Walk from Steinville-on-Sea to Harlyn Bay

The prospect of good weather this afternoon saw us take advantage of it and get another stretch of the Cornish Coastal Footpath under our belts - or feet. We headed west to fill in a long-standing gap between Harlyn Bay and Padstow. We parked at Harlyn Bay, caught a bus into Padstow and walked back. The weather gods were kind to us, a little windy and temperatures hovering around 8/9C but clear and bright: just the right conditions for walking.

A linear walk up the Camel Estuary, around Stepper Point and then along the coast to Harlyn Bay. It had its moments but it was relatively easy going. My GPS gave it as 6.7 miles. One to do again sometime, possibly when the flowers are out in April/May.

Padstow Harbour near where we started and near where we bought a lunch-time pasty from the Chough Bakery. Very nice they were too.

Looking back down the Camel across the sands of Harbour Bay. We took a shortcut across these but that should only be done at low tide.

Lots of wind surfers out where the open sea meets the estuary, quite close to the infamous sand bank called the Doom Bar. The name gives its notoriety away.

The 40ft stone tower on Stepper Point, known as "The Pepper Pot", was built as a daymark - a navigation beacon for seafarers during daylight. At 240 feet above sea level, it is visible from 30 miles away. When it was built in 1830, the daymark cost the sum of £29. The money was raised by giving donors voting rights in the Harbour Association: one guinea would buy one vote.

One for lovers of dry stone walls. There is lots of slate around these parts and this leads to a traditional herring bone pattern in some of the walls.

It is common to come across benches with memorial plaques at points on our walks. This walk was the benchiest we've seen. There were loads of them. So many, in fact, that if they were placed end to end, we could have done the route without having to touch the ground.

We generally take time out to read the dedications but, on this walk, there were too many. Here's one as a token of the many. Frank Bakewell invited us to sit a while and enjoy the view. We did. Thank you, Frank.

Back to Harlyn Bay with the ice cream van on the beach. What a sky. Just one of many.