Day 15 - Truro to Land's End via Lizard Point
Distance: 64.9 miles
Elevation: 3983 ft
Average speed: 10.7 mph
https://www.strava.com/activities/2466195320
Ride report:
There is less debate about the southern "end" of an end-to-end journey than there is about the north, as Land's End is definitely the pointy bit. However, the most southerly part of mainland Britain is actually at Lizard Point, to the west, so of course, I was determined to fit that in too. What this led to was quite a tough final day!
After yesterday's weather, we were pleased to see that it was dry when we woke up. As someone pointed this out at breakfast, we groaned - five minutes later it was raining! It was only a few drops though, and it soon brightened again.
Having had our first experience of the Cornish hills yesterday, and knowing that even though it would be our last day of riding, it wasn't an easy one, we set off with some trepidation. This wasn't helped by some early arguments with the Garmin in Truro, ending up on another of Strava's "road-that-isn't-really-a-road"s. This one really didn't suit Dad's bike, so he was glad to see the back of it. Unfortunately, we were straight onto one of the first climbs of the day. There is a shortage of direct minor roads in Cornwall, so we were on A roads for quite a lot of the day - it's not much fun climbing when the roads are narrow and cars are desperate to get past. Still, with regular stops to let traffic by, we made it up the first couple of hills and headed on a much-welcomed minor road towards Gweek. However, twisty downhills on single track lanes are also tricky, so when the boatyard came into view, we were both ready for a coffee.
The boatyard cafe at Gweek gave us an interesting location for second breakfast - it was very interesting watching people working on a whole range of boats, and the bacon rolls were good too!
Setting off from the cafe towards Lizard, we headed upwards again, this time through some woods. It was nice to be out of the sun, which was already getting hot. As we emerged, it was to the sight and sound of trainer jets from the local naval air base as they flew over and around us.
Out of the woods and onto the moors, the wind picked up so we fought crosswinds as we headed south. We passed the Goonhilly Earth Station, but decided the end of the country would be enough exploration for us today.
We reached The Lizard to some confusion, as coach-trippers and other tourists milled about. With signal on the phones giving up, Mum had luckily spotted us coming in and redirected us to the car-park. We headed to the lighthouse for the obligatory picture, particularly interested to see that Lowestoft was labelled - Dad declined to ride home after Land's End though!
With Penzance our next destination for lunch, we headed north for a while (which felt entirely wrong after two weeks of riding south!), before picking the main road up again. With one or two very impatient/offensive drivers seemingly determined to run me off the road, this was very unpleasant, so with a combination of that and the hills, we decided to make an unscheduled coffee stop in Helston.
Meanwhile, Mum had scouted on ahead and discovered that Penzance was essentially gridlocked, and the coffee shops full. Deciding that we didn't really want to deal with that on our last day, we agreed to meet up at Sainsbury's just before the town instead. No ordinary Sainsbury's though, this came with a sea view! With the temperatures finally picking up, we managed to procure the iced coffee that Mum had been hoping for all trip, and fuelled up for the last leg of the trip.
I was slightly concerned that the rest of the route followed the A30, however, with a nice wide road around the town and then gradually quietening roads, it wasn't as bad as I feared. However, Cornwall had a couple of last stings in it's tail, as we climbed up and over towards Land's End.
Finally arriving after 15 days and 970 miles, we coasted into Lands End and promptly took separate paths, missing the photo opportunity! With the "official" signpost removed due to the time of day, we instead posed for our pictures under the archway instead.
We made it!!
I'll probably put one last post up with some musings on route, kit, the overall experience, but for now I'm relaxing in France while Mum and Dad return home for a well-earned rest.
Thanks everyone who's followed the journey, and extra thanks to those who sponsored us. Here's the link to our sponsorship page, where Dad's kept his own log of our trip.
