My Cornwall Challenge: Part 3

After a good days rest in Tintagel it was time to move on. I took a relatively direct route to Wadebridge then followed an awesome bike path called the Camel Trail around to Padstow before darting down to Newquay via St Columb Major.

I have no idea who Denis is, but Baiky and I were moved that someone had dedicated a rock to him.

I am not 100% sure what happened next, because it took me a good 3.5 hours to get from Newquay to Redruth.

Baiky was pretty keen to lead me off in the wrong direction though.

It is pretty much a straighforward cycle, although I do remember being buffeted by winds...
I stopped at Redruth for a bite to eat and to admire the local artwork.

Boots that are dogs. The Tinner;s hounds by David Kemp. Represents the fall of the Tin mining industry (and the importance of well heeled dogs).

By this stage it had started to rain and a thick fog had developed, so while the cycle route out of Redruth was quite nice visibility was limited. I feel I missed what is probably quite stunning landscape. I hit up Hayle in no time, swung south to Penzance, and then outpaced the pirates to sneak into Lands End. With the exception of a confused kid watching me try to feed Baiky, it was a pretty uneventful cycle.

See the kid in background taking a photo of me taking a photo of Baiky. He is seriously questioning my rationality.

I had a campsite halfway between Lands End and Penzance. When I booked the place I envisioned this would give me easy access to both locations. Unfortunately, I did not take into account the topography. Doubly unfortunately, I did not consider thick fog and rains. So while I cycled between Penzance, Land's End, and my campsite I felt under constant peril from cars buzzing past me. This led to me using as many backstreet as possible to travel from place to place and only really traveling when I had to.

A short walk up the Penwith Heritage Trail before calling it a day.

I had planned for a days sightseeing in the area which I spend exploring Lands End, Penzance and Mousehole. I tried walking part of the Penwith Heritge trail, but with the weather as it was it was not worth it. However, I did stumble across a town called Mousehole.

Baiky goes for a swim (an actual seal).

To me this is a British version of places like Tangambalanga - a place you want to live just for the splendid postal address.

A cocktail overlooking Mousehoule.

The gloomy weather somewhat limited my adventures, but I was fortunate enought to see someone complete the John-O-Groats to Lands End challenge (by car). This is essentially traveling from the northeastern most point of mainland Scotland to the southwestern most point.

The end of the cycle path just outsied Lands End.

At Lands End they have a museum dedicated to the many individuals who have completed the trip including by foot, cycle, wheelchair, horse car, as well as other wacky forms of transport such as hitchhiking, hitting a golf ball the entire way, and even a group tha beelined. Their journey involved biking, kayaking and hiking so that they could travel in a dead straight line from start to finish.

An announcement informs visitors to the centre that a challenger is arriving. We all stood around clapping as they drove into the finish.

Personally, I have now caught the bug and am super keen to cycle the challenge. If I was still running I would attempt it by foot, but I think in my current fitness state I would make it to the first pub and call it a day.

 Finally made it!

The Bar that Gemma Built

There has been many a post of the things I have built on my blog, but anyone who knows Gemma and I is well aware that Gemma is the true craftsperson in this relationship. So, here I present a short story of the bar Gemma built, and the small role I got drilling a hole!

Gemma seemed confused when I told her the hole was filling with water.

It was a strange situation that Gemma find herself in. Too many bain-maries, a sink bowl, a beer tap, and a driptray with nowhere to put them. So, like any logical Brit would do she built an outdoor kitchen in order to fully appreciate British sunshine (ref needed).

Gemma turns this into a bar! And she manufactured some sunshine!

Her bar design had all the modern necessities - bain-maries for keeping soup warm or for fondue, a sink connected to a hand pumped faucet for water, a fridge/freezer, and a beer tap. We then of course added the luxury of a gas cooker in the form of a BBQ.

 Gemma designed the kitchen part, I designed the bar part.

The design was quite simple and deviates her prowess as a kitchen designer. We started by building the frame out of wood.

Our (I mean Gemma's)  frames

The frame was developed using boxed sections, with each box housing a different kitchen component.

This section houses the sink (left frame) and the bain-maries. Behind you can see the sections for the fridge and the kegging equipment.

The frame was then sheathed in plywood that had been cut/drilled to fit each component.

The plywood benchtop with the BBQ and bain-maries shown. 

Finally, the entire unit was painted to add a small form of weather proofing, we plucnked some bright lime green tiles on the counter surfaces, and slipped in the BBQ.

Any guesses on how long will these items stand the outdoors?

The inaugural use of the Grand Design was such a momentous occasion that Mum and Dad travelled all the way from Aus just to attend the feast!

Dad, Gemma, and I with a mountain of food.

Gemma's parents joined us too and a merry time was had by all (except I burnt the sausages).

 

 Gemmas parents and Ilona join Gemma, Dad, and I.