ON arriving in Cornwall via the South West Coast Path, walkers are faced with more steep climbs and descents. Indeed, the coast path between Hartland in North Devon and the Cornish resort of Bude is generally regarded as the most challenging section of the whole 630-mile route, which runs from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset.

Having said that, on a clear day, the views are rewarding, with the island of Lundy being visible on the horizon away to the north. Higher Sharpnose Point, near the small village of Morwenstow, provides a particularly spectacular vantage point.

The isolated stretch of coast here has seen numerous shipwrecks and, in the past, local people were keen to help themselves to goods washed ashore. Against this background, the Vicar of Morwenstow in the 19th century, the Rev Robert Stephen Hawker, a compassionate man, became active in trying to save ships in trouble.

He built a hut on the cliffs, now preserved as Hawker’s Hut by the National Trust, which could act as a lookout. In addition, the vicar, also regarded as an eccentric, would spend time thinking, writing and smoking pipes of opium at the hut, where he entertained guests, including poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and novelist Charles Kingsley.

Hawker is remembered today as the writer of the Song of the Western Men, known as Trelawny and viewed as the Cornish national anthem, and for introducing the modern harvest festival service. Across the decades, visitors have carved their initials and left messages in the driftwood timbers of the hut, the smallest property owned by the National Trust.

As well as having the church where Hawker served, Morwenstow has the remarkable vicarage he had built and the Bush Inn which dates back to the Middle Ages.

*Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - https://bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor