Goodbye Cornwall

Right now I'm sitting in traffic on the M25 (otherwise known as London's biggest parking lot) but really, it's no worse than Auckland's North Western carpark. Finally, I've left St Agness and Cornwall, and it is a sad departure. I've had such a wonderful time there. The hospitality I received from the Dobles was exceptional. The locals are amazingly friendly, prepared to take time out to chat, give directions, or help you out in any way they can.

I arrived not knowing anyone, and left 2½ weeks later, (2 1/4 weeks later than i'd expected) saying sad goodbyes to friends who I'm already missing, and incredibly indebted to many people, both family, and their friends, for the amazing time i had.

I was very lucky that Mawgan let me borrow his mountain bike pretty much whenever i wanted, Without it, i wouldn't have seen half the things I did, and experienced riding on some amazingly sweet trails, from the clifftop coastal track which runs the whole way around the perimeter of the Cornwall peninsula on rough, loose, and at times steep gravel... to the the old mining tram route running from one coast of the peninsula to the other... and who can forget yesterday's ride in _____ wood, an area pretty much ideal for mountain bikes.., it offered a riding experience with elements of Riverhead, vegas and craters'.... (there wasn't any sand, astroturf, or wood, so I can't draw any parallels with woodhill) the tracks are all relatively short, linking or coming off the two main paths in the wood (frequented by walkers, some with dogs) Some tracks were well formed, smooth and flowing, some were more horse trails, rutted and lumpy.., some were full of blackberry or a similar thorny bush, to bring out more of that good ol' craters feeling, and associated bleeding..., some plantation conifers and some more natural looking plants and a stream running through a beautiful gulley completed the package. Unfortunately i was riding alone, with an expensive camera in my pack and a 9 mile road ride ahead of me, so i only found part of what the forest had to offer, and didn't push myself too hard., how I'd love to return with company, more energy and a helmet.

Last Friday, i managed to tag along on a fundraising effort and walked on fire in the carpark of the local hospital, and on Saturday, the weather was a little cloudier, with rather strong winds, and i got my first opportunity to get dragged around by a power kite. (ok it was only a 3m stunt foil, but it did drag me a bit, and i managed to break a 75kg line.) On Sunday, we, quite by chance, returned to the same place as I was climbing 2 weeks ago. Sunday afternoon saw us eating too much at Hugh's birthday bbq. and on

Monday evening we went to Newquay to see Hannabeth's band play..., following that, for some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to visit a delightfully sinister club in Truro called “The loft". It was an eye-opening experience, 1.50 cover charge, and drinks all cost less than 1.50. After getting over the fact that i felt like a dirty old man..., (think back to leftfield back in the days) i had a great time, and probably ended up more drunk than i can recall ever being before.

Sadly, I didn't learn to surf while i was there, in fact, i only had one attempt, and I only went swimming around 5 times. I didn't jump off any cliffs into the water, and I didn't experience Cream teas, but it's gotta be good to have a few excuses/reasons to return to Cornwall.

This episode of my travels was fueled by “Doble Quality Foods”, the quality food provided at the Doble residence (including home grown eggs and pork), and many visits to the St Agnes bakery.., I highly recommend their breads, yeast buns (raisin buns, to be distinguished from safron buns which are also raisin buns, but made with safron.., equally delicious, but a little more expensive :)), and their flapjacks. Combinations of the above fuelled many of my biking adventures.

Now I'm off to Cambridge to meet the Legendary Uncle Phillip, and loiter around the outskirts while Kate Graduates. Then my next chapter will in Wales.

Still more cornwall.

Well, since the last post, I've discovered that there's a lovely bouldering spot just 15 mins walk from where i'm staying... Of course, I made this discovery
after many days of not climbing..., (which, of course was followed by a 1 hour session of climbing.., cut short by the rising tide and the rain...,).., and 4 hours on the next day.... wonderful, yet horrific rock. My kind of climbing..., slopers, long reaches, high feet (if any), but as soon as you get above the stuff that the sea doesn't reach, it becomes chossy, and a little scary... since it's all mudstone.

Sadly, I haven't been able to take any decent pictures of the rocks yet, and even sadder, it's been raining for the last couple of days, so I haven't had a chance to get onto the rock again. On the plus side, more of my relatives arrived on Friday, and its been great to meet some of them, and see Richard again.
This evening everyone is at a wedding of some of their cousins on the Doble side, and I'm being a little anti-social and sitting round at home writing my blog, intending to get a good night's sleep.., so with a little bit of luck, i'll be wide awake tomorrow, and the weather won't be too bad. :)
It looks like i should be going climbing on Monday evening at a little-known indoor wall somewhere relatively nearby.

