I've had such a lovely walk today.
Ann told me that we were going to walk from Pendeen to Sennen Cove and would need to be well prepared with anoraks and waterproof trousers as it was looking a bit overcast when I went for my morning walk. Ann said we would take lunch and water with us but she still hasn't bought my foldable dog bowl so she had to pack me another stupid little plastic container. Orginally we were going to park the car at Pendeen, get the bus to Sennen Cove and walk back but because the buses don't run very regularly at this time of year we had to do it the other way round.
So we left home at 9.15am. I don't really like it in the car but I knew I was going somewhere exciting so I was quite happy to jump in. When I'm in the car I just lie down like the well behaved dog that I'm not (?!) & wait until we get to our destination. I wish I'd been looking out the window cos Ann told me that there were zillions of baby rabbits on the St Ives to Sennen road. I love rabbits - they're great for chasing. It took us about 45 mins to get to Sennen Cove. Ann paid £4.50 for us to park all day in the car park as she didn't know how long our walk would take us - she said we could stay till midnight. The bus was due at 10.23am so I was allowed to have a little walk round Sennen Cove before waiting at the bus stop.
I was ever so good when I was waiting for the bus. It went past me and I didn't even woof and then it had to reverse so it could turn round and come to our bus stop. I was just thinking what a brave little collie I was when it stopped and opened the doors. The doors made a whoosing sound and I was ever so scared. I thought, 'I'm not getting on that horrible big thing' and I cowered away. Ann said if I wanted an exciting walk I would have to, so I jumped on quickly and immediately lay down under the seat. Ann says the bus fares are getting more expensive every time we go on a bus. This is our third bus trip. My doggie day ticket cost 65p but a single for Ann was £4.45. We were on the open topped bus and there were loads of people sitting upstairs. What idiots - it was really windy and I bet they were freezing. We sat downstairs behind an elderly couple who were the only other people downstairs. I liked them - the man kept tickling me under my chin because I was sat underneath his seat. There was a notice on the bus to say that unaccompanied children had to remain downstairs at all times. Ann said it was never like that in her day - she said she always used to go upstairs on buses when she was a kid. But that got her thinking. She said that maybe my next project could be to see how many 'First Devon & Cornwall Buses' I could travel on in one day for 65p. I don't like the sound of that - I much prefer walking the South West Coastal Path.
We got off the bus just after 11pm. It took us almost 2 hours from leaving home to get to our start destination. I had to stay on my lead for the first 15 mins because we had to walk down a small road from Pendeen to get to the Pendeen Lighthouse. I'm sure that must have been an extra mile we walked. Anyway once we got to the lighthouse and the coastal path I was allowed off my lead for the whole of the walk.
I absolutely loved this walk. The best thing about it, was there were streams everywhere. I've swam, I've wallowed like a hippo, I've paddled, I've frolicked about, I've had loads of drinks, I've kept cool - it's been fab. There's been so many streams on this walk that when we stopped for our sandwiches at 1pm (egg mayonaisse & pork sandwiches today) Ann told me she wasn't sharing her water with me. She said I'd had plenty of drinks in all the streams. I didn't care - I was quite happy to have a little rest under the seat. We stopped just after passing the monument at Cape Cornwall and by then I was quite tired. Two lots of people past us when we were having lunch. I wasn't on my lead and was just lying beside Ann. Both lots of people told me how cute I was and how well behaved I was. Ann was so proud of me. Even when an Alastian walked past me I just ignored him and I don't normally like Alastians because one had a go at me when I was little.
The whole walk from getting off the bus to getting back to the car took us about 4 hours & 10 mins. The first part of the walk was easy peasy. A lot of the time we were walking along tracks rather than paths. There were loads of tin mine towers and old buildings and it was really rather interesting. I think the tracks must have been used in the past to transport the tin from the mines. Once we passed the monument at Cape Cornwall the paths became much narrower and were very up and down and in some places we even had to clamber over rocks.
Ann says I'm a good girl and know my limitations most of the time but after we'd been walking for about an hour and a half we passed through an area that had signs warning of the dangers of mine shafts and saying that we had to keep to the path. By then I was getting quite tired so I was sticking to the path and wasn't deviating off it too much. For the first hour or so of our walk I was going crazy. I was running up hill and down dale, going into every stream and puddle of water I could find and just generally having a nice time. However by the time we got to the warning signs I'd calmed down and Ann said I could stay off lead unless I did anything naughty in which case I'd be put on my lead straight away.
I was even allowed to stay off lead when we walked through an area that said there were 'Choughs' nesting. Ann said that if I showed any indication of even thinking about chasing any bird, let alone a chough, I would go on my lead. But I was a good girl. Just as well really as the notice said there were 'National Trust' people monitoring the area. We spotted a guy sitting behind a rock with binoculars so we thought he must be a NT spy. I just trotted along the path and ignored him.
There were quite a few people walking parts of the path today. And quite a few dogs. It actually turned out to be a really nice, hot, sunny, day. A couple of times we thought it was going to rain. There were a few spots of rain but they never amounted to anything, infact Ann had to take her fleece off before we got to 'Cape Cornwall' and then she had to roll up her trousers. Me? well I had so many streams to cool down in that there wasn't a problem.
The last mile or so of the walk we were walking along the path by the beaches of Sennen Cove. I was desperate to go down onto them and chase all the surfers but I wasn't allowed because it's now officially summer and I'm not allowed on the beaches.
I have had the most fantastic day. I'm so glad Ann has decided that our summer project is to walk as much of the South West Coastal Path as possible. I'm exhausted. Ann says I stink and she tried to make me go outside and lie on the sun terrace. It's a bit cold out there.
So here I am, I've had my dinner and now I'm having a well deserved rest on the floor, in the comfort of our living room. I probably do stink a bit but I know that when I'm dry Ann will groom me & get all the horrible wet tangles out of my fur.
I am so looking forward to our next walk along the coastal path.
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