My Journey End to End ! Travelling It was a nice bright, sunny day as I left Nottingham on the first leg of my journey down to Cornwall. I had my bike and myself booked through all the way to Penzance, via Birmingham. The train from Birmingham was Virgin, so of course it was late, and the long slow trundle down to the South-West, with it’s curving bends and single track meant it was never going to make up time. The further South-West we went, the worse the weather seemed to bode and the darker it got. I had no lights so I was worried about being so late that it would be dark. Eventually it dragged in 30 minutes late, the sky glowering and faint rain falling. Having travelled in just my chinos (with cycle shorts underneath) and my favourite blue Copperstone shirt I was looking for the toilets at Penzance station in which to change, but found them closed so changed on the platform. I wasn’t the only cyclist on the train but most seemed to be staying in Penzance – with hindsight it’s a decision I should have made as riding from Penzance over the top to St. Just was a ghastly experience. As soon as I started to climb, the mist closed around me and the drizzle was interminable. My glasses misted-up and I was quickly drenched. Visibility was so poor I was lucky there was not much traffic on road at all. I did find the St. Just Youth Hostel without too much trouble, and had my first but certainly not last experience of descending in the wet with no brakes at all. The Youth Hostel was very welcoming – the power shower even more so – but their drying room was not working, which meant I faced the first day of my ride with damp clothes. Not an exciting prospect, as it could lead to chafing or chilling. I wasn’t too hopeful of the weather improving the following day and with a long ride of about 80 miles ahead of me my spirits weren’t high. Day 1 – Land’s End to Plymouth Intended route: A30 – Penzance, A394 – Goldsithney, Godolphin Cross, Porkellis, Longdowns, A39 – Truro, A390 – St. Austell, Lostwithiel, A38 – Plymouth. The day dawned initially bright but hazy, with still some moisture in the air. The sun soon went in but it did make some appearances during the day. As a portent of doom, my very first attempt to pedal, leaving the Youth Hostel in the morning, ended in tragedy when my foot slipped of the pedal and the pedal rebounded into my right shin, cutting 2 large gashes and drawing some blood. Faced with a long walk home there was no option but to carry on. At Land’s End I picked up my official End-to-End form. This is stamped with your start date and has lots of spaces to take stamps from Post Offices along the way, showing your route etc. There was no-one there to take a picture of me setting out, so I gave myself a cheer under my breath as I set off from the start line, leaving LE at about 10:00. There’s only 1 road to Penzance and I trundled along it happily, not looking to set any speed records and moved onto the A394 and reached Goldsithney. At this point I must have got a bit lost as the short cut I had planned didn’t really work out and I ended up at Helston. The sun was out though, so I wasn’t too upset. It stayed sunny, or at least dry, until Truro, which I hit at about 13:00 (roughly 36 miles in 3 hours) and as I sat in the local Burger King and had my lunch it fell quite heavily. Fortunately, an hour later as I was ready to resume it had stopped and the sun returned. Climbing out of Truro is a sharp little climb, but it is as nothing compared to the first serious ascent of the trip. Between St. Austell and Lostwithiel at a place called Pinpirrick is a horrendous 10% incline, virtually straight and about 2 miles long. It was one of the worst climbs of the trip; straight, regular, busy road and boring scenery. Only slightly alleviating it was the descent into Lostwithiel a few moments later, steep and sharp with a speed camera at the bottom to which I happily showed my lycra-clad arse. From Liskeard the A38 is dual carriageway. There was a contra-flow system so there was only one lane but this did nothing to slow down the vehicles which were still doing 60 or 70mph as they squeezed past me. In particular, one van driver seemed to think I had no right to be on the road and came horrendously close to killing me, hooting his horn as he screamed past my elbow. The latter half of the day saw much up and down hill plodding in low gear as the road undulated across south Cornwall. I crossed the beautiful Tamar Bridge into Devon in blustery sunshine and ran through the suburbs of Plymouth, arriving in Plymstock at my Auntie Barbara’s place at just after 17:00 (around 80 miles in 6 hours cycling). My legs felt good but my right knee was stiff and after a bath and a light dinner, I watched the first episode of the American series Six Feet Under on Channel 4 and slept very soundly. Some links related to day 1 Land’s End - privately owned, this is where the journey begins. The Eden Project - this famous ‘eco-theme park’ is just off the route I took. St. Just Youth Hostel - St. Just Youth Hostel on the official YHA