Padstow - an Easter walk

Thankyou to everyone who shared my Easter walk suggestions: if you are a new reader looking for them, they are indexed at the side - click here as a short cut!

To Padstow for a few days, with walks on the fantastic South West Coast Path.
We left the car in the main car park, as we would later be returning here by bus.

The holiday crowds were out in force

And the still water in the harbour shows how windless it was here

My favourite Padstow bakery

 

I really love holiday shops.

When I came in November this display was all woolly hats!

The start of the walk - out of Padstow on the South West Coast Path

In the estuary, the wind picked up. There were four Pico dinghies here - the fourth one has capsized. Near the shore, and with an instructor, so no damage done!

The flowers along the way were beautiful

Looking over towards Daymer Bay on the other side of the estuary - and through the trees, the little dinghy is now upright

   
The tide was right out

We took a short cut across the sand - the Coast Path goes round the edge of the bay 

   
Blue sky over the Coastguard cottages

By the time we reached them, the sky had clouded over

The path climbs to the top at Stepper Point. 

Stepper Point: a daymark to help boats navigate in this tricky area. Lots of people walk from Padstow to here, and then return by the same route. It's a lovely walk, and not too tough.

The views from the tower are lovely,...

...but you can make this an even better walk by carrying on along the coast, and catching the bus back from Harlyn Bay. I'll show you that tomorrow.

Today's walk: from Padstow to Stepper Point. Just under three miles (shorter if you cross the beach). You can return by the same route, and many people do. The walking is easy and it is well sign-posted. See tomorrow's blog for a walk which is about 6.5 miles in total, which will show much more of what the South West Coast Path has to offer.
If this walk has inspired you, take a look at the South West Coast Path Organisation site. It exists to support the path and offers advice to walkers, plus accommodation details. The path runs for 630 miles along the coast from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset. You can walk it in stages - it took us about 7 years to complete it, but it was one of the best things we ever did.