Crackington Haven to Boscastle

3 May 2024

Distance on Coast Path: 11.3km; ascent: 422m

Total distance: 11.5km; ascent: 422m

Walking time: 3h 24′

Total time: 4h 53′

Overnight: The Wellington Hotel, Boscastle

Amy and Keith were at the bus stop in Bude when I arrived to catch the bus back to Crackington Haven. They are from North Carolina, USA and we had been companions in adversity two days before. We first met at Okehampton rail station where we were waiting to catch the bus to Bude. At that point they had been travelling 36 hours without a break and had endured the delay and diversion of the train to Exeter we had unknowingly shared, but we were at Okehampton in time for the Bude bus. The bus got about half way to Bude when the glass of the passenger door shattered with an almighty bang; the driver checked with his depot and confirmed what we had expected – he must not drive any further. Two hours later, my efforts to find a taxi willing and able to come to our rescue having failed, a replacement bus arrived at the exact same time as the following (and last of the day) bus from Okehampton.

We met again the following evening (i.e. yesterday). I was just starting my dinner in the Brendon Arms when they came in for a meal. We shared a table and had a pleasant couple of hours before they left to go back to their own hotel. Amy had walked some of the coast path before but wanted to do the Crackington Haven – Boscastle section which she had missed. Keith was new to the whole game. So we arrived at Crackington Haven together; they lingered to take photos while I set off towards the first headland, Cambeak. I last saw them about 20 minutes behind as I was going down the far side of the promontory.

Looking north from Rusey Cliff

The 60 metre (200 ft) ascent of the oddly-named Cambeak can be avoided on a signposted short cut, but I opted for the climb and a surprising encounter with a herd of long-horned and probably feral goats on the descent. It was a dry, sunny but cool day and the mud was much less troubling as it dried out. Slate started to dominate the stones and rocks underfoot, and the exposed cliffs were black with the deepest dark blue tint. Getting closer to Boscastle I was surprised to come across large quartz boulders too, common enough to have been used as foundations for the slate walls in some of the fields.

Black cliffs near Boscastle

The Path itself had the usual down-and-ups crossing river valleys; the final one demoralising as I came round a corner after Beeny Cliff to see steps like a long flight of stairs going straight up the far side of the valley. There was a waterfall here. I didn’t detour to see it, but as I crossed the stream before the steps I felt the spray being blown back by the wind. Taking one stair at a time I made the slow ascent.

Quartz foundation, slate wall

It had been a relatively short walk and I arrived in Boscastle around 2.30. A disastrous flash flood in 2004 had caused a huge amount of damage and there has been rebuilding since. The village is home to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic (I didn’t visit) and several of the shops in the small centre continue the theme, selling crystals, books on folk- and faerie-lore and general spooky stuff. One of the pubs is called The Cobweb Inn.

That evening I ate in my hotel and went to bed early.