I had been there in November 2016, and the boys thought it was great sport sliding down and leaping off the dune cliffs at the back of the beach. They had a thoroughly exhilarating and enjoyable afternoon, though supervised by responsible adults!
Then Storm Eleanor came and significantly changed the coast of N. Cornwall.
You can see the Crantock 'cliffs' now
Now this is a National Scandal according to the Daily Mail, and Pirate FM the local radio which posted:
"PHOTOS: Playing on storm-hit dunes dubbed a "serious risk to life"
Coastguards are warning that playing on the storm-hit dunes at a popular Cornish beach could be a 'serious risk to life'.
Several so-called sand cliffs were created when Eleanor's 80mph gales sent huge waves crashing into the coast.
In the great scheme of things, looking at recent news this is a tad exaggerated. Sure the sand slides, but kids have been playing on these sand slides for centuries, and I don't know of any case where they have turned in to an avalanche as seen in the Swiss Alps in the Valais region, or a Californian mud-slide. How far do we take the Nanny State? This beach belongs to National Trust. Are they to blame if a couple of small boys get a mouthful of sand while playing in this area? Should it be fenced off? Are people responsible for their own actions. I am fairly confident that if I was in the area now as a teenager, I would have some fun on these dunes. A great natural playground and free! But the warnings are issued, the latest being from the National Lifeboat Institute. My son-in-law was back there with the boys today teaching them about managing risk while being a small boy, and how to have fun. While they were sliding and climbing back up, an intrepid reporter from Cornwall FM approached them and asked if they knew the Coastguard had warned against playing on the dunes. He replied that he did and he had measured the angle of repose of the face they were sliding on, and found it to be 38 to 40 degrees, so the slope was relatively safe as long as you didn't tunnel into the base! I am sure they were completely satisfied. The point is, that when we walked as AWWs and latterly as WAGS we used the sum of our ever increasing experience to judge the limits of our capabilities, and if we get it wrong, it is our own fault. I am sure the Coastguard would have warned half a dozen pensioners from descending the EDP clearance route (described by Rod later) but the alternative ( a long way back up the hill and a circuitous route which would have put us in danger of bumping into the AWW at Cafe de Castelo, by our inadvertent extension of the WAGS walk length criteria) was unthinkable, so we took a calculated risk and survived to WAG again. And while I am on the subject of Nanny State, there is one project to which I fully subscribe!
A Kickstarter project which now produces some of the finest bottled beer available in UK, in particular this one which is almost alcohol free yet tastes like the real thing. They make a wide range which can be viewed HERE Totally safe for teetotallers to topers, although if the Nanny State gets in, on the act. some of them will carry a Government Health Warning!
Mindful of the Cultural and Sporting connotations of being a WAG, we started off with an appropriately located photo. L-R Maria, Hazel, Myriam. Geraldine, Tony, Rod, Paul and John.
After two 'gentle' beach and boardwalks for the past two Wednesdays, to get back to the WAGS way of doing things, the baton went back to Rod, who apparently felt slope deficient and wanted to return to the undulating countryside north of Silves. Here are his memories of the walk, though he was somewhat distracted by the arrival of his new Samsung Smartphone, and the setup thereof.
Upstaged by the Foto Blogger, severely reprimanded by the Chief Blogger who thought it was utterly disgraceful that the AWW should have issued their walk report before us (well they usually do for that matter), and on a short leash domestically in view of forthcoming events, a humble contribution follows....just in time, maybe, to save the Chief Blogger from having to produce something on my behalf for a shameful second occasion!
We, that is to say Paul and Myriam, Tony, John & Hazel, Geraldine, Maria, the author and a few dogs gathered at the somewhat gloomy Café Prata in Silves for a 10.00 start...well punctuality is not essential according to WAGS lore; coffee takes precedence in order that creaking limbs should come to life but gradually.
Only 100m from the start Myriam availed herself of the most comfortable of cushioned antique Chippendale, positioned by the local debating society, not realising that it hadnt been Scotchguarded and had absorbed some of the rain intended to replenish the Barragem.
As seen on Bake-Off - a soggy bottom!
The walk eventually started off up the AW / VA route valley which still sports the now almost totally disintegrated article of underwear. That, or rather the indestructible label, closely examined yet again, we veered off up to the left..,or west for those that are compass savvy.
NavigationalAids
It was an amusing discussion, but alas I can't remember how it got round to this PDA!
NSFW - Not Suitable For WAGS
This path crossed the EDP cleared high tension cable route ....very tidily done so no wonder our bills are so steep. Fairly steep, too...well in WAGS terms... was the track to the top of the ridge. Near the top a short cut up was contemplated but was eventually discarded as being just beyond WAGS capabilities, so a fairly long loop round was required. On getting to the top it was intended that a longer loop further round to the west would complete the circuit but it became apparent this would cause us to comfortably, or probably uncomfortably, exceed the WAGS maximum distance guidelines, so we turned east along a well known, to some anyway, track eastwards. It then appeared that this would result in undershooting the distance guidelines so our great leader back-tracked to follow a somewhat indistinct path near the top of the ridge.
The optional easy way down!
This rather abruptly encountered the EDP clearance again which necessitated either a fairly steep descent to the valley or go back and take the easy route. Well two refusals would have been too much even for WAGS so we braved it and nobody was mortally injured. This eventually took us back down the same valley we started up but it ensured that the total distance did not exceed 10k.
On the way we encountered a few rare Algarvean Puddles - a dog's delight
And a few short sharp scrambles.
Hazel's polished two stick climbing technique.
Impressionist view of John emerging from the undergrowth
Studies in WAGS walking techniques: The blind leading the blind.......
..............I believe I can fly
Café Prata was considered too gloomy and probably somewhat below WAGS epicurean standards for post walk indulgence so we set off in convoy elsewhere. Elsewhere mostly proved to be closed so we eventually decided on the much used of old Café do Castelo, or something, near the cemetery. Here we found a really quite high level of bifana and tostas quality which seemed to satisfy even the most discerning WAG.
Hazel demonstrates exceptional mustard extraction ability...........
.................with an artistic result.
"I don't know who keeps sending me these anatomical snaps. Do you recognise him Maria?"
Rod opted for the full silicone cheese toastie
A few ancillary snaps that escaped the narrative:
Stopping the wall from collapsing
An early Eighties Hong Kong Good Morning towel. Useful as a white flag if the going gets tough!
It wasn't wet was it?
The new pipe across the Silves Bridge which formerly sprayed more water through rusty joints than it carried.
We'll tak the high road............
.....and you tak the low road.
Thanks John for the track and the approx stats
Distance: 9.52 km+ /-
Moving time : 2 hrs 26 min
Average moving: 3.7 kph
Total ascent: 311 metres
On the Nanny State:
“The nannyism is partly to distract from the corruption — and partly just another opportunity to leverage it. A good general rule is that the more a government wants to run its citizens’ lives, the worse job it will do at the most basic tasks of government.”
― Glenn Reynolds
"Apologies for the late blog, which unbelievably, appears later than the calling circular for next week. New phones, busy Saturdays and a long Sunday lunch conspired to delay publication."
ReplyDeleteWell, I never. I have heard some excuses in my time, but to plead a long Sunday lunch takes the biscuit. I, too, had a long Sunday lunch, thanks to Hazel and Geraldine, and still got the calling circular out. Neertheless, a blog well worth the wait.