site. Minack theatre - this famous open-air theatre is very close to Land’s End and Penzeance. Day 2 – Plymouth to Street Intended route: A38 – Exeter, A379, B3181 – Cullompton, A38 – Taunton, A361 – Street I said goodbye to Barbara at around 08:30, or rather I would have done if she had been there but she had to leave earlier than me so I let myself out and headed east, using the B and less well used A roads to avoid the A38 wherever possible. The old road, that the A38 dual carriageway had replaced, still traced roughly the same route and it was quiet. The weather was sunny, with a bit of a breeze blowing. In fact, virtually perfect cycling weather. Climbing into Exeter there’s no alternative to the main road, which is a poor climb. It’s not steep, just without a crawler lane and a poor quality road surface combining with the busy traffic to make it unpleasant. However, after this climb the route flattens out and reaching Exeter at noon (45 miles in 3hours 30 minutes) and lunch in Cullompton 45 minutes later meant the rest of the afternoon’s ride was fairly uneventful, flat and warm. About 10 miles out of Glastonbury I noticed that my rear tyre was getting very frayed on the side tyre wall and was starting to distort. I wasn’t in time to find a bike shop in Glastonbury or Street so that meant the first thing I needed to do the following day was pick up a new tyre. I actually arrived in Street at around 16:30 (about 95 miles in 7 hours cycling) but after looking for a shop it then took me ages to actually find the Youth Hostel, which is tucked away on the hill above the town. Glastonbury, which virtually joins with Street, was full of very strange new-age wierdos and ‘earth-mother’ type shops. I checked into the ‘Swiss Chalet’ style Youth Hostel which was staffed by a very pretty young thing. She was blonde, which might have explained why she initially put me in a female dorm. Crashed out for a while then went and had dinner in a nice Italian restaurant, as pasta is supposed to be good for energy. Knees hurting. Some links related to day 1 Street Youth Hostel - from the official YHA site. Glastonbury festival - if you’re there at the right time, although you might find the hostel busy. Day 3 – Street to Slimbridge Intended route: B3151 – Cheddar – Shipham, A38 – Bristol, Slimbridge In the morning I found ‘On Your Bike’ in Street High street and got a new rear tyre. I left Street around 09:30 on another day of sunshine but threatening showers. Flat roads led me towards Cheddar, where the gorge cuts through the Mendip Hills. I had planned to go through a little village called Shipham, on an unclassified road which I had thought would keep me away from the major inclines but I realised fairly swiftly that I had made a mistake. The road was a very steep climb up the side of a wooded hill which really took it out of me. Only by pedalling slowly and fiercely in time to ‘Ship called Dignity’ by Deacon Blue which I was singing in my head was I able to get up. With hindsight, it would have been better to go east through Wells. There were a few steep descents and climbs toward Bristol. Signposting in Bristol leaves a lot to be desired – like someone to do it for them – so I went the wrong way for the 2nd time on my trip. Instead of going straight North I followed the A4 along the gorge under the Clifton suspension bridge, which was a very impressive view. I did keep seeing glimpses of ‘Gloucester A38’ signs but they disappeared. Eventually, after encircling the western suburbs of Bristol and almost getting onto the Motorway, I followed the A4162, A4018 and B4055 to join the A38 at Almondsbury. After climbing into Bristol, the Severn valley is flat and easy going and I felt for the first time that I was in really good cycle touring country. I made great time, arriving in a place called Falfield for lunch at 13:45 (very roughly 50 miles in 3 hours 45 minutes) and Slimbridge itself at 15:00, a further 10 miles down the road (60 miles in 5 hours). During lunch the rain came in brief showers and the wind really began to pick up. In fact, I made such good time during the day that I rang ahead to the Hostel at Malvern Wells 30 miles north to see if I could carry on but it was already full. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have a bird reserve at Slimbridge and the hostel itself has a nice duckpond at the back but it doesn’t open till around 16:00 so I spent an hour in the local pub, the Tudor Arms, by the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. As it’s a bit rural I was glad that the hostel did catering and had a very nice dinner. It wasn’t very busy, I think only a couple of other guests were staying. Some links related to day 1 Slimbridge Youth Hostel - from the official YHA site. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust - their Headquarters are at the reserve in Slimbridge. Cheddar Gorge & Village - beautiful scenery in the Mendip Hills. Wookey Hole - only a few miles north of Glastonbury, lots to see and do. Day 4 – Slimbridge to Ironbridge	Pictures from my End-to-End Journey: