Yesterday's hike took a little bit of a toll on our legs. It wasn't the distance that got us it was the roller coaster path. Over the nine miles or so that we walked it was very rare that we were on flat or anything close to flat ground for more than a few minutes at a time. When we were going up it was usually 15% or more grade and coming down the other side wasn't too easy either.
So while today's outing involved some walking it was minimal compared to yesterday. We took the car over to Polruan and then the passenger ferry across the River Fowey to the town of Fowey. These two cities are located where the mouth of the River Fowey empties into the English Channel.
Like Polperro, fishing and tourism are their main industries and with it being off season both were pretty quiet. In doing a little research I did learn that Polruan had been known as a ship building town back in the 1700's & 1800's. Fowey had played a vital role in World War II serving as the main port for loading ammunition for the US 29th Division that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day.
Fowey seemed to be the more lively of the two cities with a "main street" that ran parallel to the river. Someone had told us about a quirky place called Pinky Murphy's that served good food. We ran across it and it was time for lunch so guess where we ate? It turned out as advertised. A nice little sandwich place that was decorated pretty quirky.
After covering Fowey pretty much from end to end we took the ferry back across to Polruan. It was as quiet as it was when we arrived a few hours earlier. Content to call it a good day we headed back up the hill to the parking lot. That hill seemed to have grown quite a bit since earlier in the day.
On the way back to Polperro we saw a trail that we first decided to skip. We got down the road a bit and decided to turn back around which proved to be a wise decision. The trail was to Lantic Bay which is on the South West Coast Trail. The views of the bay and the wide beach from high above were spectacular. We could have taken the steep trail down to the beach, but when we looked around there didn't seem to be an elevator running to bring us back up. So we chose to just enjoy the scenery from the top.
Now this may seem like a pretty laid back day and for the most part that's true. However getting there and back was a big part of the adventure. Even though Polruan was only about 5 miles away it's not your typical drive. Much of the way is on a one lane road with very high banks on both sides of the road. Surprisingly there are quite a few cars going both directions sharing these narrow roads. So when you meet one you both try to find a little wider spot and slowly ease by one another. At one point today, I along with the guy in the other car, had to fold in our mirrors to get by each other! In spite of the slow speeds that everyone observes and the courtesy that everyone shows it's kind of nerve wracking, but also a fun part of the journey.
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| Tight driving conditions! |
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| Lantic Bay |
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| Along the South West Coast Trail near Lantic Bay |
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| Pinkies! |
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| Looking at Polruan from Fowey |
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| Fowey Harbor |
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One more from Lantic Bay
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| One more from the road! |
