Stihay one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Stihay here.

Walked this while visiting a friend staying in St Ives. I caught the train over to Hayle from there and used the Slow Way to get back. It’s an enjoyable route on a well-populated but variable and spacious stretch of the signed Southwest Coast Path which parallels the railway and crosses it several times.

The first couple of miles are easy walking on the flat. Going out of Hayle the route is mostly alongside the busy B-road which crosses the causeway over a big river estuary. It passes a new Asda supermarket that looks more like a modern art gallery and soon ducks behind a row of houses on a slightly eroded waterside path which might be a tad dodgy if the tide was very high but otherwise fine. (Note that if you are going in this direction the path in is a few metres before the mapped right of way, heading through an alleyway between the houses). When it regains the road, the route is noisy with the traffic for a while but there a wide views and, when the tide us out, many ducks, gulls and wading birds in the salt marshes and mudflats around.

At the turn in to Lelant there is a pub and cafe (there is no shortage of eating, drinking and snacking opportunities on this route generally) and the route takes a very quiet, leafy lane around the back of the village before heading gently uphill to the church. All change here as the path takes to the dunes and cliffs and becomes a typical coastal walk, with opportunities to visit expansive golden beaches and walking that is a bit more strenuous, with many short ups and downs, frequently on sets of steps, especially between the western end of the dunes above Porth Kidney Sands and the western side of Carbis Bay.

After Carbis Bay the remainder of the route down into St Ives is on tree-lined tracks and paved paths.

A lovely coastal path for most of the way and much less strenuous walking than following the coastline in the opposite direction from St Ives. After an initial climb up from Porthminster Beach on tarmac paths, you are rewarded with some excellent views over Carbis Bay and beyond. Dropping down steeply int Carbis Bay, you walk through the interesting complex that housed the 2021 G7 Summit, before the steepest climb of the section over towards Porth Kidney Sands. The path meanders through the dunes, before turning through West Cornwall Golf Club and up to St Uny's Church in Lelant, where it is worth pausing to read some of the noticeboard about St Michael's Way and the pilgrimages. From then on, it's straightforward walking, following good paths and roads around the estuary and into Hayle.

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