SWCP - Day 21 - St Ives to Gurnard's Head (bus) to Pendeen

Steps / Distance: 26,139 17.9 km
Rating: Severe

Well, the severe rating is for the walking the whole way, with the first 1/4 being the most difficult. The description of the route includes: lonely and remote, tough going, rocky scrambles, boggy lengths and no facilities near the path for the 14-mile/22km distance. The weather forecast called for early and late rain and high winds. I opted to avoid the worst of the weather and the path (which I judged would be more slippery and severe in bad weather) and so, took the bus to Gurnard's Head, approximately halfway.

Views from the bus.

It sprinkled rain on and off for the four hours and the wind was strong and constant. The path in this section is not overly steep, but is very rocky. The rocks were actually easier to manage than many of the steps and scree-covered paths of prior days. And they created stepping stones through the bogs. But the rocks were sometimes slippery from the rain.

The coastline views were, as ever, spectacular, even without the sun to which I'd become accustomed.

The forecast looks better for the next 10 days, so looking forward to the sunshine again.