The Cornish Way - Day 6

Day 6 - Treyarnon Bay - Trevarion Bay (7 miles)

We woke up to weather which was true to forecast - really horrible. The camp ground wasn't the nicest though so we decided to pack up and move on, conscious that we had a train to catch in Truro the following day. We rode down to Trennance, and by then, the weather had properly kicked off. The wind was howling, and rain was following suit. We got some supplies from the shop, and then decided to try and sit out the storm in a little cafe on the beach front. About 2 hours later, and the weather had not lifted at all, and we learnt from the cafe that the Jack Johnson concert was going to be just a couple of miles away at Watergate Bay the following night, and that camp grounds might be quite busy. With this in mind, and being quite keen to get into our tent and out of the weather, we hit the road, and stopped at the first camp ground we found at Trevarnan Bay.

We spent quite a bit of time pitching the tent, and making sure it would hold strong. We were quite pleased, because we watched another couple trying for an hour or so to pitch their tent, and ended up giving up and driving away. Woohoo - our tent wins!!

Sorry to say, but thats about all we've got say about day 6. No photos either due to horrible horrible weather.

The Cornish Way - Day 5

Day 5 - Treveor - Treyarnon Bay (35 miles)

Our fuel ran out, and we missed the porridge cauldron that usually gets us going in the mornings. Fortunately we had stocked up on 'emergency bars' so we chomped them down and got moving to the nearest biggish town, Mevagissey, to buy some fuel and other necessities. After delays due to 'Kath's Kabin' (the local shop which has all things useful) not opening until 10:30, we had a look around, and partook in some baked goods. Mevagissey was once a fairly busy little fishing town, but now from the looks of it, most of its business comes from tourism.

From here where treked up to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, an amazing property which was 'lost' when the gardening staff went off to war - many never returning. The amazing property was rediscovered, and over time has been re-established to resemble what it once was. A highlight for me was seeing the perfectly manicured vegetable and flower patches, and also the pineapple pit. The equipment for the friendly horticultural rivalry which was pineapple growing in Victorian times was rediscovered. The method uses manure to heat a warm pineapple pit suitable for growing pineapples in the english climate. Apparantly the aim was to grow a pineapple for christmas.

The current staff are trying to redevelop the skills of pineapple growing through trial and error, as the tricks of it were sadly lost with the earlier staff. This is thought to be the only surviving pineapple pit in the UK.

New Zealand plants featured quite strongly in the gardens, and there is even a photo of the head gardener outside a whare in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand in the early 1900s. What he was doing there, I have no idea!

From Heligan we headed for St Austell, where we tried out our skills at catching trains with bicycles. All went off without a hitch, and a quick two stop journey meant we had time to ride out the beautiful Camel Trail (along the River Camel) a blissful 12 flat miles out to the coast.


We sadly rode past Rick Stein's (one of our food heroes) posh seafood restaurant in Padstow and went for fish and chips on the docks. After 30 odd miles and 3 hours walking around the gardens, our legs told us to stop and have a beer, but night was closing in, so we headed off for a campground on the coast. We finally arrived and pitched up in a bit of a bleak spot at Treyarnon at about 9:30pm, after riding past a number of caravan only parks. But, it was perfect for putting our feet up after a long day.

The Cornish Way - Day 4

Day 4 - Chacewater to Treveor (26 Miles)

So it turns out that 42 miles really takes it out of novice cycle tourers...

But we were up and at 'em fairly early and relieved to find that it wasn't bucketing down again. After navigating some pretty challenging signage issues, we made it through Carnon Downs, Playing Place, and eventually to the King Harry Ferry, a small vehicle ferry operating by a chain pulling mechanism across what we found out later is one of the deepest inlets in the world. This was a nice chance to take a breather before tackling some more brutal hills.

All I can really remember about this stretch of road was ridiculous hills!

We stopped briefly at Portloe, a picturesque little fishing village where people were buying fish straight from the tiny fishing boats, and ladies were making lovely watercolours of the scenery.

We stopped later for the most expensive icecream in the world at Portholland, which we found out later is home to a grand garden of the county Caerhays Castle Gardens. However, we had no time to visit - more rain clouds were a-brewing, and we realised we needed to set up camp and fast if we were going to get out of the rain in time.

Treveor farm was our camping ground of choice. Friendly people and nice farmy smells! At £7 a night it was a bargain.

