On the first proper day of half term, that didn’t involve driving for hours, Poppy and I headed out onto the coast path. Despite the previous day being ruled by Storm Brian, Sunday turned out to be a lovely day. I didn’t want to drive anywhere, so Poppy and I went for a walk from Cadgwith to Kennack Sands. We had previously done the first part of the walk, to the Serpentine Works at Poltesco, but I really wanted to get to the beach. After checking the tide times, we headed out.
It’s not an easy walk, especially as the path was incredibly muddy and there were a few places where I needed to lean on rocks to get down. Poppy is really good on these kind of paths. She now waits for me and will stop walking ahead if we’re on a particularly slippy path. The views along the walk were spectacular, which was lucky because the weather the next few days was foggy and we couldn’t see a thing!
We headed down to the old serpentine works and had a look around. The ruins there are amazing and it’s a lovely place to walk around. Then we headed on to Kennack Sands. The rest of the walk included going through a mini golf course by some static caravans and along part of the road leading down to the sands. The beach was packed and both cafes were open. There was a fair bit of surfing going on and there are plenty of rock pools to explore, much to Poppy’s delight!
This walk also ticks off another part of the coast path around the Lizard, which is good as I’d like to walk around the whole of the Lizard, bit by bit. After a walk along Kennack Sands, and a sit watching the waves, we headed back to Cadgwith. Poppy and I enjoyed an afternoon of vegging on the sofa, watching Gilmore Girls. Perfection!
The Walk: As its part of the South West Coast Path, it isn’t easy. There are times when the path is muddy and very thin, but then there are parts which are flat and open. If you’re leaning on things to help you get down, be careful not to lean on any gorse. It can draw blood!
Cost: Completely free.
Car Park: As we were staying in Cadgwith, we had a parking spot with the cottage. There is a car park in Cadgwith and there’s a car park at Kennack Sands, which you have to pay to use. There are a number of parking spots on the road down to Kennack Sands too.
Refreshments: There are two cafes at Kennack Sands, one of which selling Ann’s Pasties. I haven’t eaten from either but they were pretty busy when I was there.
Toilets: There are some public loos at Kennack Sands.
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I parked at 
Whitesands Bay is absolutely gorgeous, though has dog restrictions during the summer, so we couldn’t enjoy it this time. (About a mile on the coast path is a smaller dog friendly bay, which is worth a visit, especially on a hot day). Poppy and I had been walking for about an hour by this point so we stopped for a snack and a drink. They have a drinking water tap there, by the toilets, which was very welcome, and outside seating in the shade, which was perfect for Poppy to rest her warm paws. The toilets cost 20p to use (cheek!) so make sure you have change for that, and there is a cafe that serves hot food, though as I had Poppy with me, I didn’t have anything there. We then headed up to the coast path, up on St David’s Head and round towards Abereiddy.
The views were amazing. Despite having grown up in Pembrokeshire, I never explored the county quite like this. There were bees and butterflies all around and birds constantly flying about. Because I was on my own with Poppy, I couldn’t take any close up pictures, as I was terrified that Poppy would try to track something and pull us both hurtling into the sea! All the pictures were taken on my phone and despite carrying the binoculars, it wasn’t really easy to get them out of my bag so I can’t tell you what the birds were! I had planned for us to walk to Abereiddy, as there’s a dog friendly beach there and I wanted to see the Blue Lagoon. Poppy, however, had other ideas! When we’d set out from St David’s it was cool and overcast. However, by about 11.30/12 o’clock, the sun was out and it was getting really hot. At one point, Poppy saw a bit of shade and lay down it. That was when I knew we weren’t going to Abereiddy! We stopped, rested, had something to eat and lots of water before heading back. By my calculations, we were only half way, which is a real shame, but we’d walked six miles so thought we’d better get back.
By the time we arrived back in St Davids, after a pit stop and water bottle refill at Whitesands, Poppy and I headed straight for the ford by the Bishops Palace. Perfect for cooling off hot paws! This was the first time Poppy and I had done a walk like this on our own. I’d never mapped out a walk for us before either and there were times when it was quite scary walking along the coast path on our own, as there can be some sharp drops down to the sea. Having said that, it was loads of fun! There were a few other walkers about, which was nice, especially when they pointed out seals in the sea. I was completely surprised by the terrain, as it kept changing and I hadn’t expected that. Despite not reaching the destination I wanted, I still walked further than I ever had. Poppy was really well behaved and took everything in her stride. I can’t wait to go back and maybe tackle the coast path from the other direction!
The gardens were really gorgeous in the spring sunshine. Everything looked so bright and fresh, what a change from the misery of winter!
The gardens were packed by the time we were coming to the end of our walk. We tried to head in directions and along paths we didn’t go down last time. It was so busy that we couldn’t get into the cafe for lunch as they were queueing out the door! Next time, I think we’ll pack a picnic, as there are so many great areas to sit and watch the world go by.
