Overview:
Date: 21-25 July 2024
Location: Devon and Cornwall, England
Total distance: 150 miles (241 kilometres)
Elevation gain: 3,800 metres
Highlights: Making it to Penryn in time for graduation, Sunday lunch at Fingle Bridge Inn, passing through beautiful landscapes in Devon and Cornwall, cream tea in Pentewan, spending time together
Summary:
If you had told me back in January that I would cycle 150 miles across Devon and Cornwall to get to my Master's graduation, I probably would have laughed at you. At that point, I was only just getting comfortable cycling on the roads and hills to get to work in Exeter! And yet, here we are, six months later, a week after Brett and I got back from our biggest cycling adventure to date.
Over the course of four days, we cycled 150 miles between Exeter and Penryn, predominately following National Cycle Network routes and camping along the way. Despite the challenge of endless hills, narrow country lanes, and many ticks, we loved the freedom that came with being out on our bikes. Hiking the South West Coast Path will always hold a special place in our hearts, but we've thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a new way of exploring the beautiful landscapes of Devon and Cornwall.
TLDR
If you can't be bothered to read the whole post (I get it, we're all busy and this is one of the longest blog posts I've ever written, oops), here's a short highlight video of the trip!
Trip log:
Trip rationale
Last summer, I finished my master's degree in Sustainable Futures at the University of Exeter's Penryn campus in Cornwall. I'm currently living in Exeter for my PhD, so needed to travel back down to Cornwall for my graduation, which was to take place in Truro Cathedral on 25 July. We could have taken the train down to Cornwall, like we've done every other time we've travelled to Penryn. Instead, we decided to cycle.
This decision was made for two main reasons. First, I'm planning a big cycling trip for my PhD fieldwork (more on that soon, I promise!), so I wanted the opportunity to practice getting out on my bike for multiple days. I wanted to better understand the logistical aspects of cycle touring, as well as the physical and mental challenges I may face next year. The second reason was to have a proper adventure with Brett this year. He'll be away for most of the summer, travelling for work and to see family, so I was excited we would get to share this experience together.
Trip preparations
We started loosley planning the trip a couple of months ago, but preparations didn't really begin until early July, when I brought both of our bikes in to be serviced at The BikeShed, our go-to bike shop in Exeter. After picking the bikes up, we gave them a test ride to Exmouth, just to make sure everything felt good before setting off on our long ride. Friday was spent going to various stores around Exeter, picking up the last few bits we needed for the trip (including my dress for graduation, which I found for £5 from a charity shop).
The route I'd identified followed the Sustrans National Cycle Network (NCN), going north over Dartmoor before heading to the south coast of Cornwall. I spent Friday evening plotting campsites, bike stores, and places of interest on a map on my phone. We had planned to set off on Saturday morning, but the weather had other plans, so we agreed to start on Sunday morning to avoid the rain.
We spent Saturday morning packing, carefully navigating the camping equipment and piles of clothing spread out haphazardly on the floor of our bedroom. Lying in bed on Saturday night, the nerves really kicked in, overshadowing any excitement I had for the adventure we had in store. I was worried we wouldn't make it to Cornwall in time, but most of all, I was terrified that one of us would get seriously injured by a reckless driver. Luckily, the nerves faded as soon as we were out on our bikes and we both made it safely to Cornwall.
Day 1: Exeter to Lydford // 39 miles (63 kilometres), 1117 metres
The sky was grey as we loaded the panniers onto our bikes in the back garden. I was determined to carry as much as possible on my bike, so I strapped the tent onto my pannier rack as Brett carefully secured his sleeping mat to his handlebars. Safely stored at the bottom of one of Brett's panniers was a bag of clean clothes that we wouldn't open until we arrived in Falmouth.
I wanted our ride to start officially at the University of Exeter's Streatham campus so that we could say we had cycled from campus to campus for my graduation. So, although it was the opposite direction to our destination, and an extra 50 metres of elevation gain, we started off the day by cycling up to campus. If our bikes hadn't been so loaded down, it would have felt like a normal morning cycling to work! By 9:30, we had taken pictures at the university's iconic rock, started Strava to track our ride, and left campus to begin our adventure. Onwards to Cornwall!
The first part of the day involved following the old A30 west from Exeter. The single carriageway led us through a patchwork of fields, past a handful of small villages. We occasionally saw signs for the National Cycle Network's route 279, but it appears this route was stripped of its status by Sustrans as part of their 2020 reclassification.
