North Cornwall Caves…

so, having determined that Bob is an appropriate name for my kayak (see previous post..) I met up with Ben in North Cornwall for another terrific day of paddling. Ben is the same Ben I guided with in the Hebrides and he’s a big chap… too big in fact for Rosie, being an uncomfortably tight fit… <ahem> He doesn’t have his own boat down here so Rosie was left languishing in the shed with one of my bicycles, also feeling somewhat neglected…  and instead I borrowed a larger kayak from a friend. I have no idea if it has a name.

We paddled a stunning stretch of coast from Trebarwith Strand to Crackington Haven with a lunch stop at Boscastle.. the harbour of which, due to a low spring tide was somewhat dry so we couldn’t even get around the corner to the quay without walking. The day was not a huge distance, I wasn’t measuring.. probably only 20-25km with all the mucking about, but it is a fabulously interesting stretch with towering cliffs, a multitude of sea stacks and honeycombed with some wonderful caves… well worth a whole day of exploration. I don’t have much in the way of great pics.. it was a grey day & for most of the day the offshore wind was fiercely gusty and 2 hands on the paddle and a brace in the heaviest of gusts meant picture taking was a bit fraught.. except in the shelter of the caves. So here are just a few pics to give a flavour. I plan to revisit this bit of coast on a still, sunny day.. so many tiny little caves, nooks and crannies to explore.

richly coloured ocean contrasted nicely with the dark, brooding cliffs
I did crop the sky out of this.. it was a very boring sky
paddling between sea stacks
this one rates as cave of the year I think...
deep inside the humidity was tangible, hence the hazy look of the photos.. quite painterly
it is a very deep cave... in a similar one a seal came right alongside touching Ben's boat, the faint entrance light reflecting off it's eyebrows in the darkness
how nice it would be with a blue sky and that green glow that filters into sea caves on sunny days
the cliffs are of a very black flavour...
some daylight exploring..
and some large(ish) rocks... exciting stuff this innit....
cliffs along here approach 200m in height
just look at the tortured strata in that cliff
typically right at the end of the day the sun started to break through and the wind dropped.. ho hum. We had thoughts we should have made it an overnight trip with a beach camp somewhere...

5 thoughts on “North Cornwall Caves…

  • Looks cold and wet and in the caves perhaps just a tad scary Mike. I recon cycling in Thailand is more the thing at this time of the year squire.

    • hmmm, I won’t deny that the idea of cycling in Thailand is most agreeable.. but caves are interesting.. and with not too much swell running safe enough.. surprisingly warm too, the sea still has a lot of it’s summer warmth.. relatively speaking so the air inside the caves feels quite mild… I suspect however I am not convincing you :-)

  • Looked fun, wish I could of stayed in Cornwall :)

    Strange coincidence, I enquired about a guiding job with Clearwater a few months back, think I saw it advertised on UK rivers guide forum? Small World ;D

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