One of the drawbacks in camping, particularly if you have given in to that last cup of coffee late at night, is the trek in the very early morning hours to go to the loo. Waking about 4.00am, I trudged through long grass, wet with dew and barely able to see where I was going because the mist was so thick. To say it was a quick and brief visit does not do justice to the rapidity with which the deed was done and I returned to the warmth of the sleeping bag. At least the trek gave us an early indication of what would be waiting for us when we stuck the heads out of the tent later on. You guessed it, cold and misty.
With a reasonably short day in front of us there was not the usual urgency for an early start and we lay abed until the sun had a chance to start to clear the mist and dry off the tent. The tent we use is a two-man Hoolie-2 that has many good features inlcuding the fact it is fast drying, water and wind-proof. I have camped in some pretty wild weather the last four years with this tent and never had any problem inside the tent. With the inner attached and only two poles to sleeve, it is easy to put up in the wildest of weathers. At just over two kilos, it is not too heavy either.
From our hilltop position, we could see down through the greeny-blue waters to the seabed below so clear was the water. Only the white tops of the waves breaking gently on the rocks below broke up the stillness of the sea and the quiet of the morning. Sometimes, the cold of the early morning seems to expand the land and seascapes round about you and there is a wonderful sense of space and light that fills you with joy. When you stand on a hillside like this drinking in nature's bounty, or stride out across the heath and the grasslands, on a day like this you feel you could and should walk forever.
Just after Marazion the route cuts in to follow the railway line and there really is not much to see. For us, it was nice to finish in good time for once, with the added bonus of being in Airbnb for the night, with the luxury of a real bed to look forward to and a day off tomorrow. We had visited Penzance just a couple of years ago and our accommodation was one street back from where we had stayed then. We somewhat marred our copybook by making a mistake with the house number and standing outside the wrong door for about an hour waiting on someone to come. However, all is well that ends well and we eventually sorted things out and were finally able to lay down both the rucksack and the weary bodies.