Day 8: Treyarnon to Trelill

A very long day, walking nearly on roads, as I separated from the South West Coast Path for the day. 

• Date: 28 March 2024
• Start: Treyarnon
• End: Trelill
• Miles: 21.1
• Total miles: 99.2
• Accommodation: Cornish Tipi Holidays

No one joined me in my hostel room last night meaning I had a whole six bed dorm to myself. It was heavily raining when I woke up so I had a gentle start and didn’t leave until the rain stopped at 9am. 

As soon as I set off, I departed from the South West Coast Path, before rejoining it briefly, and then not seeing it for the rest of the day. As I’m not here to walk the South West Coast Path, merely using it as I tool to get through the South West, I can chop certain bits off, like headlands.  I cut off the Trevose and Lellizzick headlands, as I didn’t need to walk around them. This had consequences by going inland, having to walk on roads, or sometimes through huge puddles.

There’s another reason for taking shortcuts where I can, because sometimes I need to take a longer route than advertised. There’s a river between Padstow and Rock which has no bridge, therefore there is a foot ferry to carry walkers across so they can continue the South West Coast Path. 

I’m not allowed to use a ferry, as I’m completing this journey solely on foot. This meant taking a longer route along the river, following the Camel Trail to Wadebridge. 

While walking down this path, I was pelted with rain, hail and even snow. 

Once I’d reached Wadebridge, I grabbed a sandwich for lunch and then started making my way towards my campsite, which was back near the South West Coast Path. I tried taking footpaths inland rather than roads, as some of the roads were very busy, but this plan failed given the state of the ground at the moment. This led to many detours, including to a lovely pub in St Kew. 

After a bit more road walking, I made it to the soggy campsite, where I was the only one staying. The owner gave me a tour around on his quad bike, as the place is massive with forests to explore and a lake. After getting the tent up and cooking dinner, it was time to get all snug in the sleeping bag and warm up a bit before bed.