We start the day in Penzance, and after the first of two weeks’ worth of big breakfasts, saddle up just after 9am to cycle the 13 miles to Land’s End. It’s a relief after months’ of discussion and planning, and the best part of the day before on the train, to finally get on a bike and start turning the pedals, and we enjoy cycling next to the harbour in Penzance. However, after a long and steep hill out of Mousehole just outside Penzance, we’re quickly reminded of what many people have told us – that the route through Cornwall and Devon is probably the hardest part. This end of Cornwall certainly doesn’t seem short of hills.
We’ve been pre-warned that Land’s End is more of a tourist destination than something to inspire the intrepid traveller attempting to journey from one end of the UK to the other, 
and so we’re ready for the big signs, exhibitions, and shops. We bypass all this (other than for Al to have his picture taken underneath a giant Tardis…), and head for the cliffs. We stop to enjoy the view, before having a couple of ‘photos taken to prove we were there, and by eleven o’clock we’ve started our ride from Land’s End.
The novelty of the landscape is fresh for us – the hills, plants, and coastline look alien, the mist rolling round the hills in the near distance add an element of mystery,
and the road we take to St. Ives is an inviting road to cycle. We make good progress, and around lunchtime we’re dropping down into St. Ives, picking our way through the tourists to the harbour. We sit on a bench overlooking this, eat pasties, and drink tea.
Lunch over, we’re back on the road, and after stopping briefly at Portreath, head towards our first stop at Blackwater, outside St. Agnes. We’ve not gone far, when we’re flagged down by a motorcyclist to help him right his motorcycle – he’d just managed to start it into a wall. Cycling round the country, righting wrongs… that’s us!
One of my concerns about the ride had been the navigation. This has gone very well so far – I’d made up route cards for each day, and this has worked well. However, once we leave the B road we’re on to navigate the minor roads, we miss a turning, and then it starts to rain. A stop at a house for directions sets us in the right direction, and we’re soon walking our bikes up the drive to Briardene Farm, with a cup of tea waiting for us.
We don’t have long to get cleaned up, as there aren’t many places to eat around here, and the recommended transport café closes at seven, so we’re out quickly, given a lift down by our host for the night, and are soon eating fish and chips and reflecting on a successful first day. I’m pleased, as I felt it was important for our morale that our first day went well, and we stop at the pub on the way back for a pint of Tribute.
We’ve been pre-warned that Land’s End is more of a tourist destination than something to inspire the intrepid traveller attempting to journey from one end of the UK to the other, and so we’re ready for the big signs, exhibitions, and shops. We bypass all this (other than for Al to have his picture taken underneath a giant Tardis…), and head for the cliffs. We stop to enjoy the view, before having a couple of ‘photos taken to prove we were there, and by eleven o’clock we’ve started our ride from Land’s End.The novelty of the landscape is fresh for us – the hills, plants, and coastline look alien, the mist rolling round the hills in the near distance add an element of mystery,
and the road we take to St. Ives is an inviting road to cycle. We make good progress, and around lunchtime we’re dropping down into St. Ives, picking our way through the tourists to the harbour. We sit on a bench overlooking this, eat pasties, and drink tea.Lunch over, we’re back on the road, and after stopping briefly at Portreath, head towards our first stop at Blackwater, outside St. Agnes. We’ve not gone far, when we’re flagged down by a motorcyclist to help him right his motorcycle – he’d just managed to start it into a wall. Cycling round the country, righting wrongs… that’s us!
One of my concerns about the ride had been the navigation. This has gone very well so far – I’d made up route cards for each day, and this has worked well. However, once we leave the B road we’re on to navigate the minor roads, we miss a turning, and then it starts to rain. A stop at a house for directions sets us in the right direction, and we’re soon walking our bikes up the drive to Briardene Farm, with a cup of tea waiting for us.
We don’t have long to get cleaned up, as there aren’t many places to eat around here, and the recommended transport café closes at seven, so we’re out quickly, given a lift down by our host for the night, and are soon eating fish and chips and reflecting on a successful first day. I’m pleased, as I felt it was important for our morale that our first day went well, and we stop at the pub on the way back for a pint of Tribute.
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