Cornwall May 2019

We arrive in Penzance around 2 PM after a 6 hour train ride.

The bikes are loaded up ready to explore the coast of Cornwall.

As usual, We have no real fixed plans just a rough idea of where we would like

to explore.

This time of year means we’re blessed with long daylight hours.

Which gives us enough time to find a decent spot.

But wait I’ve left my phone at home again, luckily it’s only for six days and

Saki has hers.

The second most annoying thing I’ve forgotten was a lovely little book by

Richard Mabey called 'Food for free'.

It would’ve been handy to have this book as this is our first time to the coast

since owning it and would’ve been nice to use as a reference for foraging

edibles.

That Book and an IG account I follow called ‘spores for thought’ have made

staying outdoors even more infectious.

We decided to ride east from Penzance station heading to Loe bar which I

found with my super tiny research.

Loe bar is only 10 road miles if that.

A short ride down the coastal path takes us to our first stop at St Michael’s

mount where we have a little munch as the tide comes in.

Unfortunately, it’s Sunday and they close up early, there’s not much time for a

proper look around the castle grounds. So we decided to skip it and head

along the A394 for a couple of miles turning off right to join the SW coast path

It Didn’t take us long on this path to realise that it wasn’t designed or intended

to have cyclist on it.. with its styles and overgrown bramble bushes covering

jagged boulders of granite.

I envisioned one of us tearing off the rear mech. So at the next

convenient exit we left this path joining the A road again. For what seemed more

than 10 miles.

We learned later that night...

The yellow arrows on the SW coastal path was for walkers and the blue arrows

are for cyclists/horses.

We found a spot before sunset in a bit of woodland on the edge of the Loe bar

and wasted no time setting up (remembering to leave no trace).

I got the tarps up whilst Saki collected firewood and cleared the ground.

This wouldn't be our main camp as the wood was covered in

lichen and I didn’t feel comfortable scraping it off to throw on the fire.

Plus what rotten brittle wood we did burn had an acrid smoke and burnt to fast.

We ate late that night.

Waking up to the sound of bird song is always exciting.

We packed up the gear and stashed the panniers in a bush and covered with the

camo tarp.

This way we could do a big recce of the area without looking like a pair of

German tourist-laden with gear. People always seem to be that little bit more

chatty/inquisitive when encountering cyclists with a full set of panniers.

So hiding our gear and just carrying one bag each we would blend in and just

look like a couple out for a ride.

Some hours later we found a great spot for base camp very tucked away and

within walking distance of freshwater.

It’s always worth investigating the history of your water source whether it

be the Internet or just asking a local.

On this trip, we packed a small MSR water filter. But boiling would have been

fine. Providing there was no visible algal bloom/scum which this lake has been

known for.

The Loe bar is Cornwalls largest lake and is a coastal bar where freshwater

meets saltwater it’s attached to the mainland at both ends and has

some very interesting history.

Another thing is swimming in this area can be dangerous.

Warning signs are dotted all along this part of the coast plus the shingle banks are steep.

And the strong current makes it treacherous.

SBC Cycles support your local T shirt

So we settled with feeding our eyes on the big open sky as the waves crashed in.

We spent three days in the Loe Bar area hopping between the beach and the

lake. I practiced a few bushcraft skills whilst Saki done some sketches .

Our last morning in this area was a pig out we managed to eat a good bulk of

our food in the few days that we were here. And we’re looking forward to

stocking up on the way back through Penzance.

Breakfast consisted of two local duck eggs porridge beetroots some dark

chocolate melted in cooked bananas coffee fancy

bread and some other random snacks from the bottom of the bag.

Fueled up we headed back 25 miles or so west on the A319 to Penzance and

from there we took the national cycle route 3 all the way to the campsite

in Treen St Levan.

The route we took was nice with lots of ups & downs it got a little busy and

narrow but the motorists were considerate.

We cycled through some lovely little villages and coves on the way. Our favorite was the lush and secluded Lamorna, it felt quite magical and

reminded us of Bainbridge Island in Washington.

We arrive at the campground in the early evening

the Campsite shop is where you check in but be prepared, cash is king.

I just about had enough cash left for a fuel bottle. But was around 30 pence

short. Anyway long story short this very nice couple that were also staying at

the site with their dog gave us their spare fuel bottle to cook on.

And also informed us about the designated fire pit.

After being shown our pitch area we left the bikes and gear then went for a wander to collect firewood. The campground is pretty much on top of Porthcurno beach.

And Minak Theatre is around a 30-minute walk luckily we noticed a lot of gorses

bushes which was handy as they would’ve charged us firewood too

Campgrounds really are wonderful things I don’t dislike them in anyway.

Speaking for both Saki and I, they are super handy for hot showers and water

on tap.

Later that evening we had the best dinner at the fire pit. It was all down to being sat at a picnic table, which was nice for a change.

For dinner, we ate honey smoked mackerel picked up from a supermarket on

the way, the final fistful of purple asparagus which I must say was flavorless

no taste at all.. cauliflower, red rice, beetroot, aubergine, and Magnolia heads

that we picked from a tree not far from the campsite.

The taste of those flowerheads is like eating Jasmine Tea quite literally this is my first time having cauliflower over an open fire. And made me think about

more spices that I could pack for camping.

A bit of Paprika/Turmeric would’ve been the lick.

