Walk 2: Perranporth to Newquay

Our second walk was a VERY different experience to the first...

The weekend of the 24th January, we planned to get going first thing on Saturday. However, with stormy weather on Friday and heavy rain overnight, we needed a bit of extra time to make a judgement about what we should do. In the end, we set off later in the morning (11.30am) and decided to walk along Perranporth Beach, onto Holywell and then as far towards Newquay as we could manage. 

The weather seemed to be more on our side as we headed out. The wind was calmer and, apart from the odd shower, the rain had stopped. We knew the paths might be muddy but dressed accordingly with proper hiking boots. However, my first mistake was deciding to take both dogs. I wouldn't risk either of them not being leaded on a cliff edge and this led to difficulty. 

The walk along Perran beach was lovely. This is my favourite running ground, although I have swapped in my morning runs for full-time work in Penair library, hence my drop in fitness. I'm not complaining though, I love my job and am determined to make a library refurbishment possible, especially as we now have approximately 166 pupils using the space and over 75 of them very regularly.

However, things were about to change! As we scrambled up the path onto the headland, the weather closed in again. We could see the rain coming across the sea and, once we were higher up, the wind suddenly felt much stronger. We crossed a stile and the next minute, we had a nerve-wracking drop to our left. 

There was no chance of taking a safer path either, as the area higher up is fenced off because of a military base, and I suddenly went very woozy. I have no fear of heights but, with the weather battering us, I felt vulnerable. The dogs were not liking the wind, with Romeo being particularly unpredictable, and I realised that with one false move, I could be pulled off the path. I sat down with a thump.

I never felt in real danger at any point. However, there was a moment where I knew that we could be if we pushed things. So we didn't! I shimmied back along the path on my bum and we walked the few miles home with the wind against us. I felt bad for wasting Sarah's day but, looking back at the cliff from the beach, we could see how sheer the drop was - the next stile was literally balanced right on the cliff edge. 

I should know this already. I’m not new to walking the coast path. However,  Saturday reminded me of some clear lessons:

• The weather can change dramatically and quickly. 
• If in doubt, don't! 

So 2 days in, we have only completed a total of 11 miles. Eeek! I hope we get better weather soon as we have some catching up to do!