Day 1: Land's End to Truro

Upon catching the 0529 train from Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance, I discovered the disadvantage of travelling so early: instead of a nice, quiet, comfortable high-speed train, we were presented with a bog-standard 2-carriage commuter service. Nevertheless it did the job and arrived on time into Penzance at 1023. Rather than waste time waiting an hour or so for the bus, I then took a taxi straight to Land's End. After a little wander and the obligatory photos, I set off, taking the B3315 back to Penzance.

Initially, there was intermittent drizzle, but this cleared up a mile or so from Penzance. A brief stop was made at the Merry Maidens stone circle, a very fine example right next to the road. The descent into Penzance was long and steep, making me glad I wasn't going the other way! By this time the sun was shining (as it would do now and again for the rest of the day) so I had a pleasant time eating lunch on the sea-front, with views of St Michael's Mount.

After lunch I followed NCN 3 towards Truro. Like many Sustrans routes, this was mainly along extremely quiet narrow lanes, with the occasional lapse into a gravel track or bridleway. In the towns it tended to meander wildly to avoid busy roads, and I went wrong a couple of times due to poor signing. The route was on the whole magnificently flat, with only a couple of steep hills to contend with. There were plenty of interesting ruined mineworkings around Camborne and Redruth, and what looked like a working (or at least workable) pit.

At just before 5pm I made it to the outskirts of Truro where my B&B was located. After a quick shower, I walked down into the town centre for some food and a look around.

Distance: 44.7 miles
Total ascent: 1086 m
Cumulative distance: 44.7 miles
Interactive route map and profile: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1731