We climbed Mt Everest!

Our Mt Everest moment. Our guide book told us that somewhere just before Tintagel, the alleged birth place of the legendary King Arthur, we would have climbed enough hills and cliffs to equal the height of Mt Everest - 8848 metres. We had climbed up out of the pretty Rocky Valley to be met by a cow standing on top of a cliff looking at us, as they do, in Cornwall. There have been cows, sheep, ponies, a harvest mouse, butterflies, snails etc. on the path, literally.

We had a room with a view on a cliff. The Tintagel YHA is a former quarry house.

Some of the old slate quarry workings near Tintagel. I don't know why they leave stacks like this but they are pretty impressive.

It must take a lot of slate and work to make these impressive herring-bone fences.

Just out of Bude, before Tintagel, we bought a book each from a wheelbarrow. This is the bookshop mentioned by Raynor Winn in The Salt Path. 

 A bit further along the path - waiting for the ferry to Padstow which runs back and forth across the estuary every 20 minutes.

A real Cornish pasty for lunch in Cornwall.

There were a lot of people but a relaxed atmosphere, a lazy warm Sunday afternoon in Padstow.

Then we walked 18km past sandy beaches and over grassy hills and cliff tops.

The coast constantly changes. 

One night we slept in a yurt, or bell tent. Not a fan. Too far to the loo and it flapped in the wind all night. This was not intentional. We wanted the same private ensuite room at the hostel that we'd had the night before but it was booked. We had settled for a smaller cheaper tent but they couldn't find the key, so they gave us this instead at no extra cost. Still would have preferred the ensuite room which was cheaper. Go figure. Why would you pay more than twice the money for a tent with the toilet 100 metres away?

Another day, more sunshine, more grassy walking.

Surfs up

Happy dogs everywhere. On beaches, walking on the path, in cafes, on buses.

Celebrating the 300km mark with our destination of Newquay in the distance. Only 714km to go!

Newquay is the largest place we've seen on the path so far. This is the harbour at high tide. There are also several surf beaches

What a difference a day makes. We left Newquay with showers and fog.

 Crossed a small tidal bridge at low tide. It is covered by water at high tide so timing is important.

 The day got wilder. The biggest waves so far crashing onto cliffs.

 We had to walk along this endless beach that disappeared into the fog.

The fog thickened as we reached the end of our 23rd day. There is a town and people walking their dogs and swimming  with life savers on the beach down there.

The next few days are supposed to be warm and sunny again, around 20 degrees. We will have a rest day or two as we need to wash clothes and give our weary bodies a rest. We have now walked 325.7km with 12,139m of ascent.