The next day I promised mum a visit to Tintagel Castle as she has never been, however before we got there I wanted to pop in to St Nectan's Glen which is 5 minutes away from Tintagel.
St Nectan's Glen is a lush green valley where you follow the river up to the sacred waterfall. Amid tales of fairies and pixies, and a spiritual refuge for people who want to get close to the spiritual side of nature. You could buy ribbons to send messages to family and friends that have left the world as we see it, so it transcends to the spiritual realm to those you care about. One lady told me the Glen is full of Beech Trees, the Goddess Tree. If you were to carve a wish on a branch then bury it, as the wood decays it absorbs back into the earth and it will manifest if it was meant to be. Aside from the mystique that surrounds it the walk up to the waterfall is shady, with sounds of birdsong and trickling water over slate that makes it very peaceful and relaxing. When you reach the waterfall site you are encouraged to take off your shoes and walk in the shallows at the waterfalls base. The waterfall site is adorned with ribbons from wishes to people, which adds to the magic of the place. As you walk up to the waterfall you turn a corner and there it is; a magnificent 60ft waterfall, that has carved a hole in its path, so it splits the waterfall into two parts which makes it look magical. After lunch near the Arboreum, we walked back to the car for the quick drive to Tintagel. This is my second time visiting Tintagel Castle, however going without small children and not in the summer holidays made it a better experience sadly, it was no way near as crowded which makes the place more beautiful, you can see it as it should be seen. The only difference for Mum was the tide was in so we couldn't visit Merlins cave as we did last time. (For more detail visit my other blog post about Tintagel).
The next day was our last day, so we wanted to get back on the South West Coast Path and do another stint. This time from Bude to Widemouth Bay and back along the Bude Canal and past the Bude Marshes. It was very warm today, but the walk was not as strenuous as Crackington Haven but we took it easy anyway. On route we met Jane, who is walking End to End from Lands End to John O'Groats. Jane was also doing it personally as a big birthday is due near the finishing point of the walk. At this point Jane was on Day 11 and hoping to get to John O'Groats in September. We discussed the methodology of planning the walk, the gear to make you feel safe as a lone woman walker and the process of blogging to immortalise the experiences you gain when embarking on travels. Very inspiring person and I have read each day of Jane's blog since, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I urge you to read too and more importantly donate as that really lifts Jane's spirits.
The walk back along the canal was lovely for a spot of dream house spotting, but it was so hot, luckily there was a pub at the end of it for us to gain some much needed refreshment. Two more stints of the South West Coast Path to colour on our map. Until next time Kernow! You can find the walk from Bude to Widemouth Bay in this OS Pathfinder Book
