Day 100 4/8/93 Gorran Haven to Charlestown

Weather: Poor, rain and drizzle.

Distance:  14.5 km (9 miles)    Total Distance:  1295 miles

We drove to Gorran Haven from our holiday cottage in Mevagissey going the long way round since the road through Mevagissey itself looked very narrow.  Margaret and Sean dropped me off before heading on for some retail therapy. It was a fairly gentle walk up to Chapel Point where there is a collection of three lovely white-washed houses.  The path then led into Portmellon, a sister village to Mevagissey but lackluster and not nearly as attractive, just not much more than a couple of hotels.  It was cold and miserable in Mevagissey and plenty of people appeared to be getting caught out wearing inappropriate summer gear. The first climb of the day was the path out of the town to the north.  Our rented cottage was only a short distance away at this point.



Mevagissey Harbour
(Photo: Carol Walker, Geograph)



At Pentewean, the coast path descended from the cliffs, but instead of going along the beach went slightly inland along the road inland from the camping site. It started to rain so I stopped in the cafe in the village for a drink and tea cake.  I headed off when the cafe started to get crowded from what seemed to be children on a field trip.

From Pentwean to Charlestown it rained pretty heavily at times. This was one of the few occasions that I had got wet on the walk so far.  There were some very strenuous ups and downs between Pentwean and Black Head which in the wet was very hard going. It was easier from there on.  The path into Charlestown passes through a small woodland where a very bedraggled young down-and-out sat peering out of a derelict stone hut.

At Charlestown I met Margaret and changed out of my wet clothes.  Charlestown is a pleasant small harbour town serving St Austell.  The port still loads up small coasters with china clay.  We visited a couple of craft shops and then moved onto the local pub which had one of those massive family rooms with just us in and the atmosphere of a morgue, but at least the beer was nice.