day 0. lands end to sennen.
mileage 1.5 (i know i know, but i did walk from st just too) weight : 10.5 kilos no sore bits yet.
easy first evening as i strolled down to lands end backpackless with the late afternoon sun shining and the offshore breeze in my hair. Bloody camera broken already but manage to get random stranger to take my photo to prove i was there, still waiting for the pic.Not expecting any facilities in sennen i had had a dinner of hedgerow blackberries and my emergency double decker in waiting...lo and behold they had a costcutter store......bring on the fine dining pot noodle range!
day 1 proper sennen to cambourne
mileage 27 (whoa..too much) weight : + 75grams (trail mix purchase) sore bits : left shin, right hip. stan the dog tennis balls found : 1 and a half
big big day, great weather, set out fair bouncing along the lane to the shiny 'public footpath' marker post and off the beaten track i marched.....within 10 minutes i was shoulder deep in bracken, waist deep in brambles, knee deep in nettles and ankle deep in spring bog. Fighting my way around and around this small but imprenetrable corner becoming increasingly scratched and stung i pondered the fact that during my ongoing packing/unpacking/repacking process of non essential or 'unlivewithoutable' items never once did perhaps the need of a machete occur to me, and yet here i was and of all the tools on my back it would have been the only useful thing in that moment. Finally i conquered the field throwing myself across a small but deep ditch at the mercy of the moss soaked stone wall the other side and fell into the grassy meadow beyond. This did not bode well for the future of my time on Cornish footpaths. Striving on i found my way around a couple of farms who begrudgingly were observing the public right of ways to another farm where they were clearly trying to obliterate it from the face of ordnance survey.Continuing forward regardless i considered the more straightforward approach of utilising B-road Britain, the main draw of not walking on roads would be to enjoy the natural beauty of the unfolding countryside. Since my focus however was continuously on cowpat watch i was not really fully enjoying this aspect. The next field with it's acres upon acres on neatly laid out seedlings finally did for me with no way around or across or indeed through the river that lay on the other side if i even made it that far. As i stood revising my options i noticed the abundance of spent gun cartridges at my feet at almost the exact moment that sharp retorts rang out from a far too less than comfortable distance across the field. Needless to say getting shot at such an early stage in the walk would be a serious setback so i was fast scurrying to the nearest C road. Back on safe ground and now enjoying the wildlife (fox, buzzards, farm cats) i upgraded my plans to following bridleways since no one could surely build a 5 foot wall across a bridleway and still reasonably argue that it was a perfectly accessible public passage. This started quite idyllically till eventually of course the way was flooded....second foot soaking of the day for which i would later pay a high price.
After spending a grand total of £1.44 on quite a sumptious lunch from the Penzance Lidl (with plenty left over for the next day) i headed on to Hayle, footpaths widened, routes were clearer and dogs more friendly...all was well in the walking world. Walked the first bit of official Camino route (allbeit in a backwards direction)and saw my first scallop shell symbol, which was a very exciting moment (yes, this is what it has come to)It is true that such activities are 95% mental and 5% physical as passing Hayle i foolishly convinced my mind i was almost there which then of course sneaked this information to my body which quickly began to shut down as the last 4 miles stretched on, so with aching joints and the first clues of blisters i was so sure i wouldn't get began to strike i was hugely delighted to finally reach my first welcoming host for the night who then proceeded to spend the evening making me cups of tea, running me a hot bath, cooking dinner, giving me his daughters very comfortable room for the night and providing great conversation over a bit too much wine and some rather delicious cheese......ah, this walking lark is great after all!!
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