hibbert lived near Plaidy Beach during World War II and used it as the basis for one of her pen names, Jean Plaidy.

When we got back to Looe, we decided that we deserved another treat! So instead of going over the bridge to walk back to Hannafore where our cars were parked, we took the ferry from East Looe to West Looe (£1 fare).  The group had nagged Annie for the whole trip, asking whether they could go back to Looe by boat, so their wish came true.

We all commented on how lovely it had been to walk in a small group – a very friendly group at that! 

Walk On Tuesday, 25th March 2025

Sunny Corner to Heligan and Return

Fun And Friendly Fifteen 

Sunny Corner lived up to its name for this very sociable friendly short walk.   After a bit of juggling of cars 15 set off from the car park, walked a short stretch of the Pentewan trail where we stopped for a photo opportunity before crossing the road to the track through Tremayne Estate woods. 

Although it's only a few miles from where most of us live it was pleasing to lead a walk which many had not done before. There wasn't  much wildlife to be seen, except a proud mother duck and her brood of very young ducklings.  And one of our group in his shorts! 

At the top of a fairly steep gradient we had a choice of either Heligan cafe or Lobbs Farm Shop cafe. In the end everyone chose Lobbs, again a new experience for many, and declared it a success.

Then it was back by the same route, pleasant in the warm Spring sunshine, to the cars. With a feeling that summer is on the way.

Report on walk of 11th March 2025

5-mile circular walk from Grampound to Trenowth

Sixteen members met up in the car park in Grampound for a walk, new to many although we had walked it sometime in 2021.  The weather was dry, not too cold and there was hardly any wind.  What a treat!

Grampound is at a crossing of the river Fal and is thought to have been a river port from Roman times up until the 17th Century.  River smoothed pebbles found when improving the village football pitch indicate that the river was originally much wider.  The town takes its name from the Great Bridge built in around 1250 by the Earl of Cornwall and was recorded with a Cornish name of Ponsmur.  During the Norman times, it became a hub for traders crossing into West Cornwall and the name was translated into Norman French:  Grand Pont.

 There are many places of interest on this walk:

• The settlement of Trevillick first recorded in 1216.
• Garlenick Manor which is of late 17th century origin but its splendid walled garden dates from the 1600. The manor was rebuilt in 1812 following a fire but after World War I, the house and gardens fell into disrepair until rescued by the current owners in 1962.  With a vision to restore the gardens to their original plan, extensive landscaping and planting, including an avenue of Dicksonia, has recently occurred under the watchful eye of designer, Michael Harvey.  The settlement of Garlenick was first recorded in 1334.
• The viaduct built in the late 1850s as part of the construction of the railway from Plymouth to Truro.  In 1884, the wooden structure was replaced by an all-stone structure which was cheaper to maintain.

We had a great view of the viaduct when we stopped for our morning break on a little bridge over the river Fal.

• Trenowth Mill which was built in the early -mid 19th century to grind china stone
• Trenowth, a settlement first recorded in 969 as Trefneweth, meaning new farm

One of our members, Jenny MacDonald told us of her visits to the farm manager’s house with her father who worked for a land agent and with her young children.

• The geologically important Grampound Basin – we had a good view of it when we stopped for lunch

• The area of Grampound known as Bermonsay after the London’s leather quarter when Grampound boasted five tanneries and was the centre of Cornish leather.  The last tannery to operate closed in 2002.

Report of our 5.15 mile walk circular around the National Trust estate at Trelissick on 25^th Feb 2025.

I will start my report by saying what a change it was not to have to cancel a walk due to bad weather.

Seven of us met up at 09.30 at the community centre in town to begin our trip to Trelissick. Another seven joined us at the start of the walk.

We set off at 10:30am in fine weather. Our route took us down to the banks of the River Fal which we followed northwards reaching the King Harry ferry. We continued our journey along North woods and Carcaddon wood before heading along the bank of Lamouth Creek.

On reaching the end of the creek we paused for a photograph before crossing a bridge to take us to the old settlement at the Quay where we stopped for our picnic lunch overlooking the river Fal.

Four of our group decided to return to the car park with the remainder of us setting off on the next leg. In fact one of the four did not see the others turn off so came along with us.

From the Quay a track leads back inland to join a minor road for a short time before we join another track. Our legs are tested having to walk up a moderately steep hill. At the top we join another road before we head back into the parkland surrounding Trelissick House.

As the weather was kind we then found our way to the courtyard café for a well-deserved drink and piece of cake sat outside in glorious sunshine.

Report on walk of 11th February 2025

A 6.5-mile circular walk from Luckett

This was our first walk of the year, as both the January walks had been cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions.  Today, the weather was slightly overcast, cold but DRY.

Ten members of the walking group gathered in the free car park in the small hamlet of Luckett for a walk new to all involved.  We were very lucky that Roy Dunstan was able to join us for this walk, as his father had worked as the manager of the local mine before moving to Penzance when Roy was five years old.  

We first climbed the steep hill out of the village before rejoining the Tamar Valley Trail footpath which took us past the remains of the mining industry.   Roy gave us very interesting information about the mine and regaled us with his memories of his early childhood.

I had whetted our members’ appetite when I had told them, in the walk description, that we would see a few things of interest on this walk - we were not disappointed.  Here is what we saw on our way to Old Mill:

• A solitary llama in a field
• Brian’s Place:  a haven for wildlife on the Deer Park Farm Estate with a shelter, a composting toilet (rather derelict and none of us fancied using it) and a picnic table.  How refreshing to come across a farm that welcomes walkers!
• Shetland cattle and their cuddly looking calves
• An abandoned hippy play area, complete with reed wigwams and totems
• Further remains of the mining industry close to the stream we walked along

The second steep hill of the walk brought us past the house where the creator of the hippy play area lives.  His meditation hut is open to the public and, as I was guiding my fellow walkers to it, the owner came out to have a chat with us and he gave each of the ladies a hand-painted bookmark.  The meditation hut is full of his paintings and the view over the valley is beautiful - we commented that it must be a wonderful place where to practise yoga.

When we reached the hamlet of Sunnymead, we climbed over the second stile of the walk and had a quick coffee break (no time to get comfortable as there was nowhere to sit) and we then made our way across the fields to the hamlet of Lidwell.  From Sunnymead to Lidwell, you have great views towards Stoke Climsland, Dartmoor and Kit Hill.  In the last field, a group of young heifers got very lively, too lively for our liking but thanks to Nick Warrick excellent herdsmanship, we made it safely to the next stile.

We found another field where to sit and have our lunch break before walking to South Alston (where we had to negotiate a dirty farmyard) and then to Horsebridge in Devon where we had a drink in the Royal Inn in front of a blazing open fire.  The lack of comfort for the coffee and lunch breaks were forgotten and forgiven.  Phew!

We made our way back over the river Tamar into Cornwall and walked back to Luckett past Lower Hampt where many orchards have been planted.  I had warned the walkers that the last stretch of the walk would be very boggy. In fact, we walked on a dry and recently repaired pathway – this improvement could be because this stretch of the walk is part of the Tamara Way.

A great walk and people enjoyed walking in an area that we do not often visit on our walks.