Day 15. Carbis Bay to Penzance via Lands End.

Day 15. Carbis Bay to Penzance via Lands End.

A cool cloudy morning, but fortunately the rain stayed away. After a breakfast of yoghurt and fruit, we climbed away from Carbis Bay on small lanes zigzagging through the hills. Most of the time we had no idea where we were, but it was very pretty nonetheless.

We had decided to go to Lands End via Penzance rather than take the B road from Carbis Bay. From the top of the hill overlooking Mount's Bay, we saw that it would be better to go directly down to Marazion on Cycle route 3 and then along the coast to Penzance. We had coffee stop overlooking St Michael's Mount, and then followed the cycle path through Penzance and Newlyn to the attractive fishing village of Mousehole. The brutal climb out of Mousehole saw us pushing and panting our way up. A few steep climbs further we reached St Buryan, and then had an easy route through Sennen to Land's End.

Like St Ives and St Michael's Mount, Land's End was seething with tourists, so after the obligatory photo and a sandwich we headed back to Penzance for a Korev near the harbour. We chatted to a young couple from Leeds at Land's End who were just setting off to John O'Groats on fancy carbon frame bikes (without panniers) and were planning more than 120 km per day for 12 days. Good luck to them - not the way we choose cycle.

Our Airbnb in Penzance was a room in a communal house - very relaxed. Pubs in the area were mostly closed being Monday or fully booked. We eventually found a spot at the Dolphin Inn where we had a decent supper of fish and potatoes done in various ways. We will still have to find Jen some of the local Newlyn crab to try.

We were actually quite sad to reach the end of the land as it meant a lovely trip was drawing to a close. We have a day in Penzance when we will visit Tremenheere Garden and St Michaels Mount, before catching the train back to London for a few days with Gilly and Mitch.

The bikes have gone without a hitch except for one puncture at Camel Valley and a change of brake pads in Camelford. Having got over saddle-sore, we were feeling comfortable for long periods on the bikes. The hills of Devon and Cornwall were more testing than we anticipated - I don't think I have ever changed gear quite or got my heart rate up to max so often  - but the views and scenery were beautiful. The drivers were courteous and tolerant of our slow pace; the food was better than expected; the beer was good although room temperature ale doesn't do much for me after a day sweating on a bike. So we generally stuck to lager.

Time to start planning again!

Day 14. Portreath to Carbis Bay.

Day 14. Portreath to Carbis Bay. 39 km

The first day of rain since we started our trip. We left quite late waiting for the rain to abate but when it hadn't stopped by 10:00 we put on our wet gear and waived goodbye to Gill and Mitch. 

It was quite a slog with persistent rain and a head wind until lunchtime. We got onto route 3 and followed it to Camborne through the town and onto Carnell Green and Gwinear on small country roads. The small country road network in England never ceases to amaze me how it joins up the smalles sellements to the outside world.

Feeling cold and wet, we stopped in Hayle to pick up some lunch from the Spar where I asked the shop attendant if there was a Pub close by that had a good Sunday roast. She sent us off to the Old Quay House which had a good view of the Hayle estuary. We were not disappointed the lunch was delicious and great to keep warm and dry off until the rain stopped. We had some time to spare and did some birding along the estuary. Nothing much to see except some Gulls, Malard duck and a lone Eurasian Curlew. We also stopped in at the railway station at The Saltings which was also recommended for good birding, but nothing there either. The tide was quite far out and not the season for waders. The waders come in winter on their way to warmer climes.

The last leg of our trip remained dry into Carbis Bay. Not too many hills and a pleasant cycle. We found our Air B&B easily and strolled down to the beach for a late afternoon beer as it had cleared up nicely.

Day 13. Exploring the Lizard Peninsula.

Day 13. Exploring the Lizard Peninsula.

A very windy morning so gave up on any idea of surfing, and headed off to the Lizard Peninsula by car with Gilly and Mitch. We parked above Kynance Cove and had a good walk down to the beach and then up on the cliffs on the far side. 

The sea was wild in the cove, a dramatic sight with the ragged cliffs. It still didn't deter a few intrepid surfers who were being thrown around like socks in a washing machine.

We stopped off at Porthleven for lunch. This is a less touristy village than either Port Isaac and St Ives, but very attractive. The St Austell Korev lager was as good as anywhere else too. Rick Stein joined us for lunch where we enjoyed fish, mussels and chips with Sharpes Lager and a Spanish white - a real treat.

Day 12. Rest Day. Surfing at Gwithian and a visit to St Ives.

Day 12. Rest Day. Surfing at Gwithian and a visit to St Ives.

