Polzeath

Polzeath appears on the coastal route as New and Old Polzeath, a place where conspicuous building work meets an expansive beach and a tidal river crossing. Its significance in the narrative lies less in description of the settlement itself than in the immediate choices the landscape imposes: the walkers must judge whether their remaining coins will cover the ferry and whether they can manage the crossing while tired and short of money.

Setting and built landscape

The path descends into New and Old Polzeath, which the narrator sees as a building site from end to end: new houses, extensions and renewals crowd the view. Against this continuous construction, the beach stretches from Daymer Bay to the ferry at Rock. The passage sets a landscape being repeatedly built upon beside an open shoreline that the walkers must traverse on foot.

The River Camel crossing

At low tide, the River Camel has narrowed into what the narrator likens to a two-lane highway for boats and jet-skis. The walkers do not know the ferry fare, and the few coins in the narrator’s palm seem unlikely to be enough. The alternative is a long inland detour to the bridge at Wadebridge, a prospect made harder to face by their limited resources. Moth drops his rucksack and sits on the sand, saying he feels lightheaded and asking when they will have more money. The narrator is unsure, but thinks they may manage if they keep drinking.

Place in the journey

The episode makes Polzeath a point where the practical costs of moving onward come sharply into view. The beach and river offer a route forward, but neither guarantees an easy passage: the ferry depends on money the walkers may not have, while the inland bridge requires a substantial detour. Moth’s exhaustion turns that calculation into an immediate bodily concern. Here, the route is not simply a line across the coast; it is a sequence of decisions shaped by fatigue, thirst and the small amount of cash available.