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 Gard
ens 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.
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 Gard
ens 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.
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