After din-dins we set the tarp, inflated the mattresses and walked down to the

Logan rock public house.

We only spent one night at the grounds and really made the most of it, hot showers and lots of laughing.

The following morning we packed up and met the owner when we were checking out. She was so informative telling us about tide timetables and what there is to do

and see around Porthcurno. We left our bikes and gear with her and went down to the beaches.

Getting down to the first Beach is like mountaineering. This is a non-flip-flop path.

It’s pretty steep/hairy in some parts and you have to go down backward

on all fours crab-like.

This beach is an (unofficial?) nudist beach so expect to see dangling

bollocks and groomed vulvas.

The other beach which is situated right underneath Minack Theatre is very

accessible but a little busy.

So we headed back to the nudist beach/cove, it’s really nice and chilled here.

We spent our time collecting seaweed as the tide receded.

I found a little area of the cove with driftwood, so cooking breakfast and

lunch would be no problem.

It’s worth carrying some kind of fire starting kit. Ours has a lot of silver birch and a bit of bike inner tube, because even in a downpour if you kit

gets wet, the inner tube will always burn.

We only start fires where it is safe and as we were on a tidal beach it’s all

good. The ash will be washed away when the tide comes in.

We ate our breakfast and lunch leaving the beach around 1 PM when the tide returned.

That night we campt at Logan rock. The following final day in St Levan we

explored the enchanting Minack theatre. We honestly thought that it was built way back in Roman times. Construction on this site actually started in 1932 by an amazing woman called Rowena Cade, who was still working on it when she passed in her 80s.

After the tour and a visit to the gift shop where I purchased a pin badge we dug the bikes out of the

bushes and headed back to Penzance.

We were looking very forward to eating fish and chips at Frasers which was

recommended to us by a local on the western promenade.

I had a Colossal Colin that came with unlimited chips and Saki had a regular with ice cream for dessert. Obviously I had another serving of chips that sent me into sleepy mode.

It was raining when we left Frasers and we didn’t feel like camping especially as

we were now in town. Luckily there was a YMCA not far and we managed to

get a room for both of us and a secure bike shed for less than £30.

That was the earliest night we’d slept on this trip, it was still daylight outside

when we went to sleep.

I woke up at some point to make a bed on the floor with the self-inflating

mattress as the bunk beds were too soft.

We woke up pretty late that morning and agreed that we were still both

stuffed.

As our train was at 2 PM. We had a few things that we wanted to do, such as some

traditional Cornish ice cream with clotted cream, a Cornish pasty, and Cornish

tea. So with not much time for faffing, we decided to get the insulated bottle

loaded up with some homemade ice cream from S. Jelbert.

After that, we coasted along the seafront down to the Cornish Oven for a

traditional pasty.

Did you know that the Cornish pasties crust worked as a

disposable handle? As the minor's hands were often covered in lethal arsenic

dust.

Now usually, I always get the largest or at least two of something when I am

eating, but honestly... I was so stuffed from the previous night that the thought of

having any more food made me feel a little bit sick. So I went for a small vegetable pasty and Saki opted for the same.

At this point now we could barely keep our eyes open as we left the Cornish

oven we walked back to the station along the road pushing the bikes in a daze.

We didn’t talk much on that short walk to the station, we were pooped and exhausted from all of the sightseeing and eating.

We met some very fun and welcoming people on this short trip, three of which well worth keeping in contact with. One of them is Tristram, a gentleman we met outside the chippy he recommended the Cornish Oven.

He also works as a train driver for GWR and actually came to the station to see us off. Adding to my pin badge collection he gave me his Cornish flag.

Regrettably, we didn’t go for the Cornish clotted cream and Tea.

Big thank you to my wife Saki for being patient with the no planning on this trip.

A few things about fires and wild camping.

I’m not here to preach It’s just a few things that help minimise risk and impact

on nature/wildlife.

Fires can easily kill a tree scorching the ground and the roots beneath.

So consider having a base underneath your fire. If you’re familiar with a spot that you’ve been wanting to camp for awhile take the tray from your oven

Or look around for some rocks to use as a base. Staying well clear of flint... Flint is bloody dangerous in a fire as it can explode damaging tent and gear. On this trip we used sand from the beach for our base .

Extinguishing the fire properly is just as important as the base. So make sure that the embers are out properly and leave no trace taking all your rubbish with you

A quick bike check Saki is ridding a 1995 killer V Rideworks robot stem

Synccross headset seatpost and Chainset

Brooklyn machine works pedals Nito MT rear rack

Pace forks Jones bars with home-made bag Breaks and levers XTR 952 and some modern XTR

For gear shifting.

My bike is a Ted James designs in 853 tubing With S and S Nito bars Ks lev dropper seat-post

Rear wheel is Chris King laced to a Mavic A719

I Absolutely love these Mavic rims strong and fairly light

The front wheel is a Son dynamo hub laced to a H Plus Todestrieb rim

front rack is Surly and the rear rack is Tubus Breaks and cranks XTR peddles DMR V12

Gears Sram Eagle

.

Eating well and camping is such a buzz this is why for us panniers work best

we carried two bags full of food to the train station when we left London and

only stocking up on our way back towards Penzance I know it may seem

excessive but some things are essential outside of your comfort zone and

boost morale. Meat is usually from our freezer and popped straight into a dry

bag just before we leave depending on what time of year it can last for two days.