This trip is not going to let us slide gently over the finish line.

We left Plymouth via the ferry into Cornwall. In case anyone thinks this is cheating as we didn’t walk round the estuary with a ~50km detour, Mark made us walk up and down the deck for the whole time we were on the boat.

It wasn’t long before we were in the countryside,

with farmers out destroying the last traces of maize

and some pretty eery cows staring at us.

Then we met the hills and the South West Coastal Path. This bit was fine. The ridge you can see cutting across Mark’s head was also kind of OK if you like a 20% uphill gradient.

As we walked out of the fabulously named, but very dull, Portwrinkle the path got more “interesting”.

The only bits I could photograph without my sweaty palms clinging to the fence on the inside edge of the cliff made me think the road was a better bet.

This is the definition of being between a rock and hard place. I stepped off the edge of a cliff made of rock onto the hard surface of the B3247 and car dodging round blind bends. 

Eventually we got to Looe and decided the ferry across the estuary there was definitely cheating and also impossible to walk on. Bridge it was.

The tide was out, which meant that the view from the bridge didn’t exactly show Looe in its best light.

It perked up a bit in the evening, although every building, our BnB included, seems to be outdoing its neighbour on how to cling to the side of the hill.

Of course our BnB is also on a hill, but it was worth venturing out to the Michelin recommended Sardine Factory. I’d forgotten what proper food tastes like.

Distance 34.22km on Mark’s Strava because he didn’t forget to click resume when we left YO! Sushi in Plymouth saying a last farewell to Connor at work.