After passing through Tedburn St Mary, we crossed over the A30. Although the road was still a single carriageway, and there was plenty of space for cars to overtake us, I wasn't enjoying how fast the cars were speeding past. I never felt unsafe, but just wasn't having fun. We pulled off the road at the Woodleigh Coach House cafe and used Komoot and Google Maps to plan a detour. Brett was able to find some country lanes that would take us away from the single carriageway and along quieter roads to the same destination. So, at Cheriton Bishop, we turned left off the main road and found ourselves on small country lanes, winding through a golden landscape.
After a sketchy descent on a very overgrown country lane, the road dipped down towards Fingle Bridge, a 17th-century stone arch bridge over the River Teign. I'd hiked past the bridge on a cold winter's day a few years ago, so I knew it would be an idyllic place to stop for lunch. Luckily, the sun had emerged from behind the clouds and there was a free table at the riverside Fingle Bridge Inn. We had a wonderful Sunday carvery, enjoying the beautiful surroundings and the warmth of the sunshine. After eating, we relaxed by the side of the river while I did a watercolour painting of the historic bridge. We had hours of daylight left, and it felt nice to not be in a rush for once!
The hill leading away from Fingle Bridge up to Drewsteignton was brutal. Brett managed to stay on his bike until the top, but I ended up pushing my bike up the second half of the hill. I'd pulled off the road to let a car pass and then couldn't manage to start back up again!
I'd cycled the stretch between Whiddon Down and South Zeal in June and knew I wanted to avoid the road there. We took another detour from the original route, eventually passing South Zeal and Sticklepath, before climbing up to Belstone and descending into Okehampton. From here, we were on familiar ground for the rest of the day. We'd cycled the Granite Way twice before and were excited as ever to cross the impressive Meldon Viaduct.
We stopped for a drink and snack in the garden of the The Castle Inn, a 16th century pub in Lydford. We briefly debated getting Pimms, but agreed on hot chocolate – we'd learned on previous bikepacking trips that as soon as you stop moving, you get cold quickly. With the sun once again hidden behind the clouds, we sipped our hot drinks and enjoyed some fries and focaccia.
A mile past the first entrance to Lydford Gorge, we left the road and passed through a gate onto the moorland. We found a sheltered spot on the moor, in a little clearing surrounded by gorse. I was relieved it was still dry as we cooked our first camping meal of the trip. As we were getting ready for bed, we could hear cows moo-ing in the distance. I was worried they might end up surrounding our tent in the middle of the night, but it ended up being a small group of Dartmoor ponies that woke us up at 2am. We were worried they might fall onto our tent, so we ended up spending an hour standing outside our tent, petting their soft noses and trying to get them to move on.
Day 2: Lydford to Bodmin Moor // 42 miles (68 kilometres), 989 metres
We managed to sleep in until 8:30, which is pretty unheard of when we're camping! It had rained overnight and everything was soggy! Putting dry socks into wet shoes is not the most pleasant experience, but it felt good to be back out on the bikes and putting miles on the map. My left knee felt a little sore when we set off, but the pain gradually faded throughout the day. We left the NCN 27 behind us and followed route 327 in the direction of Cornwall.
The wind roared in my ears as I flew down the hill towards Tinhay, rarely having to press on my brakes. After some challenging roads the previous day, the smooth road surface and perfectly graded descent were a joy. We cooked porridge for breakfast at a park in Lifton. Leaving the small town, we stopped at the Strawberry Fields Farm Shop, which felt almost Disney-like in its commercialisation and fantastical presentation of a rural aesthetic. I've visited a handful of farm shops before, and it's safe to say that this did not feel like a farm shop. It felt like a Whole Foods that happened to be located on a farm. Anyways. We used the toilets and filled up our water bottles before getting back on the road.
Soon after, we were speeding down a beautiful descent on a larger road when we passed the "Welcome to Cornwall" sign. We had made it across the border and into a new county! We'd planned on getting a hot meal for lunch in Launceston, but were warned by a local that it would be a very steep climb into the city centre. Instead, we ate camping meals on a picnic bench next to a small stream. While waiting for the meal to soak, I rung one of the university's press team who had noticed my Twitter post about our cycle ride. We chatted about putting together a press release. I had no idea at that point how much media interest the trip would get!
After lunch, we opted to switch up our route to avoid some of the larger roads on the National Cycle Network. Using the Cornwall Goldeneye Cyclinguides paper map in conjunction with Google Street View, we identified another route that would lead us on smaller roads.
The winding country lanes we took leading away from Launceston were some of the most charming we cycled on throughout the trip. It was interesting to realise that when I'd started cycling, I was most worried about country lanes, but on this trip, we found they usually were less scary that A roads or B roads (even taking into consideration the worse road quality and steeper climbs/descents). We did, however, get very good at pressing our bodies into hedges to let cars pass.
