Day 19: Land's end

Start: Pendeen

End: Porthcurno

Miles: 15

Total miles: 262

This morning started with breakfast in the old mining town of St Just, before heading to the little fishing harbour of Sennen Cove. It was cloudier today with a stronger breeze, making the walking a little easier. The path still had many boulders that needed to be negotiated but far less than yesterday. The beach at Sennen Cove was busy with holiday makers and surfers, we had ice cream on the promenade.

From here the path climbed to reach Land's End. The amount of people congregated around the famous signpost, queuing to have their photo taken was overwhelming. I longed to meet travel worn adventurers arriving from John O'Groats. To listen to stories of hardship and the creative methods of travel they'd used. Instead it was mostly people in flip flops arriving from the car park to have their photo taken and a pasty at the cafe. Later we met up with my German friends who are completing sections of the path, they described Land's End as a "horror story" with no redeeming qualities. Their harsh review made me laugh. They opted to leave the route from here as the path became a little exposed and challenging if you are uncomfortable with heights. I found this section manageable, even though heights make me nervous. The wind speed wasn't as high as the exposed sections I'd previously covered on Exmoor and I'd managed that.

From here we pushed on towards Porthgwarra, crossing a few rugged headlands with views of deep caves and rocky islets. The final stretch involved a series of steep steps to the beach below the Minack Theatre to arrive at Porthcurno. Today was definitely easier than yesterday. Less rocks, lower temperatures and easier to make progress. I was beside myself when the camp farm shop sold fruit and vegetables and had a wood fired pizza van on site. It's moments like this that give me a morale boost, keeping me moving forward each day. Tomorrow will be my final day of phase 3 which means I get treated to a hotel in Penzance. Not only that, but I have my first full rest day on Friday. I've almost been walking continuously for 20 days now, so the concept of not getting up and walking seems strange. Strange but wonderful.