Day: 109 6/4/94 St John to Sheviock

Weather:Cool and overcast Distance: 14.5km (9.0 miles) Total Distance: 1372 miles

My wife dropped me off at the village of St John and then went on to Mount Edgcumbe Country Park with my son. From the pub the walk went down towards the estuary and across a ford. From there it was up a hill, still on the road, before turning right onto a fairly well marked footpath, towards the naval town of Torpoint. I kept an eye out for where I may be able to get down to the coast, but it appeared that it was all MOD property. I thus walked on the landward side of HMS Raleigh, a smart and well protected establishment.

I had bought a street map of Plymouth and surrounding areas the previous day in Mount Edgcumbe, which came in very useful in finding my way around the back streets of Torpoint, initially via a navy housing estate. I could tell it was owned by the MOD because all the lawns were being tended to by contractors. My route then took me along the estuary-front lined with bungalows before it led into the older part of the town and past the ferry landing. Up onto the main road for a while before taking a turn to the right, down some back streets and through a park. I got a little lost in trying to find my way back onto the main road but only had a short walk before turning off down to the quiet hamlet of Wilcove. I bought a drink in the pub overlooking the estuary and drank it outside.

Some quiet lanes and footpaths bought me out to the front of St Antony House, a National Trust property. There was still no obvious right of way along the coast according to the map so I continued on some more difficult-to-find footpaths up to the main road. This left a rather long stretch of road walking to meet my wife at Sheviock. The wooded area along side the road made the walking a bit more pleasant in parts. A walk without a great deal of picturesque places but I was taken with the pub at Wilcove.

We went back ti St Antony House, but since my son had just woken up we did not go around the house but just wandered around the garden for a while, though it was a little difficult to entertain him. We then went to the beach atHannafore (West Looe). The waves were big which scared my son, so we did not make any sand castles. We had tea in East Looe in a restaurant just near the bridge; nothing much more complicated than chips and things. My wife took my son to the shop next door and bought a little toy car to keep him happy while we waited for the food to arrive.