Tracy Curran_Walking the Cornish Coastline Challenge

 10.6 miles on treadmill (17.13 km) plus 1 mile dog walk = 11.6 miles Apologies for the photo not being very clear due to sunlight. 

Unfortunately, following Easter Saturday, Sarah and I were unable to walk for a month. This was due to family commitments, holidays, weather and our free time just not matching up.  With time, and the possibility of completing my challenge, slipping away so quickly, I decided to come up with a way of still being able to  26 walks by the end of July and cover the distance of the Cornish coastline. That was my original pledge and still my aim .  The option of going out more often on my own makes things logically very tricky. Plus, Sarah and I are very much in it together now so I quickly dismissed that idea.  The answer?  I have decided to complete some of the walks on a treadmill. This way, by completing 11 miles (18.1 km) at a time I should still be able to complete the distance of the Cornish coastline in 26 walks by the end of July - within six months of starting the challenge. I hope this makes sense and that people will still be kind enough to consider spons...

 After not walking with Sarah for a month, I was really looking forward to getting out onto the coast again, especially as it was a lovely weather day. Although I had heard that the first section from Zennor to St Ives was quite tough, I was excited about walking through St Ives and then heading on to the stunning estuary of Hayle.  We parked in Hayle and kindly got a lift to Zennor. The first six miles to Zennor was  hard work - not so much due to steep paths but because of the rocky ground underfoot. There was lots of shale which led to slipping, a rocky patch of boulders to navigate and at one point we found ourselves walking down a little waterfall. We even saw a puddle full of tadpoles. The view was stunning though. The remoteness and landscape of Zennor is quite unique and the sea was a gorgeous turquoise. We also, surprisingly, passed a steady stream of very friendly people: Americans and Canadians on their holidays and a very energetic group of young people who we...

11.1 miles/18 km  

 

We attempted this walk on the Friday of May half-term, right on the back of a week of scorching weather. I had been busy doing some extra marking work all week - yes, instead of enjoying the sunny holidays - and was desperate to escape it. The weather forecast was 18 degrees and cloudy so I decided to take both dogs along as they had only been able to get out in the evenings and were properly fed up.  I met Sarah at Cape Cornwall and then we drove one car back to Zennor. As we set off, it quickly became clear that the weather was going to be much sunnier and warmer than expected and I prayed I hadn't made a massive mistake bringing the dogs. The first mile delivered views worthy of Greece and Turkey - the colour of the sea was a vivid turquoise - and this continued for most of our walk.  Overall, the walk was hard-going due to its remoteness but probably one of my favourites so far due to the views. I've visited this area several times but not recently and it was nice to be so...