Escaping to Fowey in a motorhome (day 4)

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Day four of the escape to Fowey

Today is forecast hot, like really hot and, after yesterday’s exertions, we are feeling lazy. So, beach day it is then!

 Breakfast is in Charlestown again with the newspapers collected from the Co-op in Par. Breakfast is followed by a walk westwards along the coastal cliffs. This plan is rapidly scuppered. Landslips have knocked out the coastal path and so there are diversions in place.

The diversion proves to be unimaginative. We have to follow the road all the way to Duporth. Every residential road cliff side has a road sign at its entrance “No access to cliff coastal path”.  Very frustrating.

Eventually we reach the road down into Porth Pean. On the last bend, a footpath disappears down to the sea. Turn right at its end to go to Porth Pean beach with its café and toilets; turn left for the lesser attended and longer Duporth beach.

This road down to the village is narrow and there are warning signs at the junction about not taking wide vehicles down it. We did see a few delivery vans coming along it but a big A class low profile might struggle. Car parking is limited as well or so we were told by a local. There were ‘no parking’ traffic cones along one side of the approach road. The local told us that many houses along this road were built on private trust land and they were fiercesome about their privacy and rights.

Porth Pean beach was crowded with families but not unpleasantly so. It is a fine gravel beach which gives way to sand as the tide goes out. A sea defence wall/ promenade has the toilets and a beach take-away café cum shop.

We headed to the far southern end, past the boat ramp and away from the main crowds. Before us is a rocky area of boulders and rock pools, providing crabbing opportunities followed by a little cliff backed rocky point.

The waters are crystal clear and aquamarine. The bay is sheltered and so people take to paddle boards and little rubber dinghies. The views across St Austell Bay towards the anchored Square Riggers, at the entrance to Charlestown are sublime. Further out to sea the strangest of sights. Fifty or so long sweeping curved lines of small black buoys. They cover a huge area and after much puzzling debate we conclude that they must be a mussel farm.

We stay for several hours, reading, lounging in the sun. I buy a beach brolly from the little shop. It’s needed. The sunshine is intense the temperature well up in the top twenties. The breeze is negligible. Fortunately, I choose well, for later we discover it is a perfect fit in Bryony’s external locker!

A well-deserved iced Latte back in Charlestown, down on the inner harbour quayside ends a really nice, lazy day.

It is rare that we sit for so long on a beach. Don’t get me wrong, we adore a lovely beach but we can’t normally sit still long enough on it.

‘Restless explorers’ at heart, we are.