The Cornish Way - Day 3

Day 3 - Treen to Chacewater (42 miles)

Apologies for the lack of photos today. It always seemed to be raining when something nice was happening! Here is a picutre of Treen to keep you going:

This was the first day our mileage was recorded by our odometer which, in true McCaig fashion, was fitted two days late. In what seemed to be becoming a recurring theme, day 3 kicked off at about 10am with a very steep hill. Cold legs and stomachs heavily laden with porridge aren't the best things to get you up such slopes but we managed. It was on this day we started to feel like we were getting stronger which was a great morale booster. Having taken the alternative route the previous day we decided to tackle the coastal road this time (mainly due to the knowledge that the steep bit would be downhill). Following this route we passed through the very cute Mousehole where a friendly postie told us the best Cornish Pasties to be had were in Marazion. This was, conveniently, just the other side of the bay, past Penzance. Anticipating hunger, we made straight for the promised pasty shop, arriving there at about midday. The postie was not wrong! We bought two 'small' pasties, each as big as your face. This left us wondering what the hell 'large' looked like! After gobbling them down whilst watching the tide come in around St Michaels Mount we hit the road in the direction of Truro.

After passing through Hayle, the heavens opened. We took refuge in the porch of Gwinear church waiting for it to pass. Jody said "bastard" whilst we were sat there which clearly angered the Lord. He saw fit to keep the rain pouring for the rest of the day! Realising this, we donned our ponchos and headed off once again. We passed through Camborne and Redruth where the landscape was peppered with relics of an industrial past. Chimneys could be seen all around attached to small, derelict buildings. These were engine houses which were used to pump water (either in or out, we're not sure) of tin mines. Despite the rain, we found the riding to be very enjoyable, apart from getting completely lost near St. Day and managing to come around in a 4 mile circle, oops!

Back on track, it was mind over matter (or 'robot legs' as Jody called them) that got us up the last long hill to Chacewater campsite. As we arrived, just before 6pm, the skies cleared and, our penance served, the sun came streaming through. To celebrate we headed into the village and had dinner in a pub before hitting the hay. The odometer read just over 70km! This is the furthest we had ever riden and, given the landscape and weather, felt like a huge accomplishment. We rule Cornwall.

The Cornish Way - Day 2

Day 2 - Gwithian to Treen (32 miles)

Our beds were really comfortable and we woke up rearing to go for a bike ride (luckily). Set off after a huge trangia cauldren of porridge, and headed through to Hayle, and suddenly popped out at the south coast - looking right at Mount St Michael. A quick stop at Penzance, and we carried on - heading for lands end. We decided to take the National Cycle Network alternative route "avoiding steep coastal road" and pushed our bikes up a hill for half an hour or so, but from then on, it was plan riding, and we got all the way to the beautiful Sennen Cove.

We didn't go to the town, but set up on the cliff top overlooking the Whitsand Bay. Whipped out the trangia for a quick cuppa, and then fell asleep in the sun!! Lands End was just a few miles away, so we went and checked it out, and were astounded to find that there is a shopping centre - like a weird mall of souvineers right at the end of the country.

After the delights of Lands End we headed for Treen, where we found a lovely little campground on the cliffs of the sickeningly cute little village. A coastal path follows the tops of the cliffs, and provides views down to the imposing Logan Rock and into beautiful secluded golden beaches. We had a lovely evening chat with some Dutch cycle tourers who scoped us out as we entered the campground. We were very proud when they told us how impressed they were by how little gear we were travelling with. Got a few handy hints from those guys too - and have since been off and bought some nice new fleeces like theirs, which we were eyeing enviously in the cool Cornish evening. We were sorry to leave Treen, but our plans (and advance fare train tickets) required we set off straight after porridge in the morning. Looking forward to some more flexibility in Fritterly.

The Cornish Way - Day 1

We've been very busy of late, mainly due to how busy we are finalising plans etc, but somehow managed to fit in 7 days of cycling in Cornwall. This was our dry-run for Fritterly and was our first ever cycling / camping holiday. Cornwall would either make us or break us. Here's how we got on...

Day 1 - (Bristol to) Truro to Gwithian (18 miles)

Our train left Bristol at 8:30 so it was an early start - and it was raining. It's a 4 hour journey from Bristol to Truro but its a pretty route so it passed fairly quickly. The rain had stopped by the time we arrived but it was still overcast and cold as we ventured out of the station and looked for the national cycle network signs. Cornwall threw it's first test at us straight away. The hill out of Truro would be a pain at the best of times but with heavily loaded panniers and cold legs it was a killer. As it happens it set the tone for the rest of the Cornish roads quite nicely! Once we got going things were easier though and the beautiful views easily make up for the effort.

Our first stop was the small seaside town of Portreath. By the time we got there the sun was blazing (although the wind was howling) so we parked up next to the beach and enjoyed an icecream. After making the ascent back to the cliff top from sea-level we continued south west to the St. Ives bay and called it a day at the Churchtown campsite in Gwithian.

This campsite is really good and we'd recommend it to anyone passing through the area. A five minute stroll through the sand dunes leads you to a lovely beach with a fantastic view of the sunset. We broke out the Trangia and cooked our first meal and cup of tea before sliding into a welcome slumber.