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Today was all about ticking boxes... namely Lands End and Lizard Point.
After a little faffing, we left our panniers at the B&B and did a quick loop to Lands End and back, thankfully down a 16% gradient back into Penzance (which had we gone the other way round, we would have had to climb straight after breakfast). The journey to and from Lands End was spectacular: it was amazing to see the country shrink before you with the sea on both sides getting closer. Lands End itself was everything we expected: a tacky tourist trap. Even so, there was still something special about being there and having all the obligatory pictures. We met some other cyclist waiting for their friend to finish. He set off last year from JOG but sadly got hit by a truck, so was back this year to finish it off and it was great to cheer him in. Another told us about how he'd put on half a stone when he did it, and after all we ate today, I'm beginning to see why.
Once back in Penzance, we picked up our Panniers and the real journey began. Hugging the coast, we made our way south to Lizard Point, passing St Michaels Mount along the way. It has been quite a windy day and there were loads of windsurfers zooming about around it. We briefly headed inland to visit Godolphin House which in the 17th century was considered one of the most fashionable houses in Cornwall, founded on wealth gained through the local mining industry. Now abandoned, the house is situated in some beautiful and peaceful gardens which were lovely to wonder through.
Lizard Point, unlike Lands End, was less tacky and provided a good viewpoint for the Cornish cliffs which surround it. We could easily have spent longer there, walking up to the lighthouse and down to the beach, but the wind got the better of us and after taking a couple of pictures, we escaped and went back to the village to enjoy our long awaited Clotted Cream Ice Cream. It was worth the wait!
After that we headed to the National Seal Sanctuary, but it was closing so we didn't get to go in. We also decided to skip Poldark Mine as the day was getting on (it was already 4pm) and instead headed on to Truro, which has got an amazing cathedral and is home to the Skinners brewery. The town itself is full of the usual high street shops, and later on was full of lots of people wearing a lot less than we were and heading out for their big Saturday night. Meanwhile, we enjoyed more fresh fish for dinner and tonight sampled Cornish Knocker (Skinners Golden ale). Skinners name all their ales after Cornish folklore and I'm quite enjoying finding out all the little stories.
The hills were definitely getting bigger and steeper towards the end, which probably means were in for a tough day tomorrow.
Today's stats:
Distance: 76 miles / 122.4km
Elevation: 1400m
Andy's breakfast rating (see below): 6.5/10
Treat of the day: Cornish Ice Cream
Garmin route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/194281137
Andy has devised a breakfast scoring system to make any ratings agency proud! Each item on plate is awarded a score out of 3. Points are given based on quality and quantity. This is then calculated in a % score. He's a tough man to please, it seems.
- comments
Paul McGuire Great blog - dusted down the bike this morning and went for a ride, just about to tuck into a Tribute!!
Penny Ya! Travel safe!