{"id":3240,"date":"2022-07-11T13:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stonekicking.co.uk\/?p=3240"},"modified":"2023-06-01T22:37:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T21:37:31","slug":"day-66-holywell-to-coombe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stonekicking.co.uk\/?p=3240","title":{"rendered":"Day 66. Holywell to Coombe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South West Coast Path Day 13.<\/strong>
Distance today: 23.5 miles<\/strong>.
Total distance: 1333.6 miles<\/strong>.
Accommodation: campsite<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All my fretting over accommodation was put in perspective when I bumped into someone wild camping for the whole of the SWCP. I don’t think he was in any hurry and he currently had a spot perched high above one end of Perran Sands Beach. It seems that we multi-day hikers all like our rules and his was that he had a total daily budget of \u00a310. He was at pains to point out he could <\/em>afford more but that was his challenge. While we were chatting, a pompous sounding farmer came along, walking his dog. There then followed a you-people<\/em> type conversation where the farmer accused hikers of trashing the beach and using it as a toilet. My new colleague gave as good as he got, returning the accusation that it was generally the dog walkers that didn’t clean up after their dogs had used the beach as a toilet. I think it was almost <\/em>an amicable argument. By the way, Perran Sands was a beautiful, long beach. Picture perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we want? Breakfast and a phone charge. When do we want it? When we get to the Wetherspoons in Perranporth. It was slightly longer stay than usual to give my phone a fighting chance of lasting the day. Incidentally, for anyone who received our Protect What You Love<\/em> Christmas card, Perranporth was where I saw the mural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might be my imagination but I’m sure the sea was taking on a more of an aquamarine colour than it had up until now. From the high vantage point of the cliff tops it just looked stunning. One day I might have to take a dip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere between Perranporth and St Agnes, the serenity of the trail was tested by the background presence of what sounded like either motorbikes or quad bikes going around a track. It was quite a distance away but one of the side effects was the kicking up of large dust clouds that carried all the way down to the trail. I was surprised that whatever it was had managed to get a license. I suspect there are more bikers than there are walkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I trawled the shops in Portreath to try and find something to eat. The best I could find was a pack of 4 strawberry muller rice. I ate 2 of them straight away. I suspect that is not a healthy diet. I’d walked a couple of hundred yards down the road before I realised I’d left my walking poles in the shop. My diet was clearly already affecting my brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stopping point for the night was the Magor Farm Campsite<\/a>, about a kilometre in land from the SWCP in Coombe. Just where I turned off from the trail, there was a lovely viewpoint and a couple were gazing out over the shimmering sea, enjoying a beer. That is not a bad way to spend a late afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a little bit of help from 2 dog walkers who bore a striking resemblance to the Hairy Bikers, I found the campsite and it was fairly basic but in a nice location, completely surrounded by trees. I found a place to pitch and then immediately lay down, head against my backpack. It had been another long hot day. Looking around, there seemed to be a large group of people who all knew each other. Someone from the group came over and asked if I needed anything. Tea? Coffee? A cup of tea would be lovely. Later on they came back and asked if I wanted anything to eat – they could do me some cheese on toast. It was a really kind gesture which I graciously declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner came by later, driving around the site in her car, picking up pitch fees. You got the sense that there were lots of regulars and she knew everyone. I spent the rest of the evening waiting for one of the few power sockets to become free (in the laundry) and then risked leaving my power block plugged in overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n