Short take: awful weather, heroic hiking achievements.
The weather forecast the previous evening hadn't been good, but given its unreliability and tendency to change often, we allowed ourselves to hope for improvement. Alas, by morning it was worse. Rain all day (totalling over an inch... 3cm) and winds peaking as strong gales in the early afternoon. So I laid out the options: taxi, hike, or hike part of the way to one or other of the villages and stopping places along the way and then taxi from there.
First heroic decision: Bonnie, who clearly wasn't overly enthusiastic about hiking in the wind and rain, said that she would do what Lidia did.
Second heroic decision: Lidia, who was as unenthusiastic as Bonnie, said she would nevertheless start the hike and see how things went.
And everyone else decided to do the same, so at 10AM off we went. At first it wasn't too bad... just rain with a little wind, although the slippery trails caused a couple of spills and everyone's boots were soon wet with water streaming down our legs from the rain and the soaked vegetation. But with each half hour the wind strength increased, and when we arrived at the hamlet of Portholland, Lidia and Bonnie decided to call it a day. There were no pubs or stores, but a resident appeared round a corner and they went off with him to arrange a taxi.
Third heroic decision: Suzi decided to continue, despite having had doubts from the outset.
Up and around another couple of headlands with the weather continuing to worsen, and, about an hour and a half after we had started, we arrived at the impressive Caerhays castle. In better conditions we would have stopped for lunch and to look around the gardens or the house, but walking around gardens in the wind and rain didn't appeal, the cafe was shut, there was no way we'd be let inside in our bedraggled and muddy state. Moreover the general mood seemed to be in favor of pushing on. At the last moment Lidia and Bonnie appeared in their taxi and Suzi, coming to her senses, decided to accompany them.
Fourth heroic decision: Aline, despite being cold and wet, decided to continue as the sole female representative (other than the rocket frogs, of course, Sally & Rochelle, who were, as usual, marching out in front).
The wind was very strong around Dodman point, where we walked atop exposed cliffs 120m high, and when we arrived in the village of Gorran Haven around 2PM, I for one was feeling in need of some food. Luckily a little shop was open, with some warm pasties and cakes, and we scarfed them down while sheltering from the rain, which, if anything, was only coming down harder. Seats were offered, but turned down... I think no-one was confident of having the willpower to continue if they got too comfortable.
As we were getting ready to go, Aline started to waver. Her fingers had been numb for a couple of hours, and she had been running to keep up with the rocket frogs, who were setting the pace. Sensibly she decided that she was already pleased with what she had achieved, and went in search of a taxi while the rest of us soldiered on.
Aline's decision turned out to be a good one, since the weather got even worse once we climbed out of Gorran Haven. The wind was so strong that we were literally knocked off the path many times. Fortunately it was blowing from the sea, so when we stumbled, we weren't driven towards the cliff. And the rain became at times hail, striking horizontally with such force as to be quite painful. Russell said it was one of the two worst weather experiences he had had while hiking (the other being on the H2H... and I agree).
Everyone who arrived in Mevagissey at 3:30PM had reason to be proud of their achievement, but the grand prize must go to Rochelle, who, amazingly, hiked the entire way in shorts. Respect!
We were staying in a couple of different B&Bs, so we split up once we arrived, but I suspect most of the others did what I did after arrival: hot shower and then a couple of hours in bed sleeping or otherwise recovering. And then at 7:30PM we met for dinner at the Salamander, an excellent local restaurant, and celebrated noisily until 10, when we all went to bed.
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