This is my monthly walking roundup and journal for April 2023.
One word to sum up the first half of April: windy! Yes, it was very windy with the weeks after the full moon seeing wind speeds of over 60mph. We also had quite a bit of rain with the wind making things pretty wild. Then, around mid-April, SW Water declared a hosepipe ban for more of the Southwest than Cornwall alone. What are they doing with all of the excess water falling out of the skies?
We are now seeing more daylight hours, which gives me more time on my Friday afternoon, after-work walks. I can take things a little more leisurely than I could in the winter months.
Country and Coast – April
Many more plants, trees and shrubs are coming into bloom, especially near the end of April with the bluebells, apple blossom and even an early showing of wisteria blooms.
On the coast, the yellow flowers of gorse or broom are still out, but not quite as loud as last month. Blackthorn blossom is everywhere but, the one I love to see is the pink sea thrift, which came out near the end of April.
I was right about the wild garlic I reported last month. It really is in abundance this year with big wholesome-looking leaves and flowers. I had some in a salad and I also finely chopped some and stored it in the freezer to sprinkle over the top of certain dishes.
The fields around St Germans are full of bright yellow Rape flowers. I’ve never understood why there isn’t a common name for the blooms. People call them Rape Seed flowers, but that can’t be right because the seeds come after the flowers. The flowers have a savoury smell and the plants are in the Mustard family. The oil that is extracted from the seed is one of the good ones – up there with the best olive oils, yet grown on our doorstep.
Walks
I managed to get out at the start and near the end of April for longer walks. There was also a beach visit at the very start of April with the family so my daughter could do her final charity dip for the March Refuge Swim Challenge. She was forced to do an indoor swim on the 31st of March due to the stormy weather.
My daughter is passionate about this charity. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, visit the Refuge Swim Challenge page and see the ‘Donate’ button at the top-right of the screen.
It was great to see the Cawsand Ferry approaching the beach at the start of the season. It lands on the beach. Sometimes, maybe later into the season, you’ll see people coming and going with small suitcases. It would be relatively easy to get a train or coach to Plymouth and then walk about a mile to Plymouth’s Barbican to catch this ferry and have a holiday at Cawsand or Kingsand.
I’m looking forward to my first big walk of the season at the start of May – a 13-mile circular hike around Crantock, Pentire Headland and Penhale Sands.
Until next time.
