Newquay to Pendeen

Whether it was on account of a north-easterly tail wind, or the fact that I'd slept well the previous night, or that I'm coming towards the end of this journey, or that I'd built up muscles climbing the Cornish Himalayas, or the fact that it wasn't raining, I don't know, but leaving Newquay, despite aches and pains, I seemed to have more energy, strength, and fitness than I have had since leaving John O'Groats. The A3075 from Newquay to Redruth wasn't a particularly safe or pleasant road. In places it was narrow and bendy. Perhaps this was another motivating factor for pedalling so fast. Whatever it was, I simply flew along, all the way from Newquay, through Redruth and Camborne, to Hayle, taking almost every hill that presented itself in my stride. I felt as if I was in my early twenties again, with boundless energy. I did find myself at times recalling how I cycled Land's End to John O'Groats, for the first time, thirty-four years ago, and how there seemed to be less traffic on the roads. I remember stopping on a Cornish beach, on a warm sunny day, and how it had been empty apart from me; and I remember cycling along Loch Ness and hardly seeing a car all day.

The afternoon brought me to one of my favourite, if not most favourite, stretches of road in Britain; the winding coastal road between St Ives and St Just, a road that seems in no hurry to take you anywhere. I have cycled end to end three times, and each time I have done it, this stretch of road has left me inspired, content, and glad to be alive. As I pedalled along, I tried to ascertain why. I am sure the weather makes a difference, for I have always cycled this stretch in warm sunshine, under a cerulean cloudless sky, the sea sparkling just beyond the cliffs, gulls gliding on the breeze. However, it's more than that. There's a timeless quality about the landscape, with small, ancient, irregularly shaped fields, in which cattle graze, bounded by stone walls adorned with red sedum; quaint cottages built from granite; slopes above the road covered in ferns and purple heather; and hedgerows with a multitude of flowers, such as yellow bird's foot trefoil, purple sea thrift, blue sheepsbit scabious, foxgloves, pink campion, white blackberry flowers, and cat's ear (much like a daisy). There were also yellow gorse flowers, and that sweet smell of coconut wafting in the air.

I stopped at the Tinner's Arms in Zennor to refill my water bottle, where I was subsequently surrounded by people wanting to take photographs of the bike and make donations to the charity. Once again, I was struck by people's generosity. A young boy called Tristan was intrigued as to how I got on and off the bike. I allowed him to climb up on to the saddle, and he was amazed at how high off the ground he was. I left Zennor to a round of applause and cheers. A mile or so out of Zennor, I was overtaken by two cyclists riding end to end, keen to have their photograph taken next to the penny. One of them was hobbling badly, having suffered a knee problem for many days.

The further I cycled towards St Just, past Gurnard's Head, and through Morvah, so the more I saw chimneys and buildings of disused mines, a stark reminder of the areas industrial past, and a once thriving tin industry. Last year I visited the Pendeen mining museum, and was struck by the lengthy procedure involved in extracting tin, copper, arsenic, and other metals. There was something very poignant about seeing the walls lined with photos of the men that worked down the mines in the recent past.

So now I am staying with friends in Pendeen, some ten miles or so from Land's End. I am, sadly, rapidly running out of road to cycle along, and this journey is nearing its completion. As my friend John put it, 'the end is nigh!' It has crossed my mind that I might turn around and head back to John O'Groats! On Friday evening, when Kathy and Chanti are able to be at Land's End, and hopefully BBC Spotlight too, I shall cross the finishing line. Actually, I'm not sure there is a finishing line as such, so I'd best stop cycling before launching myself off a cliff! But there is a signpost at Land's End, and it will be good to reach it after one thousand miles or so on the road.