Two days, two walks, moorland and sea

We've just come through a burst of walking. On the Thursday we walked near Bagga Tor (here's the post). The next day we had an evening walk followed by a meal at Horndon and, on the Saturday, we filled in a stretch of the Cornish Coastal footpath. It's great to be out and about, even with the variable weather.

Once a year, Mrs P organises a 'walk and dine' event for one of our walking groups. A favourite place to eat is the Elephant's Nest pub out at Horndon, on the west side of Dartmoor and just across the valley from our walk the previous day (see here). And what a difference a day makes: yesterday it was dry and relatively clear, today it poured down most of the way around. So much so, that I didn't risk taking my camera out with me. Approximately 4.5 wet miles but very enjoyable, as was the meal afterwards. Where else can you get an Arbroath Smokie in these parts? The route? It took in some open moorland and a stretch along the Creason Leat through a mature deciduous woodland.

The following day, we took advantage of the forecasted dry day and plugged a gap on our Cornish Coastal Footpath trek. We left our car in Charlestown, took a bus to Par/Polmear and walked back to our starting point. It was just over 5 miles and, it has to be admitted, was not the most picturesque walk we've ever done. partly this was down to the fact that we had to make a large detour around the English China Clay works in Par and partly due to the walk being on the wrong side of hedges which obscured our view of the coastline.

It was a day of cloud scapes rather than sea scapes. You can just make out the complex of ECC buildings on the bottom right.

More sky and more clouds. It was actually a lot brighter than these shots might suggest - I was getting the exposure of the clouds right and left the foreground to fend for itself.

Unusually there were not many Coastal Footpath signs in evidence and the few that we did see were not particularly prominent.

The last cloud scape for you to enjoy. It was quite warm when the sun was not obscured by the clouds but the temperature dropped quite considerably when the clouds moved across. Pity the poor holiday makers on the beaches.

Two birds on a rock - a Little Egret and a Cormorant. Neither of which obliged me by giving me a decent profile.

Dropping down into Charlestown harbour which, I believe, doubles as Truro Harbour in the Poldark series. The actual harbour in Truro has been long filled in and built over. This view is looking west with Dodman Head in the distance. We've walked all the coastline in view.

One for the Poldark fans: the harbour that features so often. Originally built to ship china clay but now mainly used as a backdrop for TV series and films. It has recently been bought by Sir Tim Smit of Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan fame, so we can expect some changes soon. Let's hope that whatever his plans are, they don't involved making the place into a theme park.