A new sculpture to mark the half way point of the 630 mile South West Coast Path is being unveiled on Sasturday bny MP Andrew George in Porthallow.

Eric Wallis, secretary of the South West Coast Path Association said: ‘‘We had noticed that for those walking the whole South West Coast Path, whether over a number of years or in one heroic go, that reaching Porthallow is an enormous psychological moment - they have walked half of the 630 miles. Realising the importance of this, the South West Coast Path Association initiated the project, and provided substantial funding for it.

We now have three photo opportunities on the South West Coast Path – Minehead, Porthallow and South Haven Point, Poole.’’ Arts for Health Cornwall contracted local artist Tom Leaper to develop a design for the marker in collaboration with writer Stephen Hall, to celebrate the path and the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of using the South West Coast Path for exercise in the natural environment. They worked with members of the local community in creating a poem ‘Fading Voices’ consisting of words and phrases gathered together in workshops to represent the voices of Porthallow. These are engraved on one side of the marker facing the village, and the sea-facing side is engraved with the names of local flora and fauna.

Writer Stephen Hall said: ‘With the help of the Porthallow Village Association local people were invited to an ‘open evening’, which was attended by a dozen people, comprising family members living in the village and others in the parish with strong family links. The human, unheard story of Porthallow, or Pralla as it is known locally, came to life that evening through the voices of Pralla families adding colour and sense of place to the information I had gathered. I decided that their words, their ‘Fading Voices’ would create the text on one side of the marker, facing the village.’ The project has been made possible through the efforts of a number of organisations: Porthallow Village Association, Natural England, the South West Coast Path Association, Kerrier District Council, Cornwall County Council, The South West Coast Path Team and Arts for Health Cornwall.