Tintagel to Boscastle

Tintagel to Boscastle Walk

On the 16th May the sun decided to bless us with company after a long week of rain and wind. I grabbed my things and my father and drove from Chulmleigh in Devon to Boscastle. I do not enjoy there and back again walks so decided to catch a bus from Boscastle to Tintagel. Whilst waiting for the bus we had a look in the visitor centre in Boscastle, highly recommended just to see the video of the devastation the flash flooding caused a few years ago, a sobering sight giving you a full respect for the weather where ever you are walking. we then bought some pasties for lunch later, hopped on the bus and headed for Tintagel.

Tintagel was a bustling town even out of season, full of tourists and many a school outing history lesson full of unconcerned children trying to avoid their teachers gaze in-case they get quizzed on some obscure historical fact. The stream of people clambered their way up to the Abbey remains on the cliff. We, on the other hand,  had a lovely cup of tea and then veered off into the direction of Boscastle. You must see the waterfall cascading onto the beach just by the cafe, the weeks rainfall made it quite impressive.

As we walked away from Tintagel the path became quieter and the views became more impressive, the sea was turquoise blue glistening in the sunlight, a rare occurrence so far this year and could already feel it's affects burning through the factor 30 I slapped on not 10 minutes ago. The route ahead was quiet straight forward, but there were some hidden gems worth detouring for.

The first little detour is to stride away from the main path to a slight headland, Barras Nose. The views of the rugged Cornish coastline were beautiful, just as good as the coast of Sardinia.

View of Tintagel looking East from the headland Barras Nose.

The view West of Barras Nose.

This was definitely a good viewing point and only a short detour off the path. My Father and I then proceeded to follow the coastal path in the glorious sunshine to the next headland where are stomachs told us it was lunch time or pasty time which were still warm in our ruck-sacks. This is a must for a resting place, so peaceful and picturesque.

This was the view from natures dinner table, not a bad sight with swallows and Wheatears flying around. After our quick lunch we headed around Bossiny Bay, keep looking out to sea as the caravan park dumped on the hill is a bit of an eyesore.

If you look around there really are some great hidden views.

The next goal was Rocky Valley. This is definitely worth a look, a hidden haven that is a gorge, nesting site, tropical waterfall paradise and looked like something out of James Bond, a warning though the rock at the bottom are rather slippy.

The guardian Rocky Valley.

 

Rocky valley, one of Englands hidden treasures.

After clambering back up to the coastal path we headed towards the main Rocky Valley wher a swollen stream cascades down a wanna be gorge. This was a unexpected suprise to me as it is not the ususal sight for a coastal walk. The views here are suprisingly better looking inland than out to sea. The going here is quite steep but worth the initial hardship.

After a welcomed rest, the next viewing pleasure we caught sight off was the lady's window, quite easy to miss so look out for it. I have no idea how it was erroded in such a way and so high on the cliff but it looks amazing and you can walk through it to a ledge on the other side, I would not recommend this in gusty conditions.

Looks a little bit like the Queens head on a coin. There is another point of view on this geological marvel as some people may visualize a dragons head trying to eat the cliff. see what you think.

However you look at this it is pretty impressive and one of the hidden gems of this walk. There is also a bench situated near there for a welcome rest and swig of water and suntan top up station.

We were about 3/4s into the walk now and were flagging a bit. The rest of the walk to Boscastle again had impressive sea views.

Some of these give you the typical iconic coastline captures of the rugged Cornish coast, the beauty amplified by the glorious sunshine pouring down on us. by now we were tiring a bit, need to lose some weight and get fit I think. There were a few more steep climbs and descents until the final one where the trail lead us to Boscastle Harbour, a natural hidden harbour, probably full of smugglers and pirates in years gone by.

Here the water, sheltered by the huge cliffs at its mouth, was so clean and clear. The end of the adventure was in sight. Happy that our feet could have a rest and sad because it had come to an end we decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream and a seat which gave us a time to reflect on the real treat of a ramble that we had just embarked on and wished that we did not have to drive back to Chulmleigh but stay and unwind with a cold pint and a meal.

This is the best coastal walk I have done to date. It has everything from amazing coastal views, hidden valleys, great geology, a gateway into Cornish history  to great people, pasties and wildlife. I highly recommend this walk to everyone (as long as you can cope with quite steep ascents and descents).

If I have given you inspiration to do this walk please let me know how you got on and your views. Enjoy.