At the bottom end of the town there is an extensive docks area, the harbour first developed in the mid-19thC to support the copper mines and other mineral industries in the locale and latterly supporting the white china clay industry. However, that was to the south of our route and we did not really touch upon the docks area at all.
Once back on the coast, we followed a route along the side of a golf course for a while, leading to above Carlyon Bay, which had another nice little beach. Shortly after the bay, we were back on road and heading in to the village of Charlestown, where we had planned to stop for lunch. The harbour area was very busy but we were lucky enough to secure a table at the Pier House Hotel where we enjoyed a lovely fish and chips. The verandah we sat on overlooked the harbour area and in the afternoon sun, despite the crowds of people asking if you were ready to leave, it was a pleasant interlude. There are often 'tall sailing ships' to be seen in Charlestown harbour and it has been home to many sea-themed television and film productions including 'The Onedin Line' and 'Hornblower'.
The official SWCP route goes away from the coast here, following the road going out of Pentewan to go up and round a huge holiday complex, before joining the coast again at Portgiskey. It is a wee bit of a detour. Looking at the map, we wondered if there was a short-cut through the holiday complex or along the beach and spoke to some guys sitting outside the local inn who, after some reciprocal banter and insults, confirmed there was a route and gave us directions. This resulted in a fairly straightforward, level walk through the complex that saved us a mile or two of uphill road walking.
Although it had been a relatively short walking day, the constant up and down had taken its toll on us after two weeks of walking. We could now allow ourselves to look forward to a day off tomorrow and a chance to explore the delights of Mevagissey of which we had heard so much.