In terms of our round Great Britain adventure, today is a big day as we head for Land's End and, as the coasters say 'turn right for Cape Wrath'. It marks the end of our journey along the South Coast, the beginnings of the treck up the West Coast via Wales and the west coast of England to eventually return to Scotland. Sometime in the last day or so we have also hit the milepost of two thousand miles walked, another nice achievement.
The second of the six photogrpahs below is of Logan's Rock, perched on top of Teryn Dinas to which there is attached a wee story. As you approach Porth Curno Cove, you can see the small strip of white sand, shaped like a down-turned mouth, cut in to the cove. Turquoise sea with white-topped waves crash over the rocks and on to the beach and, from a distance, the cries of children travelled on the wind on a journey to Never-Never land. On the top of the cliff, huge blocks of granite, formed and shaped by the natural elements add a sense of grandeur to the landscape. On the distant headland, Minack Open-air Theatre clings on to the side of the cliff, the cliff itself seeming to stick its nose in to the sea.
Wild flower abounds and the views of the sea and cliffs are stunning. In places, you can see where there has been major land slips, fresh red, earth showing at the edges of the cliff against the old. Apart from in Greece, I cannot remember ever seeing sea and sky of the clariity and colour that there is in Cornwall. I think you would need to walk here to fully appreciate it and to understand why it can take you an hour to cover a mile. The consequence of all the beauty was a slow morning's walking but thoroughly enjoyable. Finally, we reached Porthgwarra which was to be our lunch stop.
Imagine yourself lost in an open-air, Henry Moore sculpture arena. See in your mind's eye a landscape filled with his semi-abstract sculptures, not in bronze but in natural stone and you have an idea of what it is to walk on this set of cliffs. There is also a touch of the Easter Island sculptures to soem of hte cliff face and the rock stacks. As well as the rocks, the colour palette of land and seascape is exquisite. It is another area where I think words are inadequate and I will just let you see the perspectives that you might come to your own conclusions. Oh! I threw in the seals as well.
On and off the cliffs there are a number of interesting caves and arches but again, care required if you are trying to get close to them. As well as the caves and arches, there are a number of little coves that are stunningly beautiful in their simplicity. Put together aquamarine seas, jutting, jagged rocks and large white breakers and you have a sight worth stopping for. At an angle slightly south west, the first indication you are approaching Land's End is the Longships Lighthouse on Carn Bras which you can see clearly from the cliffs. The current lighthouse was built in 1873, its predecessor in 1795. Originally a manned lighthouse, functions were automated in 1988 and like most of the other lighthouses it is now operated from Harwich in Essex.
We felt good because not only was this us reaching Land's End but it was the end of our long walk along the south coast. It was in a real sense us turning right to head for Cape Wrath at the North Western tip of Scotland and it was our first full coast completed. Most of the East Coast is in the bag with only the short section from Fraserburgh to Auchmithie to complete. For now we could start in on the west coast. While the sign at the back of us said 'John O' Groats - 874 miles', our route via Wales, the Midland's coast, Cumbria and the west and north coasts of Scotland would be at least another three or four thousand miles.