Coverack to Helford and Landrivick Farm

Saturday 24th April 2010

Approximately 15 miles including 13 miles on South West Coast Path

Click here for all our photos from this walk.

We were intrigued by the enormous fish jaws on the wall in the dining room at Fernleigh, and relieved to know that they were sawfish jaws from the Red Sea, not local! Apparently Anne Rogers' late husband worked as a fisheries advisor in Sudan. We said hello to the other guests staying at Fernleigh (an elderly couple who were most impressed that we were walking) and set off at about 9am. We passed the 'geologically unique' beach, described thus because 'a vertical section of the Earth', including the Moho, is 'laid horizontally on the ground'.

Towards the end of the beach we climbed up slightly then took a path back towards the sea. We followed this path to Lowland Point. It was occasionally damp underfoot and we didn't see any basking seals - indeed we didn't see much at all as it was still distinctly misty - but the wildflowers were beautiful.

Round Lowland Point and we couldn't see the Manacles, but we could see Dean Quarries (a gabbro quarry). Walking through the quarry was surprisingly interesting. Stone used to be taken away by sea, being loaded onto ships at high tide, but I don't think this is the case any more; indeed I'm not sure that much quarrying at all takes place now.

We came down to the attractive little beach at Godrevy Cove (with warnings of oil on the beach, though none was obvious) then climbed across agricultural land to the pretty hamlet of Rosenithon, then down to the little beach at Porthoustock. From here the path immediately heads inland again, though a coastal route is planned; presumably it will have to go through more quarries and the variety that the attractive inland route brings will be lost.

We returned to the coast at Porthallow (known locally as 'Pr'alla'), reputed to have a shop and a seasonal cafe, but we couldn't find either of these. There is a marker in honour of the fact that Porthallow is the half-way point along the entire South West Coast Path, so we should have been celebrating, but the lack of food was something of a disappointment. We climbed up out of Porthallow, above Nare Cove. We ate lunch (just our own emergency rations) sitting on boulders, then descended towards the sea and down to the Coastwatch observation station at Nare Point. Round the corner we could see the entrances to both Gillan Creek and the Helford River.

We followed an attractive path close to the sea to Gillan, sometimes through wooded areas and round little bays, and always with attractive wildflowers. The Church of St Anthony-in-Meneage came into view. The tide was high so we didn't even contemplate paddling across Gillan Creek. The alternative involves a steep climb - firstly on a track, then on a minor road, then across fields - and then you follow a minor road down to the head of Gillan Creek at Carne. We then followed the even more minor road (to the extent that a van had to drive behind two people walking on the road because it was too narrow for it to pass them!) back to St Anthony-in-Meneage. This walk, alongside Gillan Creek, was delightful - it was incredibly peaceful and again there was attractive woodland and wildflowers. About half-way along the northern shore of the Creek there's a National Trust woodland, with a path running through it on the seaward side of the road; the guidebooks didn't mention this path so we didn't take it, but I would recommend other walkers reading this website to do so.

There's a little boatyard in front of the Church at St Anthony-in-Meneage, with lots of expensive-looking boats, and there were two vintage cars parked in front of the Church. Very pretty, though a tea shop would have been more useful! We climbed up onto Dennis Head and took the optional short diversion around the Head, with good views in all directions. The Contours instructions said to ring Landrivick Farm 'on the approach to Helford' (to arrange to be picked up from there) and amazingly we had good mobile reception on Dennis Head, so we rang from here - only to be told to ring again from Helford (note: from our experience later in the year on St Cuthbert's Way, it appears that Contours always use this wording when you need to ring someone to arrange a transfer - it's misleading). We stopped for a short break then followed the path down to the shore of the Helford River and along to Helford, again through attractive woodland. There were good views to Durgan and Helford Passage on the opposite bank.

We climbed up, past the Sailing Club, to the car park at Helford. There is a cafe in an old Church here - it was 4.15pm so not worth stopping, but given today's earlier lack of refreshments, this place is worth knowing about. No unauthorised vehicles are allowed beyond the car park, and we thought - rightly - that this would be where we would be picked up. However we decided to walk down through the village to find the pub (for this evening) and the ferry landing (for tomorrow) - it was complicated but very pretty. You cross over a footbridge by a ford, then go down a narrow lane between whitewashed cottages and thatched houses and it feels as if you are going through someone's garden on the final descent to the ferry landing. But suddenly we were there, right at the water's edge, and we realised that although we had passed the Post Office/General Stores, of pub there had been no sign - and there was no mobile reception (a hazard that causes us some anxiety each time the Contours instructions tell us to ring ahead). We walked back to the phone box near the Post Office. In doing this we solved one problem - what had looked like an ordinary thatched cottage when walking down through the village, was clearly the Shipwright's Arms when walking in the opposite direction! However the phone box didn't help us in making contact with Landrivik Farm; it didn't take cash and 'sticky keys' meant it was impossible to use a credit card either. So we walked back up to the car park beginning to think that we might have to walk all the way up to Landrivik Farm (which wouldn't have been the end of the world but was not in my plan for today).

Fortunately there was just enough signal at the car park to enable us to ring Landrivik Farm again, and Linda Jenkin came straight down to fetch us. As she drove us up the narrow twisting lanes to the farm, she explained that she has lived on this farm all her life; it was her parents' farm and sadly her mother died unexpectedly just a couple of weeks ago. She now runs the farm (raising beef cattle) with her husband and 24-year old son, whilst her daughter is about to leave college and to start work at a local estate agent. Both children are obviously very involved with the Young Farmers. Linda has been doing B&B for 18 years, and her mother did it before her, but as the farm takes up more of her time and she has less need of the money, she's doing B&B rather less. It looks as if we were lucky to get the booking, and the lack of Landrivik Farm as a B&B, if it happens, will be felt by walkers on the South West Coast Path. It's not a luxurious B&B, but it was very memorable, and Linda and her family could not have done more to make us welcome. We met the dog and some of the cows, and Linda served us tea and cakes in the farmhouse; our room was in the bungalow next to the farmhouse, with Linda's son in the room at the other end. In the evening we walked down to the Shipwright's Arms, having been told the short cut - a minor road to Kestle and then down Orchard Lane, a by-way down to Helford Village. Signs at the top of the road warn you not to attempt to take a car or an emergency vehicle down here; apparently sat navs get it wrong, and the approach to Helford is a very narrow, steep and twisting lane. The guidebooks tell you that it can be difficult to get evening meals in the Helford area and that, at busy times, the Shipwright's Arms won't serve food unless you have a booking. We'd thought that this might mean that it was an unfriendly place, but it was quite the opposite and we had a lovely meal (beef in red wine, with Helford River cider); however the pub is tiny. We'd arranged to be collected at 9pm and it was actually Linda's husband and a friend who picked us up in a Range Rover and drove us back up to Landrivik Farm.

Following day