We set off to Gwithian, a 15 minute drive towards St Ives at 09:00, so that Mitch could go surfing and Ian could go body boarding. The tide was out but the waves looked good for surfing, so the boys slipped on their wetsuits and set off for the Ocean. Gill and I had a lovely long walk along the beach towards Carbis Bay and St Ives. It must be a popular surf spot as almost everyone making their way down to the beach had a surfboard or bodyboard tucked under their arm.We made it back just as they were getting out of the water, having had two hours of great surfing.

As we hit the B3301 we joined all the happy holiday makers as we snaked our way slowly along the beautiful Cornish coast. As we drove through the narrow streets we realized that parking was going to be a challenge but we managed to follow some signs that took us right to the very top of the town,where we found the last available parking bay. It was quite a walk down into the picturesque village bulging with tourists.

St Ives is known for it's many art galleries and sports the St Ives Tate which we did not visit. 

Lunch was a delicious Cornish Pasty from Warrens Bakery that is one of the many that claim to bake the Best Cornish Pasty in towns, which we ate on steps of the war memorial before strolling through the quaint streets passed shops and fisherman's cottages in search of art galleries. We were not disappointed and found a few gems, pity we had no space to fit a canvas or two!!

We walked along the harbor where the boats were resting on their sides as it was low tide before heading back to the car.

Dinner was a delicious Greek chicken and a great bottle of Pinot Grigio back in Portreath.

Day 11. Trethurgy to Portreath.

Day 11. Trethurgy to Portreath. 71 km. 

I had been concerned that this was going to be a tricky day as the route was quite complicated. For once I wasn't wrong. We woke in our private mansion to a beautiful morning and headed down the main road to St Austell, home to Cornwall's biggest brewery, before the traffic started. We found out on Wednesday evening that the 2 and 3 cycle paths on the Sustrans map to St Austell are narrow sandy tracks with poor signage - not an ideal start. 

From St Austell we found the road to Mevagissey, but then ended up on a trail to Pentewan in a pretty forest. After doubling back, we were back on the 3 with a long climb up the hill above Mevagissey, where I had spent a few days on holiday as a teenager. The thought of the climb back up trumped any urge to visit again, so we turned right to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. 

The Heligan estate is a 200 acre property which was a thriving community with a massive garden and big almost self-sufficient farming operation. After WW1, the farm was essentially abandoned, became totally overgrown and became lost.  It was rediscovered in 1990 by a descendant of the original owners, and became Europe's largest garden restoration project. There are a large walled kitchen garden, flower garden, Italian garden, sundial garden, greenhouses, a forest of absolutely massive old rhododendrons as well as a working farmyard and "jungle". 

We had an interesting, but quite quick walk around before heading towards the King Harry Ferry across the Fal estuary. It was a pretty but hilly route through Polmassick and Veryan before a steep descent to Carne beach which was effectively a dead end. We pushed the bikes through a section of sand and rocks, and fortunately found the Route 3 signage on the other side. Not ideal. More hills and we reached the ferry.

After a steep climb up past the Trelissick Garden, the 3 put us onto a rocky path down into a ravine and then a awkward push up the other side. A young cyclist then advised us to avoid the 3 to Carnon Downs, but to take the B-road. We fortunately found a garden tap to refill our water bottles as this was the hottest day of the English summer. In the confusing section through Carnon Downs we met a Dutch couple on a tandem heading for St Austell in the wrong direction. Relieved to find that we're not the only folk to fight with maps.

We had a pleasant section of cycle path to the Bissoe bike park where a the presence of mountain bikes should have indicated what was ahead. After a short distance in the sand, we turned back and one of the cyclists (an older-than-us South African) told us to head up the appropriately-named "Horrible Hill". 

Having disagreed with Garmin for most of the day, she found us a good route through Scorrier and Mawla down to Portreath where it was so nice to find Gilly and Mitch who had driven down from London to join us for a long weekend. We explored Portreath together, a pretty little resort which was at one time the busiest harbour in Cornwall. 

Day 10. Camelford to Trethurgy

Day 10. Camelford to Trethurgy. 56 km.

Dave, our Airbnb, host waved us farewell as we set off on a beautiful day. We managed to find Route 3 quite easily which kept us on the B 3366 for a short distance before we turned off onto a smaller country road on route 3 in the direction of Bodmin. We joined the Camel trail, which is a disused railway track along the Camel River, south of St Breward. The Camel Trail streches from Padstow on the Camel estuary to Bodmin and is a very popular cycling route.This was a high traffic zone, with lots of people out on their bikes. The surface was good and very flat cycling.

We had to stop off at Camel Valley wines just outside Bodmin to taste what the Brits rate as their best winery. Camel Valley has been around for 30 yrs and they specialize in bubbly. We tasted their Brut and Pinot Noir Rose Sparkling which has won the best Rose bubbly in the world, three times in a row, as well as their Bacchus Camel Valley Dry and their Camel Valley Atlantic Dry, a blend of Chardonnay and Bacchus. 

