LEJOG Blog

The train arrived to time, and after a suitable amount of faffing and photography, we were on our way. The weather was glorious - hardly a cloud and very little wind. We found the road to Land's End with no difficulty but everything was hillier than I imagined.

After half an hour, our average speed was only 6.4mph and I was beginning to worry greatly about the entire timetable. This had picked up a little by the time we reached Land's End.

This is a perfect example of how to ruin a place. What on earth do Tardis noises have to do with a geographical feature which has a place close to the nation's heart? This is the sort of crap which should be confined to Southend seafront.

We had noticed on the way in that there was a cafe serving breakfast in a tiny hamlet called Trevescan so we called in on the return. What a breakfast it was! Bacon thick and juicy still with the rind on just as we enjoyed it in the 1960s and sausages that almost squealed when you stuck the fork in them. Moreover, there was a dog with a ball. Oscar, for that was doggie's name, dropped the ball at our feet and we had to throw it for him. He would bring it back and the whole ritual had to be repeated ad nauseam. The only thing missing was non-stop manic barking - otherwise we would have felt quite at home. We ate our breakfast outside and enjoyed it so much we each forgot to take our tablets.

Returning to Penzance was a much faster journey and at one point, we exceeded 39mph. We found a very useful cycle route and then climbed to join the A390. Shortly, we found a pub in the village of Kenneggy, the Coach and Horses. It had been recently refurbished and we gathered from the very few people in the bar that it had just reopened after a long closure. Our meals were excellent as was the Betty Stogs bitter. The proprietors deserve to succeed.

On the way towards Helston, we left the A390 for a minor road but as with many minor roads, there were large hills. It was, however, a fortuitous diversion as we saw a swallow - the first of the summer.

I was very disappointed with Helston. The bits we saw were scruffy housing in the modern style. The main road was so steep and busy that we didn't feel comfortable riding on it, so we pushed. Then we came across Culdrose Airbase and the road alongside it was fast, busy and nasty. There was, however, a good cycle track, which we used.

After the airbase, of course, the road deteriorated again and the cycle track disappeared. At The Lizard, we enjoyed splendid tea and cakes. I had carrot cake with orange icing and a blob of Cornish ice cream. We met some motorists who also doubled as cyclists and they were interested in our journey. We reached our digs just after 6pm - 57.77 miles at about 8.6mph.

We have decided that where we can, we should try for an early breakfast although perhaps we spent more time sightseeing today than we normally would. Our hosts provided some very welcome tea and hot cross buns and once we had showered, we made for the Gweek Inn. It was crowded and we were lucky to get some food, as we had not booked. That's a lesson for the future: ask the landlady to book us a table at the local hostelry.

We shared a table with two local people who were very interested in our journey. After we had eaten, we retired at 9:30 and I didn't emerge again until 6:30 - 9 hours unbroken sleep. I've not done that for a while. Jan is still slumbering as I write.

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