Tomorrow promises to be a blast with much boozing to be had..., (although, hopefully, the weather will be agreeable and i'll be able to get out and take a few pics.)

Cornwall continued.

I'm still stuck in St Agnes...,

I just can't seem to pry myself away from this beautiful place. A week ago I finally got a climbing fix, even if it was just a little one. 1 hour on the back of a motorbike, 2 hours on some easy trad multipitching, and another hour back in a car..,

A few days later, it was my first attempt at wakeboarding, but that wasn't especially productive.., with that wonderful feeling that we may well be dragged out to sea because the engine wouldn't start.

Other than that, i've been biking lots, and almost have some fitness.., but am starting to eat too much, and had a wonderful standard Aggie Friday evening.., went to the beach in the back of a landrover, played a couple of games of rounders, lit up the bbqs.., (over here there doesn't seem to be such a thing as gas bbqs, it's charcoal all the way, baby)... anyway, more silly games.., 3 legged races, sack races, (but we didn't quite get to duck duck goose..., ) followed by eating, chatting, French Cricket, all while getting somewhat inebriated.., you can buy whatever booze you like at the supermarket, drink it anywhere you like.., (they only just banned alcohol on the tube a couple of weeks ago).., On to one pub.., then a taxi over to another pub, where the locals are rather friendly.., and a walk home at 1:30. This sounds like a particularly good night for me in NZ.., the only difference is here, I did it all in shorts and bare feet!!

Every year, the local sports club holds a fundraising ball.., (formally known as hampers and champers) where you buy a ticket, dress up nicely, bring your own food and party the night away with a dj, live band, etc... I wasn't going to go, but a spare ticket appeared, my arm got twisted rather firmly, trowsers, shoes and a very bright shirt appeared and it woulda been a shame to waste it, so I had a great time!

Sunday was definitely about recovery.., breakfast consisted of 3 rashers of bacon, a couple of hash browns, baked beans, scrambled egg, toast, and a rather bloated stomach. Then Hannah kindly took me for a drive to see sights and take photos right the west end of Cornwall. we didn't go to "land's end" because it's a tourist hole, but we did get a good view of it from some much nicer cliffs. On the way there, we dropped in to an amazing, beautiful enclosed beach, with absolutely icy water.., (I lasted about 5 mins in a wetsuit)

Also, I got a chance to scramble around on the rocks there. So that (and the bbq dinner) was just the icing on a wonderful, but tiring weekend.

Another thing i discovered on Sunday was Cornish icecream... light fluffy, slightly watery, but still delicous!!., I've possibly discovered a guilt free desert.., (until you look at the price of it)

Cornwall., (or more precisely, St Agnes)

While I was in Princetown, I recieved an email from my long lost (although I'm not sure you can loose someone if you never saw them in the first place) second cousin, Jenny. So, since I was in the neighbourhood.., (well, not too far away anyway), and Cornwall is kinda out on a limb geographically, I figured I may as well visit, and well., that's where I am now.

Firstly Cornwall is beautiful, and soaked in history. much of the landscape was formed by the mining of tin and china clay over a centuary ago. The rural roads are narrow, winding, and wild flowers grow high on the sides. (the result of this is rather an exciting experience for passengers in fast moving cars, travelling around blind corners without enough road to comfortably fit 2 cars). There are also the trademark sections of road with trees growing over from either side, forming a leafy tunnel.., (I hate to think about the state of those stretched of road during autumn)

St Agnes is a village on the north coast of the Cornwall peninsula, the people here are laid back and friendly, Surfing is possibly the most common past time, along with casual games on the beach. Apparently the place is somewhat boring during the winter, but the people seem to be so wonderfully friendly, I doubt it. Truro is a large town relatively close to St Agnes, and many of St Agnes' residents, including Jenny work there. Truro is home to a hospital, and med school. Rob, Jenny's nephew and Richard Jefferies (who visited nz a few years ago)'s brother also lives here and works as a physio at the hospital. Consequently, many of the people I've met since I've been here also work at the hospital.

The Sea cliffs off St Agnes are riddled with tracks and make for a rather intersting, and incredibly scenic bike ride. The nearest hill (and the biggest in quite a large area is topped by the beacon (I can only assume that at one point in time, it had navigational markers atop it, now, it just has a survey point... and wonderful views across hedged meadows, out to the windmills, and, of course, across the endless sea.)

