Back in late April my gorgeous wife had arranged a family holiday for us in the wonderful picturesque region of Cornwall. Cornwall is also the home to tin mining and most famously, the Cornish Pasty. What made it special was that her brother and sister and their families were to join us on it. More importantly, the holiday was to include her birthday too.
So having never been to Cornwall before, I decided to look up Hayle (the town we were staying in) on Google maps. I found that it was situated right next to St Ives and not too far from Land’s End, the extreme south-westerly point of the British mainland, and the extreme westerly point of the mainland of England. So not one to miss an opportunity, I decided that my Diablo just had to come along.
So early on the Sunday morning I set out from our holiday resort giving my legs a nice warm up before having a quick photo stop in St Ives. After looking at the gorgeous view of the bay and the Celtic Sea from the top of St Ives, I made my way out on the road again.
The only way out of St Ives is up, as I discovered on my way towards Land’s End. Here I gave my legs a good test (and the Diablo for that matter) as I ascended this category 3 climb, covering 3.5km at an average gradient of 4.8%. And this only being under 15km into my ride.
Once I had ascended out of St Ives, I made my way along the beautiful rolling roads that ran parallel to the British coastline.
After 15km’s of riding through tiny villages that presented themselves with some fast corners that made me wonder if the riders in the Tour de France feel the same riding through small villages, I arrived in Pendeen. On my approach to Pendeen I saw a beautiful white lighthouse sitting on the cliffside. Having never seen one before, I had to get a few pictures of it.
For all you history buffs, Pendeen Lighthouse was built in 1900 and eventually replaced in 1926 with an electric one. Then in 1995 the lighthouse was automated. Now be careful if you do make your way down to the lighthouse, as the road back has an average gradient of 4.6% covering 1.8km – a category 4 climb.
From Pendeen I made my way along the final 15km to Land’s End taking in the beautiful scenery the Cornish coastline has to offer.
I was very pleased to make it to Land’s End as it was incredible day out in the sun, not to mention the great company I had with the Diablo. It made the all the ride all the more enjoyable. To finish off the day, my beautiful wife and kids met me at Land’s End and we spent a wonderful afternoon together enjoying the countryside.
The final details of my ride were 46.5km with an elevation gain of 708m. The route map can be found on Strava.
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