Pendoggett Day 4 (Tuesday) Pendoggett to Port Garverne

What have we learnt today?

When walking in Cornwall take secateurs, a small pruning saw and a machete.

In the welcome folder, there are written instructions for a walk across the fields and through the woods to Port Gaverne.  We were immediately attracted to it, so I typed the instructions into a document and pasted the result into a Whatsapp message, so that we both had it readily available.  With the new boots I had randomly bought in ALDI, we set off.  The walk is about 2 miles and ‘is not easy’ according to the instructions.  This is mainly due to mud and cows churning it up, so making the ground uneven to walk across.  There were other hazards, among them briers, nettles, fallen trees (so that you had to climb over) and of course cows.  Cows appear inquisitive and frightened, both at the same time.  When they decide to move, it is surprisingly sudden for such a large animal, and thankfully it was always away from us.

We arrive in Port Gaverne, there is a restaurant called ‘Pilchards’ right on the harbour and the Garverne Hotel on the other side.  The staff are setting up at the hotel, so we ask if it's open, and the waitress tells us the restaurant opens at 12.  Then she remembers that the bar is open, so we order tea, which comes in one of the biggest tea pots we have seen. 

After drinking the tea, we decide to go on the South West coast path.  It resumes next to the hotel up a very steep incline (1 in 3?).  The path is a rough concrete road, designed to provide grip for cars, and turns into a rock track past the last house.  Once at the top of that, the climb continues a couple of hundred yards.  The views from the top out to sea and back to the port are amazing.

We walked for another mile, quite slowly, climbing up and down the coastal path.  Not wanting to over-do it, as we have so often in the first few days of a holiday, we turned back and arriving in the port looked at 'Pilchards' for lunch, but it was very expensive, so we continued back to Pendoggett and had lunch in the Cornish Arms.

Walk distance 6.02 miles.

While having lunch, the garage phoned and said the tire was ready for collection, so we travelled back to Wadebridge, where the tire was soon fitted.  We wandered round the town and bought ice cream from a young lad who didn't seem to have served ice cream (or perhaps customers) before. We also had a short walk along the riverbank and were trying to remember if we had ever visited the town in the past.  We are still not sure.