Woke up with the sun twinkling on the sea outside the Stealth Campervan.
Headed to Sainsbury’s where we will be parked til tomorrow. Then found the bus station – a lovely mile or so by the sea – where we boarded a bus to take us to Land’s End. This bus was open topped – so naturally we went up top, enjoyed the views although it took over an hour to get to L E round scarily small country lanes. But we braved it like good uns.
Land’s End: it just can’t help itself, it’s a bleak place. My dad took us there when I was little and despite his enthusiasm, it was a bleak place. I took my kids when they were little. They couldn’t understand why we were there.
I was there today with The Lovely John to begin my epic walk. I played my fiddle there, although I was feeling sick with nerves – not for the playing of the fiddle, but for the enormity of the walk ahead. We managed to successfully procrastinate for an hour, eating our packed lunch, watching the Germans, going to the hotel and getting our LEJOG certification signed. There is only so long that you can put off the inevitable, and we set off, me nervous to the pit of my stomach.
Bear in mind that I have no plan beyond head east in Cornwall, then north, and we re both long distance hiking novices, so we decided to walk to Penzance along the A30. My god what a road that is. I’m sure there’s a little off road track somewhere, but we didn’t find it and were dicing death with cars and coaches.
Having said that, it was a beautiful walk, warm, sunny, and we took our time, positively rambled along so we did, watching the miles disappear gently into the glorious hedgerows.
Two thirds of the way to Penzance we met Anton. We had stopped for a gleg of water, and Anton walked by in the opposite direction. He stopped to say hello, and he had walked from John O’ Groats. He’d been walking since beginning of April, camping along the way, and I was so proud of him. He wasn’t someone who had done a book about it, he wasn’t doing it for charity, he just fancied challenging himself. He was a real Top to Bottom hiker – proving that it’s possible, it’s amazing, it will seriously challenge you, but it will be an adventure you will never forget. He told me that, he did. He also told me about hi vis vests, scavenging from the roadside (you find everything there) and avoid the A30.
Got into the outskirts of Penzance and the first pub we found was the Pirate boasting ‘good, food, drink, sleep, and music’. Wanting to tap into the local music scene (although in fairness, I’m easing myself gradually into that) we asked the landlord about the music. ‘We’ve been here about a year,’ he said, ‘and before we took over, the local folk session was ruining the pub, they would take over the bar, and act as though they owned it, if anyone sat in their space they were right rude to them.’
Oops. Looks like despite the Pirate being a grand pub and grand beer, I’m not going to find my first folkie there.
Weatherspoons food (as recommended by Anton – ‘spoons all the way, never got the shits once), then bed.
I’m still working out how to blog, so the next couple of weeks will be me getting used to it all. Technology! ‘Tis witchcraft!
New Boots And Panties And A Fiddle 