What follows is a day by day account of the 1740 kms Justin and I cycled between Lands End to John O'Groats in three weeks between June and July this summer.
(ps The badly punctuated gray bits at the start and end of each day are from twitter)
Day 1: June 13th
Penzance to St Ives via Lands End
easy 2pm start from penzance then to st ives via lands end today- easy and beautiful 56 k. have been warned about coming days hills!
Our train gets into Penzance at 3pm so we're not sure how far we'll get past Lands End before wanting a campsite today. Our first serious hill is out of the tiny fishing village of Mousehole and reminds us it won't all be flat. Legs shake, breathing gets hard, walkers heckle. In all of our planning from the comfort of our living room, I forgot about the hills.
We get to Lands End smoothly enough – sign visitors book, take photos, talk to an old couple one of which did the ride a long time ago and head on our way. The road between St Just and St Ives is stunning and quiet in the late afternoon. The sea is really vast and we wonder if we're already on the best piece of road of the trip.
We stop for cream tea in Morvah at 5.55pm. The nice man who runs the place is just pulling in his sign as we pass and is one of those who left London in the 80s for this lifestyle. We sit in his quiet garden watching birds and eating fresh scones, instantly envious of the lifestyle (well at least these scones heaped with clotted cream and jam).
We reach St Ives and Ayr Holiday Park at 7.10 and its lucky that the owner of the campsite has come back to the campshop to pick something up so we are able pay and stay. Meet another Thorn bicycle owner – third person we've talked to about the trip today already. Clear skies and a beautiful evening – we walk down to St Ives in cycling shoes and back up via the beaches watching a 10pm sunset. We spot a seal in the harbour. It's an easy first day.
Snack patrol: cream tea at morvah at 6pm - nice man feed us cups of tea and scones even though closing time!
Day 2: June 14th
St Ives to Padstow
87 k - St ives to padstow. found the hills today. some beautiful views of the sea. most friendly campsite last night - tonight we're on a hill!
Good intentions to leave 'early' but by the time we've made a trip up to the Spar for breakfast supplies and started packing up its just past 9, then an inquisitive baby wanders over to try on our helmets (too big) and we talk to its parents for the next half hour or so. We finally roll out of the friendliest campsite in the South West just after 10am.Its a very hilly day interspersed with beautiful views of the coast.
We stop for real coffee at a cafe nestled in the dunes. The cafe's carpark is full of campers who stayed overnight after a gig last night – judging by the number of surfboards, most are here for the waves as well.
Further on in Perrenporth, there are big waves and lots of surfers in the water, but we decide its not warm enough to swim.
We stopped in a tiny village called St Agnes for lunch supplies and with the nearest beach down a big hill we didn't want to climb again, settled for a dusty lane which had its fair share of flies to eat stale bread tomato and salmon sandwiches. Better stop would have been the next town along which was full of shops selling pasties which we were by then too full to try.
Reached Padstow by 5:30pm. Rick Stein's fish and chips eaten on the waterfront under the watchful eye of massive seagulls for dinner. Warnings in the town proper suggest not eating fish and chips outside as the seagulls will steal them. Too knackered to catch up with my workmate Jon who's holidaying in the town, its an early night.
Snack patrol: no cornish pasties today but rick stein fish and chips in padstow for dinner. worth it for the view alone but stellar feed as well
Day 3: June 15th
Padstow to Okehampton
padstow to okehampton - 87 k. rain clouds threatened out of padstow then drenched us for 4 hours. hills again today. wet gear and shoes hung out in bunkroom.
We're ready to leave, almost earlier than yesterday, but by the time we unpack the tent again (bike computer left in it!), purchase coffee and pasties in Padstow, bump into Jon, then miss the ferry... its 11 before we've left Rock behind.
Unfortunately rain clouds catch up with us fairly quickly and from noon we're treated to a four hour downpour which drenches our shoes before we can find shelter to dig Justin's overshoes out of his bag. We were coasting downhill most of the time and I'm sure the morning's riding was spectacular but I couldn't see a thing through the rain pouring onto my glasses.
We climb the giant hill into Launceton needlessly but at the top are bakeries and a bike sized space outside the supermarket where we hang out for a sodden lunch of pasties and hot cups of tea. We head back down the hill seeing two cyclists climbing up in the rain, looking like a mirror of us an hour ago, though maybe better prepared. We make good time to Okehampton on some straight as an arrow roads. Rain is threatening again as we look for a campsite and the near empty campsite at Betty Cottles also has a bunkhouse room for £12.50 a head which we wisely decide is a good way to dry our gear.
Doom Bar beer from Rock on tap in the bar, which we have all to ourselves to plan the next days travel. Bunk house reminds me of remote bunkhouses in middle of New Zealand. Though we screw up lots of Dartmoor hills brochures to fill our shoes with so they can dry, no walkers join us in our room and we hang wet clothes over every inch of space. Early night and sound sleeping!
Snack patrol: cornish pasties from padstow far superior to those from launceston. lukewarm pastie unforgivable when have spent 3 hrs in rain!
Day 4: June 16th
Okehampton to Holman Clavel (Blackhill Downs)
oke to Blackdown hills. 92 k! lost in the hills for 2 hours before stumbling upon campsite. was meant to be an easy day! nice rolling devon.
Too good to be true - ready to go at 8:30! But then as we're putting panniers on bikes an unfortunate bump from Justin's bike topples it over, and we rolled out at 9am, still quite good going, though Justin a bit annoyed that he had scratched my bike up.
Aside from the hill out of Okehampton it was a nice day of meandering around river valleys and quiet country roads, a beautiful sunny day. Stopped at Crediton for lunch supplies then lunch at 1pm at a small village green, complete with babbling brook and someones forgotten sandals. I foolishly said we'd be at the campground at 5pm but then we encountered the Blackdown hills and got sucked into the vortex of small country lanes which ensured we were lost for the next two hours.
We stumbled into the campsite we were aiming for completely by accident and I check its name with disbelief against our master list of campsites. And a flat pitch! Tired legs from a longer than expected day. Must remember to fuel Justin more. Expect my butt will be sore tomorrow but tonight we have a £10 campsite with free showers and nice wee pub just down the road.
Snack patrol: crediton has best bakery of trip to date. chelsea buns for 40p and large pickle and beef rolls for 1.40. yum.
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