Wednesday 6th May 2015 – 18/52 – Icart Point to Pleinmont

Having arrived back late last night from the mainland, and waking up to a wet morning, I was somewhat apprehensive as to what weather would be like for the demanding leg today.

On arriving at Icart Point the rain had ceased, but the wind was very strong and swirling all over the place. Clive, and a delightful German couple who had read the local newspaper, the ‘Guernsey Press’, article on the charity walks, accompanied me on what would prove to be the most difficult weather conditions I had encountered on this energy-sapping leg of my Island walks so far.

Margarete and Lothar were on their second visit to Guernsey and had taken part and completed Bank Holiday Monday’s 20km ‘World Aid Walk’ and were looking forward to seeing this side of the Island’s coastal paths.

Although the wind was very strong as we made our way towards Petit Bot it certainly made for spectacular coastal scenery, with the white waves crashing in over the granite rocks and the sea churning around like a washing machine in the now-bright sunshine of mid-morning. We made good time along the high cliff path but it wasn’t long before we started to encounter those steep steps and long climbs that are characteristic of this particular stretch of cliff path.

Petit Bot proved to be of temporary relief as we were able to get some respite from the wind as we cut inland temporarily, but we then had to encounter the tough climb out of the valley and onto the top of the cliff path. Margarete and Lothar were very interested in all things natural and were pleased to see the good show of flowers that was on display along the way.

With the sun shining brightly it was quite pleasant out of the wind but anywhere the cliff path was exposed to the sea we were subjected to a buffeting. Turning the corner around to Le Gouffre was again quite spectacular as the waves came crashing in onto the rocks and the sea birds were using the conditions to their advantage. We took a quick toilet break at the cafe before heading inland somewhat as we headed for the ‘Snail House’ and back in the general direction of Corbiere car park.

This stretch of cliff path is just the start of the long hard slog of difficult terrain that does not relent until you hit Les Tielles and both Clive and I were prepared for this stretch, but understandably, it was much more challenging for our German colleagues. The difficult wind was also discouraging other cliff path users today as we did not meet as many people as we normally would. Despite the toughness I was very impressed with my new German friends who were 67 and 72 respectively, and really got stuck into the physical ups and downs of this demanding stretch but, rightly, decided to call it a day just before Les Tielles. It was great to share the walk with Margarete and Loathar, I hope they return to Guernsey and enjoy walking around the cliff/coastal paths again.

I was now on my own as Clive had had to leave us at the Prevote Tower and as I made my way past Les Tielles I knew I was still going to have a tough time when I reached the Pleinmont headland, and that was indeed the case as the wind was extremely strong and I was struggling to stay on my feet at times. I didn’t meet any other walkers on my way to the Fairy Ring, probably due to the difficult windy conditions that prevailed.

The tarmac road back to the Pleinmont Kiosk was a most welcome sight as I was physically exhausted, and I was now out of the strong wind which had battereded me all along the Pleinmont headland.

To finish off a difficult day, having been picked up by my wife, Angela, would you believe her car broke down and had to be taken into the garage on a low loader!!!