Bunkers on a Lizard, Segways, Panoramas and Salty Wet Feet

We started our training run early on bank holiday Monday . This was because we had a date at 10.30am sharp at Goonhilly to go off road segwaying. (yep you read that right)

lee running on the beach at Kennack Sands on the Lizard on the South West Coast Path

We ran East this time from our campsite and only had an hour of running because we had to pack and leave the caravan by 10am. We ran down to the beach at Kennack Sands past the Crig a Tana rocks and towards the clifftops in the distance. The beach is criss crossed with freshwater streams and very pretty. It was good to be at 'beach level' that day rather than the previous run where we were 'cliff top' for the whole run.

Claire looks back at our campsite in the distance at Kennack Sands on the South West Coast Path

When we were running (and jumping over streams) at beach level we both felt we were part of the coast more than being up high. Our feet were wet and salty , we could smell the sea and hear the seagulls.

Claire running up the very steep path up Eastern Cliff on the South West Coast Path

The climb up the cliff path to the top was very steep and sandy which meant we were back to our old 20 minute per mile pace again. We were often going at less than walking speed to go up the 'steps' made of rocks.

Lee gets to the top of the Eastern Cliff on the South West Coast Path

The view from the top was as good as the Saturday run. I took my new phone out and used it to take a panorama photo which was something I hadn't thought of doing before. The result was great. We get to see some amazing views on our training runs and I often feel the camera photos look great but never do the views true justice. This Panorama does. (also can you spot Claire in the pic?!)

Eastern Cliff Panorama from the South West Coastal Path.

Time flew by. We are used to long training runs so an hour goes by in no time. We had to be back on time so after 30 minutes we reluctantly turned round and headed back to Kuggar.

Claire crosses a fresh water stream in Kennack Sands Beach

The huge pebbles on the beach were hard work to run across, but we noticed that people had put concrete blobs into the beach to help cross the fresh water streams leading into the sea. We had been for a walk along the beach the day before so we knew there was a Type 22 Pill Box on the beach too. That means we have now run past them as far apart as possible -  Cornwall to Kent.

Our first Cornish Type 22 GHQ pill box on the South West Coast Path

The light was just right on the beach to reflect the waterlogged sand and our feet were already soaked so we took the opportunity to run through the surf and take a picture of each other. These pictures turned out to be some of the best we have taken on our training runs.

Lee Running Across Kennack Sands

Claire Running Across Kennack Sands

We ran back to the caravan really charged, we should have been sad that we were packing up to end our short holiday but instead the run put us in high spirits and we were excited about what we were off to do next .

Lee goes off road Segwaying at Goonhilly

We went Off Road Segwaying at Goonhilly for the rest of the morning and had a blast. We  found out that with a 30 mile off road radius per charge we could possibly use them for the Greensand Way........ If only we could find an easy way to get them over the stiles!

Claire goes off road segwaying at Goonhilly

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Little Horses on a Lizard, An Abandoned Cottage and the Devils Frying Pan

A group of us went to Cornwall this weekend gone. We share common interests including SCUBA diving, running, ukuleles and twitter.

Claire and I took the opportunity to do a run on the Saturday so we thought we would head West along the South West Coastal Path. This path ran right past our caravan in Kuggar so it was too good an opportunity to miss. The path is a whopping 630 miles long!

Claire taking care down the South West Coastal Path near Kuggar

We looked at the map and reckoned at our Greensand Way pace we could run to the Lizard Lighthouse and back in under 2 hours.

The coastal path is a very enjoyable change from Greensand Way running. The path westwards from Kuggar (where we were staying) runs within a few feet of the Cliff and gives you a great view out to sea as well as the headlands in both directions in the far distance.

Lee finds a fish carving bench on the South West Coastal Path near Poltesco

The path is very steep and the sheer drop on the seaward side means you are always watching your feet VERY carefully as you run along it. It was noisy with the crashing of the waves, it smelt of sea salt and wild garlic and you could hear seagulls. This run was more like the run I did with Dave in Devon. I loved it.

Lee by an abandoned cottage on the seafront on the South West Coastal Path near Polbream Point

I had actually run this section of path a few years before (when I had first taken up cross country running again to lose weight). I knew that an abandonded cottage was there on the beach between the cliffs on the path and also a little bridge that crossed a beautiful stream.

crossing the stream by the abandoned cottage near Polbream point on the South West Coastal Path

We crossed the stream and began another ascent to the next section of the cliff top path. This was around the Enys head area of the coast. We came across some little wild ponies on the cliff top here who were very used to people and would meander over to us to say hello.

A little pony comes to say hi to Claire on the South West Costal Path near Enys head.

We then descended again down to a very picturesque cornish village called Cadgwith. There was a small strip of beach with the village nestled between the cliffs. The strip of beach had a number of fishing boats pulled up on it that were picture postcard perfect.

fishing boats in Cadgwith on the South West Coastal Path

Its was about now that we realised that we were running WAAAAAY slower up and down this coastal path than we were used to. A quick check of 'science' showed us we were running at a pace of 20 minutes per mile. This was obviously much slower than we thought we would run it, caused by a combination of running up and down very steep sandy paths with steep dangerous drop offs and me stopping far too much to take far too many pretty pictures.

The Devils Frying Pan on the South West Coastal Path

As we ran on westwards we could see the 'science' was showing a strange 'hole' on the ordnance survey map marked The Devils Frying Pan. This turned out to be a very large 'bridge' of land over a hole through the cliffs that the sea had punched through. The view to it was looking down a very sheer cliff path which only added to how exciting and epic it was.

The Devils Frying Pan

We ran on with time against us. It was an evening run and we had already been running for nearly an hour. We could make out the lifeboat station at Bass Point but didnt stand a chance of getting to the Lizard lighthouse at our coastal running pace.

no matter what national trust path you run on...you'll always find gloves

We turned back Dollar Ogo and tried running faster and harder to get the pace time improving. after an hours running we had travelled under 3 miles ! We had a chuckle on the way back when we found out it isnt just the Greensand Way that is littered with gloves, they were here on the coastal path too.

lee enjoying a beer stop on the South West Coastal Path at Kuggar

The weather was 'closing in' and the sky got darker and looked like rain so this was a further incentive to get back quick. Claire acted as pace setter and really got us back fast. When we got back to the golf course at the camp site in Kuggar we enjoyed a quick beer stop to celebrate such a scenic (but bloody short on distance!) run.

Tim with sports drink back at the caravan in Kuggar

Tim (who runs Greensand Way HQ online) was waiting for us back at the caravan. He gave us the furious 'where have you been' look as our dinner was ready.

On the return run back from the Devils Frying Pan we were running fast and I got less time to take in the views or take pics. This was a good chance as I ran hard to think about how great this run was. This was another one in a hundred. The pictures show just how amazing it was. We were planning to run east on the coastal path as well before the holiday ended but looking at the map I couldnt really see how it would beat this superb run for pictures and views.

The South West Coast Path at the Devils Frying Pan

I was very wrong.

The run we did next (which is the next blog) produced some of the most stunning pics we've taken so far in training.


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