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/andyhouse
Elevation: 3983 ft
Average speed: 10.7 mph
https://www.strava.com/activities/2466195320
Ride report:
There is less debate about the southern "end" of an end-to-end journey than there is about the north, as Land's End is definitely the pointy bit. However, the most southerly part of mainland Britain is actually at Lizard Point, to the west, so of course, I was determined to fit that in too. What this led to was quite a tough final day!
After yesterday's weather, we were pleased to see that it was dry when we woke up. As someone pointed this out at breakfast, we groaned - five minutes later it was raining! It was only a few drops though, and it soon brightened again.
Having had our first experience of the Cornish hills yesterday, and knowing that even though it would be our last day of riding, it wasn't an easy one, we set off with some trepidation. This wasn't helped by some early arguments with the Garmin in Truro, ending up on another of Strava's "road-that-isn't-really-a-road"s. This one really didn't suit Dad's bike, so he was glad to see the back of it. Unfortunately, we were straight onto one of the first climbs of the day. There is a shortage of direct minor roads in Cornwall, so we were on A roads for quite a lot of the day - it's not much fun climbing when the roads are narrow and cars are desperate to get past. Still, with regular stops to let traffic by, we made it up the first couple of hills and headed on a much-welcomed minor road towards Gweek. However, twisty downhills on single track lanes are also tricky, so when the boatyard came into view, we were both ready for a coffee.
The boatyard cafe at Gweek gave us an interesting location for second breakfast - it was very interesting watching people working on a whole range of boats, and the bacon rolls were good too!
 |
| Slightly unusual venue for second breakfast |
Setting off from the cafe towards Lizard, we headed upwards again, this time through some woods. It was nice to be out of the sun, which was already getting hot. As we emerged, it was to the sight and sound of trainer jets from the local naval air base as they flew over and around us.
Out of the woods and onto the moors, the wind picked up so we fought crosswinds as we headed south. We passed the Goonhilly Earth Station, but decided the end of the country would be enough exploration for us today.
 |
| Next destination: Space? |
We reached The Lizard to some confusion, as coach-trippers and other tourists milled about. With signal on the phones giving up, Mum had luckily spotted us coming in and redirected us to the car-park. We headed to the lighthouse for the obligatory picture, particularly interested to see that Lowestoft was labelled - Dad declined to ride home after Land's End though!
 |
| The southern tip - compare the sun to the rain at Dunnet Head on the north coast! |
With Penzance our next destination for lunch, we headed north for a while (which felt entirely wrong after two weeks of riding south!), before picking the main road up again. With one or two very impatient/offensive drivers seemingly determined to run me off the road, this was very unpleasant, so with a combination of that and the hills, we decided to make an unscheduled coffee stop in Helston.
Meanwhile, Mum had scouted on ahead and discovered that Penzance was essentially gridlocked, and the coffee shops full. Deciding that we didn't really want to deal with that on our last day, we agreed to meet up at Sainsbury's just before the town instead. No ordinary Sainsbury's though, this came with a sea view! With the temperatures finally picking up, we managed to procure the iced coffee that Mum had been hoping for all trip, and fuelled up for the last leg of the trip.
 |
| Not your average Sainsbury's cafe! |
I was slightly concerned that the rest of the route followed the A30, however, with a nice wide road around the town and then gradually quietening roads, it wasn't as bad as I feared. However, Cornwall had a couple of last stings in it's tail, as we climbed up and over towards Land's End.
Finally arriving after 15 days and 970 miles, we coasted into Lands End and promptly took separate paths, missing the photo opportunity! With the "official" signpost removed due to the time of day, we instead posed for our pictures under the archway instead.
 |
| At the finish line! |
 |
| Bike aloft |
 |
| At the end |
We made it!!
I'll probably put one last post up with some musings on route, kit, the overall experience, but for now I'm relaxing in France while Mum and Dad return home for a well-earned rest.
Thanks everyone who's followed the journey, and extra thanks to those who sponsored us. Here's the link to our sponsorship page, where Dad's kept his own log of our trip.
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/andyhouse
Huge congratulations on getting to the end of your marathon trip - it's been great following from afar!
ReplyDelete