LEJOG Day 1 - Lands End to Fowey
Day 1
67 miles
5h 35 min (riding time)
1671m ascent
2877 calories (apparently)
So, we've done it. Day 1 down, 13 to go.
The day started with 2 coffees & a double breakfast (fruit with Cereal, then a full cooked vegan)- I felt quite bad for my friend Greg, eating leftover rice from the night before & packing up his wet tent before meeting me (his choice!). We then met on the road & headed down for an 8:30am arrival at a desolate Lands End clifftop post, after passing through a ghost town-like visitor centre.
It was much the same cycling up the quiet Sunday morning A 30, through barren exposed & windy fields, before returning to Penzance. We rounded Mount's Bay following NCN3, constantly looking over to the imposing st Michael's Mount.
The rest of the day was spent chatting and cycling through rural south cornwall; many fields, country lanes, & tiny hamlets.
There was the occasional steep hill, but really not as bad as I was expecting! The sun even broke through the clouds on a couple of occasions.
By Midday we caught the ferry over the river Fal, & then forraged for some road-side snacks!
No large towns were met at all even by mile 50, so fortunately Greg (who had been expecting to pick up his meals en route) grabbed a bean salad & bananas from a perfectly placed 'spa' along the roadside.
After another supermarket stop, we reached the final large hill of the day through Par (& past their very cute pub), with nice sea views which took us down into the harbour town of Fowey.
I'm staying in a B&B run by a textile artist (beautiful place) but sadly her garden wasn't suitable for Greg's tent, so he went back up the hill to the nearest campsite!
Fowey is very endearing : it has little streets with pastel-coloured shops & bunting above, also little coloured boats in the harbour with cute harbourside pubs/eateries.
My host encouraged us to walk to Polkerris beach for sunset, using a woodland /cross country path called the 'Saints Way' to meet Greg & reach the beach directly.
It was a nice route, however I guess I wasn't feeling the 2 mile each way walk after the long day (! ha).
We both had our dinner on a rock overlooking the sea, which was lovely: Greg using his stove to make noodles, & I digging into 2 packs of beluga lentils & 'freekeh'. There was a cute pub & a bar/eatery called Sams on the beach front which would definitely be worth a visit.
The sunset was shrouded by clouds, so we made our way back, & I busied my hour long walk back in the dark with a call to my boyfriend.
So happy to relax on a big warm bed after today!
So, today wasn't as bad as I had heard or expected, Cornish hill-wise. But I think psychologically it's been great to have a buddy to chat to the whole way. He was thinking of joining for the first few days until South Wales, but now he's thinking of even Scotland (so I'm sure he'll just crack on & do the whole thing!), which will be great.
Right, bedtime! Until tomorrow x
67 miles
5h 35 min (riding time)
1671m ascent
2877 calories (apparently)
So, we've done it. Day 1 down, 13 to go.
The day started with 2 coffees & a double breakfast (fruit with Cereal, then a full cooked vegan)- I felt quite bad for my friend Greg, eating leftover rice from the night before & packing up his wet tent before meeting me (his choice!). We then met on the road & headed down for an 8:30am arrival at a desolate Lands End clifftop post, after passing through a ghost town-like visitor centre.
It was much the same cycling up the quiet Sunday morning A 30, through barren exposed & windy fields, before returning to Penzance. We rounded Mount's Bay following NCN3, constantly looking over to the imposing st Michael's Mount.
The rest of the day was spent chatting and cycling through rural south cornwall; many fields, country lanes, & tiny hamlets.
There was the occasional steep hill, but really not as bad as I was expecting! The sun even broke through the clouds on a couple of occasions.
By Midday we caught the ferry over the river Fal, & then forraged for some road-side snacks!
No large towns were met at all even by mile 50, so fortunately Greg (who had been expecting to pick up his meals en route) grabbed a bean salad & bananas from a perfectly placed 'spa' along the roadside.
After another supermarket stop, we reached the final large hill of the day through Par (& past their very cute pub), with nice sea views which took us down into the harbour town of Fowey.
I'm staying in a B&B run by a textile artist (beautiful place) but sadly her garden wasn't suitable for Greg's tent, so he went back up the hill to the nearest campsite!
Fowey is very endearing : it has little streets with pastel-coloured shops & bunting above, also little coloured boats in the harbour with cute harbourside pubs/eateries.
 |
| Fowey harbour, on an overcast evening |
It was a nice route, however I guess I wasn't feeling the 2 mile each way walk after the long day (! ha).
We both had our dinner on a rock overlooking the sea, which was lovely: Greg using his stove to make noodles, & I digging into 2 packs of beluga lentils & 'freekeh'. There was a cute pub & a bar/eatery called Sams on the beach front which would definitely be worth a visit.
The sunset was shrouded by clouds, so we made our way back, & I busied my hour long walk back in the dark with a call to my boyfriend.
So happy to relax on a big warm bed after today!
So, today wasn't as bad as I had heard or expected, Cornish hill-wise. But I think psychologically it's been great to have a buddy to chat to the whole way. He was thinking of joining for the first few days until South Wales, but now he's thinking of even Scotland (so I'm sure he'll just crack on & do the whole thing!), which will be great.
Right, bedtime! Until tomorrow x
 |
| Nothing like cooking dinner on a beach! |
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