Perranporth Party

As I write this it’s already 2022 and getting harder and harder to remember what we were doing in the summer of 2021. Luckily we use a diary to remind ourselves of some of the key moments and it’s a welcome treat to remember blue skies and warmth as I try to bring this blog up to date on a grey day in January.

Our next trip after Scotland was at the end of July. It may seem like a kind of madness to  head to Perranporth in Cornwall on the first weekend of the school summer holidays, but this was a Birthday celebration and so immovable.

We stayed for the weekend at Anchor Barrow campsite, a new site on the cliffs to the west of Perranporth. It’s the type of campsite we enjoy; good value, with the freedom to set up where we wanted in the big non-electric field. I notice that prices have gone up for next year  (in common with many campsites) but for Cornwall it’s still pretty good value. Just a shame they don’t open all year round.  They also have a good set of facilities, including food wagons, a small bar, a shop and a covered area for tent campers to get away from the elements (this was much needed later in the year when strong winds meant that the campsite featured in the local news). You can order luscious BBQ packs from the local butchers and enjoy live music in the evenings.

Parked up ready for a birthday weekend

The sun was shining but the wind was blustery. It didn’t stop people from congregating on the beach in their thousands and from the clifftop walk from the campsite into Perranporth we could get a good view of the beach and hordes of people enjoying their holidays.

Crowds on the beach for the first weekend of the school holidays

As well as the clifftop walk into Perranporth (which requires a short walk along the road before the cliff path can be joined) there are other footpaths down the valley behind the campsite. It’s about 20 minutes to half an hour on the way and a little longer on the way back uphill. You can also get the bus directly outside the campsite.

The sundial on the way to perranporth

We had come here to see Bands in the Sands, one of the music events that are held by the Watering Hole bar right on the beach. When we saw the setup we decided that we wouldn’t be going inside the enclosed area in these Covid times, instead we sat and listened from the beach with a picnic.

Picnic on the beach

Sunset on the beach

While we were here we spent some time exploring the cliff paths. The walk from Perranporth to St Agnes is one of the most spectacular in Cornwall with high cliffs and moorland all mixed up with the remains of the industrial heritage of the area, tin, copper and the evocatively named wolframite (tungsten ore). Mine shafts are capped with spider webs of steel and you can see the exits from the mines in the cliff faces as you survey the cliffs ahead.

Boats pulled up on St Agnes beach

Unstable cliffs due to the many mine workings

The beauty of this section of coast path

Capped mineshaft among the heather

Almost opposite the campsite are the foundations of a munitions factory, re-opened for the first world war but now just a series of concrete plinths and tunnels.

The remains of the Nobel explosives/munitions factory