22nd March 2023
It was our original intention to go for a few days walking along the South West Coast Path heading eastwards and ending up at Lizard Point, but the difficulty in finding reasonably priced accommodation at this time of the year called for a change of plan. So we booked the camper van into Cosawes Campsite which was the only one available, and decided to busk it. Luckily our friends who live on their boat in nearby Mylor came up with a grand solution which ended thus:
“……..and we can meet you in the Logan Rock Inn which is AMAZING!”
It was far too tempting to miss a pub that warrants bold capitalisation, so the plan was set to get a bus from the campsite to Truro then a train to Penzance. The Bus Driver was unbelievably miserable but the Station Staff were super friendly which compensated for the poor start. Once in Penzance, we would then walk along the coastal path to the pub which is just above Penberth. I could normally tell you how far it was, but the battery on my Garmin Fenix watch went flat half way along – I think it got exhausted trying to calculate all those hills. At a guess, I’d say 11 miles with a couple of thousand feet of ascent, so quite strenuous walking.
We left the station at Penzance and headed along the seafront towards Newlyn. We were keen to make brisk progress as it was already 11:00, so we skipped mooching around town. As we approach Newlyn we were greeted by a rather wonderful statue by Tom Leaper. I really liked it, not only because it looked powerful, but everything seemed technically perfect. The heaving line was split into two halves, it was coiled clockwise and had a fine monkey’s fist on the end. To me it looked like it would actually arrive in the right place. It was a fitting tribute to the 20 local Sailors lost at sea since 1980. It wasn’t long after admiring the statue that we succumbed to our first Cornish Pasties.
We soon came to Penlee Point and afterwards to the lifeboat station that housed the “Solomon Browne” lifeboat. This lifeboat went to the recue of a stricken cargo ship, the Union Star, in ferocious seas. They succeeded in taking four crew members off the ship but the lifeboat was then lost to the violent sea with all on board. The enquiry found the cargo ship got into to trouble when salt water contaminated its fuel in the high seas but concluded the lifeboat was lost;
“in consequence of the persistent and heroic endeavours by the coxswain and his crew to save the lives of all from the Union Star. Such heroism enhances the highest traditions of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in whose service they gave their lives.”
After pausing at the thought of those poor souls lost at sea, we then carried on into the picturesque village of Mousehole. There was a house on the seafront with a string of little mouseholes cut into its soffit board which I thought was a nice touch.
The next section of the South west Coast Path is probably not one for running. It involves a lot of careful foot placement which means its heads down to watch exactly where you are stepping. If you want to take in the stunning views then you need to pause for a while.
Make sure you warm up your ankles before setting off
Beware of high spring tides with an onshore blow.
Penberth was a strange place. It was completely unspoilt and quite pretty with an old windless for hauling boats up the beach but there were forbidding NO signs everywhere.
I did feel rather unwelcome, as if I was intruding into a private enclave. No dogs, No paddle boards, No inflatables, No skin diving, No anything else you might have thought would be fun. We scurried our way up the hill before the locals got their shotguns out.
Luckily the Logan Rock Inn offered us a more welcome greeting and showed us to a table besides a real roaring fire. Our friends arrived soon after we had settled in and dried off. We scoffed steak and ale pies and a few pints of fine Cornish Ale. Doesn’t get better than that!
Technical Details
It is an “Adult Only” campsite, which sounds slightly dodgy, but in this case it just means they don’t want children doing those awful things they do, like making a noise, laughing, having fun, and playing. Despicable behaviour!
The campsite is below a retirement home enclave so it is a very quiet area. It is immaculately clean, almost weirdly so, but maybe my hygiene standards set a low bar. The hardstanding pitches are very wide so there is nowhere to use tent pegs to secure our awning.
There is a really nice large field across the road for dog walking. There’s a stream meandering through the middle and (apparently) there are otters there. There are also swings hanging from the tree but no nasty children to play on them!
A short walk away is Juliette’s Fruit and Veg stand where you can also buy milk, sausages and bread – but no muesli.
We were the only campervan on the site, all the other pitches were massive white whales and huge caravans. What a nightmare it must be driving those beasts around the narrow Cornwall roads. Mind you I get the same feeling when I sail little Sumara into harbours these days. All the other boats seem so big!
Parking our little campervan cost £110.00 plus £8.00 for the woofer for a 4 night stay (£29.50 per night). That includes hook up power. Not too bad.
There are buses to Truro from the nearby fruit stall layby and the Number 68 bus seems to come right into the campsite. I wonder if the Number 68 Driver is a bit more cheery than the miserable sod on the U1 Bus?
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