Day 3: St Ives to Portreath

A very long and windy third day on the South West Coast Path, with the addition of seals!

• Date: 23 March 2024
• Start: St Ives
• End: Portreath
• Miles: 18.1
• Total miles: 43.3
• Accommodation: Hillcrest Views Campsite

I woke up a lot in the night due to the wind. At times I thought my tent might collapse, but it held out. I ended up waking up at half 5 so thought I might as well get up and get going, as I had 18 miles to cover today. I did get a glimpse of a great sunrise as well. 

I popped into a Co-op to get a sandwich for breakfast and made my way around an estuary to Hayle, leaving St Ives behind. I did get lost here for about 15 minutes so had to retread my steps. You’d think the South West Coast Path would be easy to follow given you just follow the coast, but not really. I’m finding the signage very poor compared to other long distance paths I’ve been on. 

As I reached Hayle, I popped into Asda to stock up on lunch, then tackled the sand dunes and the beach on the way to Gwithian. This was where the wind really picked up, knocking me from side to side with my big backpack on. 

I then headed up to a cliff edge to admire the views down to the sea and also spotted some seals chilling in a cove. This part of the walk was my favourite so far, with good paths and great views. 

After 18 miles, I finally descended into Portreath, where I’d be ending today’s walk. 

Tonight’s campsite was a bit out of town, so I jumped to on a bus to get there. Of course I’ll go back to the exact point I left off in the morning to continue my walk. 

Onwards to Perranporth tomorrow.