In love with Cornwall - Part 2

Cornwall is famous with it's Cornish pasties. It looks like a giant curry puff with various fillings inside to choose from and traditionally it is filled with diced meat, sliced potato and onion. Tradition claims that the pasty was originally made as lunch ('croust' or 'crib' in the Cornish language) for Cornish miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. As the miners would be covered in dirt from head to foot (including some arsenic often found with tin), they could hold the pasty by the folded crust and eat the rest of the pasty without touching it, discarding the dirty pastry.

So I too bought a large traditional Cornish pasty, found a bench overlooking the ocean, and started eating. It is a pretty interesting experience as the wind is still pretty strong and cold but the pasty is piping hot. The pasty is very delicious with creame mushroom + potatos and also diced meat (like those we have in our 'bah chang'). After that I walked around a little more and return to the hotel as it's so cold and I am feeling a bit tired.

In the evening, I thought of going for a walk and watch the sunset but just as I stepped out of my hotel, it started to rain. Back to the hotel then and stayed in for the night.

On the second day, I had a full English breakfast at the hotel (egg, bacon, sausages, toast, coffee). With a full tummy, I started my 6 miles hike along the coastal path from Newquay to Bedruthan's Steps. It was a clear day after a nite of rain. Blue Sky but still very strong and cold wind. Coastal paths are hiking path along the Cornish cliff besides the ocean. You would have great view of the Cornish beaches, beautiful cliffs and the crystal clear ocean on one side , and rolling hills and greens on the inland on the other side. There weren't many tourist hiking on the trail at this time as the weather is still pretty cold and windy. Most people would just drive to a specific beach destination. I think there would be more hikers during summer time.

My first beach encounter is Porth beach. The sea water has subsided leaving a huge area of sandy beach. On the left hand cliff, there are some vacation houses and the right hand side cliff is Trevelgue Head. Trevelgue Head cliff castle is an outstanding Iron Age headland to the north of Newquay in Cornwall. The ramparts are said to be still impressive and the site is most dramatic when a heavy sea attacks the cliffs. Spent sometime walking and loitering around this place admiring the view.

Walking on, the next beach is Watergate bay. Watergate is a large, open west facing bay with a two mile long stretch of golden sands. The beach is located at the foot of some very steep cliffs, although there is access down to the beach in front of the Watergate Bay Hotel. Next up is Mawgan Porth. I stopped here for a while on yet another chair overlooking the great ocean for a Snicker bar. Along the path, there are quite a few benches and chairs normally put by the people / family who had enjoyed the view at that particular spot.

Finally after some rest, I continued on to Bedruthan's Steps, yet another amazing cliff. At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted and could not carry on anymore. I was not sure how I would go to Padstow (a small fishing town which was my initial final destination and indeed I am too naive to think I could actually made it there on foot) or Newquay from here. I walked towards the road and saw a car park attendant chatting with a guy. I thought I might ask him the nearest bus stop. Otherwise, i would have to try to hitch-hike from the tourist there. Before I could ask him, I saw the bus coming and i waved like mad. The bus stopped and I boarded the bus with great relief. Phew.... the whole journey is thoroughly enjoyable albeit the extremely strong wind. Breath-taking views and nice houses along the path. I would love to have a house here with such amazing scenery.

The bus driver is a nice old man who is pretty chatty and cheerful. I chatted with him for a while as I was the only passenger on board. He said that in summer time, the bus would be sardine packed. Half an hour later, we arrived at Padstow.