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!