Coastal Walk & Beach Day
Firstly and for anyone that follows, apologies for missing #musicmonday but I've been in bed with a stomach bug. I thought I'd ease myself back into posting, with some pictures of a recent walk along the southwest coastal path. I say walk, but in reality it was more of a saunter/swim through some worldclass Cornish history/scenary.
With 630 miles of stunning vistas, hidden coves, sub tropical woodland creeks and pristine coastline it's easy to see why the southwest coastal path is recognised as one of the best long distance trails in the world. The coastal route is 630 miles long and in terms of elevation its the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, four times! Of the total distance, 450 miles will take you through not only stunning but also highly protected landscapes. You will walk through a national park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, two world heritage sites and five areas of outstanding natural beauty!
The cliffs around here are precipitous and must of the coastline is cut off at hightide. In this instance I had to wait on the beach below for the tide to go out. If you look at the picture above you will see an inlet that's cut off by the sea, once the tide has fully gone out it leaves a sandy gorge and cave that you can walk through and thus continue your journey.
And we're through! The entire Southwest route is an ancient network of paths used by coastguards, lighthouse keepers and indeed smugglers! Although heavily romanticised (and there are certainly elements of this that are true), smuggling (linked to wrecking) could often be a brutal affair. On wild and stormy nights wreckers would lure ships onto the rocks; then (depending on the ruthlessness of the wrecking crew) survivors of the tempest would often reach the perceived safety of the beach only to be mericlessly slain by their awaiting would be plunderers.
The sense of history in this area is as beguiling as the landscape, decaying tin mines, old smuggling routes, myths, legends and fishermen's tales. But make no mistake; this was a hard life where the majority of people eeked out an existence from the windswept land around them, all the while praying for merciful weather conditions, unless (of course) you were a smuggler!
As beautiful as this stretch of beach is, due to it's rip tides and dangerous undercurrents its designated as strictly no swimming and as such does not have a lifeguard! Still it has deep rockpools and a fairly extensive network of caves to exlore, not forgetting the vast expanse of golden sands.
At high tide, the entirety of this beach is engulfed in water. With steep cliffs and dangerous currents this is one place that you wouldn't want to get caught by the tide. In fact (apart from my sneaky back route), the only way onto this beach is via a steep staircase and due to the inherent dangers and ferocity of winter storms the beach can remain closed for months at a time. Indeed, on numerous occasions the stairs themselves have been swept out to sea. Equally, on days like today its hard to envisage the landscape carving intensity of these waters.
So now it's getting late in the day and its time to return to the cliff edge and the winding path back to my car. But not before I pause to share some more pictures and gaze in wonderment at the landscape around me.
Written by perceptualflaws
Original pictures by perceptualflaws
Banner Gifs courtesy of @justcallmemyth
World-class scenery indeed which you did a pretty good job capturing.
I can't say I didn't miss you on Monday, but after sticking pins in your effigy for an hour or so I got over it;)
Pretty good job!!?? lol .. jokes aside, it's such a beautiful spot that its easier to get a good shot than a bad one.
It was you was it? I was wondering where those sharp stomach pains had come from. :) I had a Scary Eire track as well, will have to save it for next time. ;) Thanks my friend.
Beautiful place thank for sharing this with us😀
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Thanks my friend, glad you enjoyed .. it's certainly a photogenic spot. :)
Incredible pictures my friend! I plan to visit the beautiful scenery of the coast of Maine next year, close as we can get to that type of imagery here in New England, with those incredible cliffs and boulders that become passable through the low tide. I remember bringing my friend and his partner to a vast expanse of forest near where I grew up. His partner said she never spent any time in such an area in her life, she was 24! Too many people spend all their time indoors and in the cities and not enough time taking in mother nature’s beauties. Fantastic photos, love seeing beautiful England, much different than the dreary London I usually see pictures of!
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Hey @cmplxty thanks for stopping by. My Mum went to Maine a few years back and she absolutely loved it! I've always wanted to visit in the autumn/fall .. and hopefully one day that dream will turn to reality. I also grew up reading lots of Stephen King books and many are set in that area, so it's long been my intent to visit and see it for myself. Yeah I know what you mean about being stuck indoors or smog filled cities, after a few days I start to feel claustrophobic and need to escape. There are some stunning and surprisingly wild places still left on this small island .. indeed even the arctic tundra still has a hold on the nearly 1800 square miles (4,528 square km's) of the Cairngorm national park. Thanks again my friend!
Awesome scenery! I can now travel without having to go anywhere:) Get well soon!
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Thanks dude, glad you enjoyed, its a stunning place!! Starting to feel a bit more human today. :)
Feeling more human...sounds like something a reptilian would say :P:P:P
I prefer shapeshifter .. reptilian isn't very pc in this day and age! lol Mind you I felt more like a slug than a reptile! :D
😂
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