Today started as days by the seaside should: with screaming bright sunshine. The gale force winds were a bit of a detraction but after yesterday’s intermittent but persistent rain, we were not going to complain. I was up earlier than Frank and so the running shoes went on and we were off on the country lanes. I ran to the village of St. Erth and back. Don’t ask how far that is cuz I don’t know.
Another round of bacon rolls and we were off to Penzance to do some washing. No service washes because it was a bank holiday today but we stuffed a washer, grabbed a coffee and wandered about the town before drying things and doing a bit more exploring. Clean clothes retrieved and fully caffeinated, we were off to Marazion to 
explore “the Mount” – St. Michael’s Mount – home of the Baron St Levan who still lives there. To get to the Mount, you need to take a ferry or walk across the causeway when the tide is out. We planned for the latter (along with ten thousand others) and wandered out to the island to explore the house. It was really interesting to tour a house where the current lord and lady were still in residence. One of the interesting things about the island, in fact the whole area, is the number of palm trees you see. Yup, palm trees.
Then back across the causeway to Marazion to find some lunch. The pub I had read about on the GF lists wasn’t a good option as apparently the “chef had done a runner” according to the barman so we tried another pub, the Kings Arms, in town. One of the days specials was moules frites which they said was gluten free (separate frier for the chips) so I enjoyed local mussels in a lovely garlicky sauce which totally made up for the fact that my frites were frozen. Frank had scampi and chips – his were hand cut but my lunch was far better. A quick stop for some Cornish fudge (tastes just like Scottish tablet) and we we hit the road.
To Land’s End – the most westerly point on the island. We had dragged our hiking boots more than 4K miles and we were determined to use them. The headland a
round Land’s End doesn’t look like anywhere I’ve been in England. It is sparsely populated and almost completely devoid of trees. We parked at the visitor’s cen
ter and hit the coastal path to Sennen Cove – one of the popular local beaches. The sky was a surreal blue, the ocean an unbelievable turquoise and the hillsides covered with incredible heather of a variety of colors. The hike wasn’t that far bu
t it covered a vast expanse of space into relentless winds over strikingly beautiful terrain. And we got to the beach we had seen from above (see yesterday’s post: you ALWAYS need to go down to get to the beach) with the Jamaica-blue water and took off the hiking boots to wander into the surf.
And it was UNBELIEVABLY COLD! Yet people were actually swimming down the beach from us. Granted most of them were wearing wetsuits – when did boogie boards and wet suits become a thing? – but there were many who where just in their swim suits in frighteningly cold water. We waded as long as we could stand and then it was back along to cliffs to head back to the flat for a quiet dinner and a soak in the tub.
Today’s numbers:
- Winery’s visited: 1. yes, England makes wine. We bought some. I’ll report back on that.
- Number of wetsuits spotted: upwards of too many. It was crazy!
- Steps: 25,280 (10.89 miles) mostly up and down rock faces.
- Ounces of epsom salts used to soak away the soreness: how big was that bag anyway?
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