Mevagissey to Bude: 87km

After a wonderful breakfast prepared by Howie and Andy at the Little Pisky Cottage B&B (named after the Cornish Little People), we took a short walk around the picturesque fishing village and bought Cornish pasties for lunch from a Frenchman, who also served a very good espresso.

Our first stop was Paul’s birth place in Trewoon, just outside of St. Austell. The house is unremarkable, but we had to see it! Through the town and on to Bodmin, the long lasting effects of the china clay mining industry are very apparent, with huge empty pits and conical hills of waste. During a good ride up the Camel River Trail, we saw clay kilns next to the old rail line.

The cycle over Bodmin Moor was very enjoyable, especially as the wind was behind us and the sun was shining. We had to stop for sheep, were distracted by all the newborn lambs and saw many ponies roaming over the hills.

As the day wore on, the effect of jet lag and the constant steep descents and climbs were taking their toll. Once again, at the end of the day we had to use our lights. Knowing that the restaurants in Bude stop serving at 9PM, we stopped to eat at a pub on the way to the B&B, only to find that their chef was off for the night! The bar tender kindly invited us to have a drink and order take-out. So, with the help of other patrons (who enthusiastically offered advice about the pros and cons of available take-out restaurants) we ate pizza with our two half pints of very good, and welcome, local bitter. We eventually go to our lodgings after 10pm. The host still offered us tea and would have given us the cream tea that she normally provides. The scones were there for the next day.