At Bodmin we left the Camel Trail and picked up some supper at Tesco. The rest of the route took us through small country lanes and dedicated cycle tracks through the beautiful Cornish countryside to our accommodation for the night at Knightor Winery. We had the whole Manor house to ourselves which was amazing. 

As the wine tasting was still open,David gave us a most interesting tasting of the wines available. We tasted the Carpe Diem White which is a blend of Huxelrebe, Bacchus, Reichensteiner and Chardonnay a beautiful fresh wine with apple and citrus flavours on the palate. Madeline Angevine a fresh light wine with good acidity; we had not tasted the French varietal Angevine before. The Chardonnay was fresh and light with very little evidence of wood as the barrels used were all third fill. The Carp Diem Rose a blend of Schonberger, Siegerebe and Pinot Noir was delicate and fruity with aromas of rose petal and raspberry. The Carpe Diem Red is a blend of Pinot Noir, Regent and Rondo beautiful aromas of red berries and vanilla with a hint of pepper. 

The sparkling wines we felt had more gravitas than the Camel Valley Sparkling wines; the Blanc de Blancs and the Brut Classic Cuvée were delicious. It was interesting to hear that their Pinot Noir grapes rarely ripen and turn black, they were looking forward to seeing some colour in them this year with the heat that they were experiencing.

The Eden Project was just down the road and fortunately only closes at 20:00 in summer. We jumped on our bikes and spent a most informative few hours marveling at what has been achieved there. There payoff line says it all: Transformation: it's in our nature.

It was built on a reclaimed china clay quarry which is now dominated by two huge adjoining domes made from inflated plastic hexagons. The domes house thousands of plant species from around the world but what was fascinating is that each dome emulates a natural biome, one simulates a rainforest and the smaller one a Mediterranean environment. It also has an outside botanical garden which is home to many plants and wildlife that is endemic to Cornwall and the U.K. in general.

After climbing out of the quarry up the hill we realized how big and deep it is, we made our way back to Knightor Manor for a delicious picnic supper and a good bottle of wine, the Knightr Carpe Diem White.

Day 9. A sort of rest day in Camelford.

RDay 9. A sort of rest day in Camelford. Port Isaac and back. 31 km.

A slow start as we planned to explore around Camelford. A drizzle set in so we had a few false starts before setting off towards Port Isaac sans panniers. Just as well because there were a few mean climbs on route through St Teath. The weather improved so we had a good view of the rugged North Cornwall coastline.  

We descended off the plateau to Port Gaverne, and from there had to push our bikes up a steep incline to the parking area in Port Isaac where the Mme Dawes where told to wait. Port Isaac is a typical but touristy Cornish fishing village, probably changed forever by the filming of the Doc Martin TV series here. We wandered past the harbour, bought Cornish pasties (the real deal - lamb with mint to give Nanaga a run) and headed up the hills towards St Quin for great views of the coast.

We returned on the busy B-road. It was easier cycling but we had to concentrate on the passing holiday makers. We had a relaxed evening at our self-catering Airbnb. Good old porkies washed down with a Sicilian white blend.

Day 8: Hatherleigh to Camelford

Day 8: Hatherleigh to Camelford. 82 km

We set off on a cooler day after a delicious English breakfast made by Janice in the dinky dining room of Pipers Cottage. 

We are now back on Route 27 which took us along small country lanes through Highworthy at Sheepwash the route split with one going down to Plymouth and the other to Bude we changed to route 3 but had to take a short diversion as there were road works. It was a pretty straight forward cycle however there were some steep hills to negotiate to Hollworthy where we stopped for coffee and ate the delicious coffee cake Janice had baked. As this was the last biggish town we would be passing through, we picked up some lunch and set off. It was quite a challenge getting out of Hollworthy and we had to rely on Garmin which is always a gambol, after coaxing her with the name of the next village we eventually found our way out of the town.

As we crossed over the border from Devon to Cornwall at Bridgerule we caught the first glimpse of the ocean on the horizon and with that we found that the distances between the villages have become longer and at times we felt quite isolated.

To psyche myself up for climbing a hill as we approached I thought that with every stroke of the pedal I was getting closer to the exhilaration of riding down the other side with the wind blowing through my hair but all too soon I was laboring up the next hill. Fortunately it was a cool day which helped with the recovery.

The last 10 km was along a disused runway through the stark Bodmin Moor with its grazing cattle, sheep and horses.The approach to Camelford was up a steep hill and through the upper part of the town where we eventually found our B&B,  a modest self catering establishment on the outskirts of Camelford. Supper was a ready cooked pasta dish from the Co-Op and salad which was delicious.

A modern barn.

Green energy.

1st world recycling in Holsworthy.

Norman churches are throughout Cornwall.

The umpteenth hill for the day.

At our lunch stop.

Bodkin moor

Camelford