Princetown...

Well.., I survived..., and managed to do it without sleeping in the coach station, the maritime mission, or the Salvation army charity hostel. Before heading to Plymouth, I had tried to book in to back packers, but I could only find one online, and it was booked out. I figured that there must be more in town, but after walking to the information centre in the rain, I found out that the cheapest way to get a roof over my head would be to pay at least 45 quid for a room in a B&B.

I was just about ready to pay a huge amount of money for a night of not being mugged when I heard that there is a camping ground just out of plymouth... so, off I headed, not too keen about spending a rainy night in a bivi bag and a rather too warm sleeping bag. Fortunately, I found a hardware store on the way, and bought a tarpaulin and some string.

Bus fare each way: 1.5 quid
tarpaulin: 4 quid
string: 2 quid
a small patch of grass, no decent tv lounge, etc. (but free showers): 8 quid
not getting mugged whilst sleeping under a bridge: priceless!

I did my “tent” up a little tight so woke up a little damp in the morning, but it was far preferable to the sweaty mess I'd've been in, had I just slept in my bivi bag.

I left the camping ground nice and early, arriving at the bus stop at around 7am. only to find that the first bus didn't arrive until after 9. I had 2 hours wandering round Plymouth, (carrying far too much as per usual) and managed to buy a few pegs for my tarp and a map of dartmoor. The guy at the shop managed to convince me that I needed a compass too, but gave me a pretty good deal on them.

I finally arrived in Princetown at 12:30 today, signed into the backpackers, where I'm the only guest. I dumped my bags, and after a chat with friendly locals and a bite to eat, I headed out for a wander round town, and a little countryside. Dartmoor is a wonderful and somewhat unique area where everyone has legal walking access to most of the farms. It's sorta a combination of farmland and national park, with wild looking horned sheep, cows and miniature horses wandering around. In the course of my wandering I headed up to the top of the highest peak near town (complete with TV mast)... I figured that the mast was probably pretty close to the highest point, so I was heading toward it when all of a sudden, it disappeared, then reappeared, slightly... anyway, I got to the tor at the top of the hill and looked at the wonderful lack of view. It was at that point in time that I realised how important my new compass may be in the next day or 2.



After a lesuirely retreat to the backpackers, I wandered inside in time for the rain, had a shower, and headed over to the pub.., (where I felt my Scottish heritage coming through and I decided that my baked beans on toast in my pack would be more than adequate for dinner.) I might head back there for a beer tomorrow evening....

Tomorrow, I'll try to find some internet access, (if I'm not up too early for it) and then the plan is basicly to walk for 5 or 6 hours, then turn around and return via a slightly different path. Weather seems to be better in the morning, so an early start may be wise.

scary...

I'm writing this from the bus to plymouth... well, the bus after the one I wanted to take to plymouth. I'm on my way to dartmoor, in the south west of England. more specifically a small town called Princetown. where i found a backpackers with space to accommodate me for the night. There's quite a bit of rock out that way..,(apparently), and with a bit of luck, there'll be some people climbing it. I had hoped to catch the bus to plymouth, and Ihen another bus on to princetown, leaving a couple of hours after the first one arrived. Now, I'm on a bus that's supopsed to arrive in plymouth 20 mins after the bus to princetown leaves..., but due to heavy demand on this service an extra bus was put on..., I think this bus is going direct, and consequently may arrive early enough for me to catch the connection to princetown. If it doesn't, then i guess I'll just have to find somewhere to stay in plymouth.., hopefully not in a train station, or lying in the gutter somewhere.

we're currently driving on the motorway past London's sewerage treatment plant, or is it the drinking water plant?, or perhaps, having experienced the flavour of london's water, they could be one in the same.

Yesterday, I managed to catch up with Leah Dryland, to experience Ben's cookies, which, although the chocolate in them most certainly wasn't up to nz standards, were still rather delicious. Then we met a man looking for love, casual sex, or something somewhere in between in Leicester square. a realitively affordable pub all day breakfast served as a pretty filling dinner.., especially after I ate half of leah's one as well.

Right now, I'm nervously wondering if I'll arrive at plymouth in time to board the bus to princetown, (assuming that i can find where it departs from)... And if I arrive too late, or can't find the bus station, what I'll end up doing... hopefully I'll be able to upload this post asap so anyone who actually reads my blog will be held in the same suspense as I am.