On the Coastal footpath again.

A day with practically no commitments and a very favourable weather forecast. What to do? Head for the Coastal Footpath, of course. Specifically, Bude, to complete just a few more miles of our pan-Cornwall goal.

Our route started and ended just by the lock gates of the Bude Canal. It was around 6.5 miles, of which 3 were actually on the Coastal Footpath. Not a dramatic stretch by any means but very pleasant walking with some enjoyable seascapes. Sadly, it was just a little before the wild flowers are on show.

Looking north towards Northcott Mouth.

In the distance are the white domes of GCHQ Bude, also known as GCHQ Composite Signals Organisation Station Morwenstow^, abbreviated to GCHQ CSO Morwenstow. It is a satellite ground station, eavesdropping centre and blot on the landscape.

Looking westwards back along the coast. In the distance Tintagel can just about be made out, not that there are distinguishing features to help with this.

Crooklets Beach, just to the north of the centre of Bude. A good surfing beach by all accounts, but aren't they all around these parts?

Quite a few Whinchats were flitting around. A sign that summer is almost with us.

A lone (and very brave) swimmer in the Open Air Pool at Bude. She reminded me of the Blue Tits of Pembrokeshire, a ladies swimming group from the St David's area. Yes, they do exist. A friend is one, or should that be two, of them.

Geology has passed me by but even I can recognise the folds in these rocks. From above, this formation had depth and height and gave the appearance of an amphitheatre.

Oi! Ewe are you looking at?

At various points on the walk, we came across these slates. What did they signify? Hooray for Mr Google who came up with this extract from a local newspaper.

"BLEND Bude Youth Collective are taking on a brand new challenge to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention in young people on Sunday, March 10.

Their mission is to walk over six miles from Morwenstow to Bude, along the coastal path to raise money for the charity, PAPYRUS, prevention of suicide in young people. They will be carrying a ‘worry box’ containing real worries from members of the youth collective, which will be written on slates. In total this will weigh around 10kg! As the journey unfolds members will leave worries at certain mile stones along the way. This is to highlight the burden of worry and doubt, showing how heavy and hard to bare they can be. But also, how sharing them with others and letting others help can lighten the load and eventually through a little hardship and struggle, those worries can be left behind". Well done them.

A Blue Plaque in the centre of Bude. Some things should never be forgotten. I think I've overdone the vignetting on this one.

Pacem the dog lovers I know but this is wrong at so many levels.

Just a sign high up on an old warehouse that intrigued me. Mr Google turned up the nugget that Kent & Co were bakery engineers of Southern Grove, Bow. Sadly they no longer exist and I suspect that this old sign was decorative rather than functional. I wonder how it got there.

Carved on a very welcome seat at the top of a steep flight of steps. It's taken from the poem Hsin Hsin Ming by the Chinese Zen patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan. The full stanza is: “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinion for or against. The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind.”  Think about it: it's true.