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Jay Walking

LEJOG: Penzance to Praa Sands

I was woken at 5pm by the dawn chorus featuring every bird in Penzance but valiantly went back to sleep till 8pm. I awoke to find that a seagull had stolen a bag of food from the outer part of my tent, the instant mash was destroyed but my trail mix was fine. I headed inside the YHA ate some overnight oats and drunk a few cups of tea, while updating this blog.

St Michael's Mount, a castle built on an island in the sea
View of a curving bay with blue seas, a small beach and small rocky islands

After breakfast I slowly packed my stuff and was ready to leave by 10:30pm. It was already hot and I slowly made my way to the shore and found myself back at the train station where the coastal path heads to Marazion. It was a slow walk along the concrete path, I was really tired from the previous day, I am not really sure why as 17km is well within what I can walk in a day, maybe it was the heat and humidity that did me in. I was feeling the heat today but had made sure to rehydrate well.

I headed on to the sand for the last part of the way into Marazion, wishing I had done it earlier as the walking was easier underfoot. In the town I headed to a cafe for a coffee and a pastie, resting for 30 minutes before setting off. I considered going to a pub to rest some more but wanted to take my shoes and socks off so I headed out of town back on to the coastal path.

Once I reached Trenow Cove I found a shaded spot under a tree and took off my shoes, socks and shirt and rested for an hour. Taking time to stretch my calfs and my feet in a effort to keep them in good health. I spent an hour, out of the sun relaxing and talking to the people who passed by, of whom there were quite a few.

Setting off again I was once again really hot, the day was entering it's hottest part. A lot of the paths were narrow and tree lined, occasionally opening up to wider grassy areas. I passed by various coves and beaches such as Trevean Cove at Perranuthnoe and Prussia Cove which had a number of smaller coves. All of these places had lot people sunbathing or enjoying the sea, which was often a lovely blue green colour and usually quite clear. Being really hot I started to fantasise about jumping in myself, but I was far above the beaches.

As I walked I noticed that the rock had changed from the granite which was present everywhere yesterday to a schist like rock with occasional large mineral veins. This is quite common with granite complexes as they are intruded deep in the crust during periods of mountain building.

A Cove and in the distance the headland of Prussia Cove
View of Praa Sands beach

After resting again at Prussia Cove I only had a few kilometres to go and I was soon at Praa Sands looking for a campsite only pausing to talk to a man wearing a Crystal Palace shirt. The campsite was a little way out of town but they had plenty of space and a special rate for hikers, though the owner told me she didn't advertise the hikers rate as people would turn up in a car claiming to be hikers, all to save a few pounds. I was soon making dinner, feeling reasonably happy with my foot which seemed to be okay, the day had been much better than the previous one, with great views and interesting places.

Additional info

Date walked
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Distance walked
18.05 km or 11.22 miles
Cumulative distance
35.75 km or 22.21 miles
Weather
Sunny and hot