As we were following one country lane, Brett pointed out Dartmoor, barely visible on the horizon. It was impressive to realise just how far we'd cycled that day!
Soon after waving goodbye to Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor came into view. By the time we had reached the edge of the moor, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. After passing the abandoned Davidstow Airfield Runway, we rejoined the National Cycle Network, now on route 3. The rain wasn't heavy, but it didn't take long until everything was soaked through (including my shoes, which had only just dried out from the previous evening!). The ride on small lanes on the edge of Bodmin Moor was incredibly atmospheric – the light rain and misty conditions felt entirely suitable for this moment of the adventure. We also appreciated the roads seemed almost deserted, as well as the regular road markings for the NCN 3, which meant we didn't need to use our phones for navigation.
Although it wasn't yet 18:00 and we still had a few hours of light, I was ready to call it a day. I was worried if we didn't find a campsite soon, we might struggle to find another further along the road. We pulled off the road into the South Penquite Farm campsite. I'd pre-identified the campsite and was hoping there would still be pitches available. Luckily, the campsite was huge and there was plenty of space. (What we should have worried about was a puppy stealing Brett's sunglasses when he bent down to pet her!)
After we'd set up our tent, we jumped back on the bikes and cycled down to Blisland, where we warmed up over dinner at The Blisland Inn. I was dreading having to go back out into the rain and struggle back up the massive hill, but the foggy ride back to the campsite felt like we were cycling through another world. I happily made use of the free showers at the campsite before crawling into the tent, warm and content.
Day 3: Bodmin Moor to Gorran Churchtown // 42 miles (68 kilometres), 944 metres
We were awoken on Tuesday morning by a crow sitting on top of our tent, screeching. The sun came out briefly as we packed away our tent. It had rained heavily overnight, so once again, I found myself putting dry socks into wet shoes, a joyous start to the day...
As we were filling up our water bottles at the campsite, we enjoyed chatting to a Dutch couple who were spending 10 weeks cycling across England. We were surprised to learn that they bring a kettle with them on their bike tours – what luxury!
After a fun descent on small roads, we joined the Camel Trail, a 17-mile traffic-free cycle route connecting Bodmin and Padstow. The trail followed a small river through a forest and occasionally the sun would peek out from behind the clouds, causing a golden light to dance across the slowly moving water. It felt great to be off the roads and to be flying towards our next destination. It was still early and although we passed several dog walkers and a handful of cyclists, we had the whole path to ourselves for long stretches. When we reached the turn off to Bodmin, we briefly debated cycling onwards to Padstow before continuing our trip. We agreed to save the rest of the Camel Trail for a future trip and turned left towards Bodmin.
We had planned to stop at a park in Bodmin to cook breakfast, but it started drizzling just as we'd entered town, so we popped into a cafe for a piece of cake and some hot drinks (aka hot chocolate number three). Although it was enjoyable, this stop was also my biggest mistake of the day – not eating a proper breakfast made the afternoon more challenging as my energy levels dipped dramatically.
By the time we'd finished eating, the rain had stopped and we began cycling again, still following the NCN 3. Past Bodmin, we crossed a bridge over the A30 before winding along a series of small country lanes lined with jungle-like vegetation. We passed a handful of small villages and enjoyed cycling under the Treffry Viaduct in Luxulyan Valley.
On one climb, we could hear a car approaching from the opposite direction. We pulled off onto the side of the road as the car rounded the corner in front of us and pulled up alongside us. As he rolled down his window, I was worried he was going to yell at us, but instead he laughed, saying we'd almost given him a heart attack – he thought we were the police! Good to know our high-vis jackets were serving their purpose!
The NCN 3 took us via the Eden Project, where we stopped to use the toilet and fill up our water bottles. From there, we cycled to St Austell, where we were planning on stopping for lunch. We didn't find anywhere promising, however, so agreed to keep going until we got to the coast, just a few kilometres further. I still hadn't eaten a proper meal by this point, so my energy levels were definitely getting low.
Past St Austell, we once again detoured from the NCN. Descending into the coastal town of Pentewan was one of the most frightening moments of the trip – we later saw a sign noting the hill was a 20% grade, so I'm not surprised it was scary! This trip has definitely reinforced my belief that although climbing steep hills is physically demanding, descending these hills is much more terrifying. The whole time I was descending that hill, I was riding on my brakes, nervous that my wheels would slide out from underneath me or that a car would force us to pull over.
By this point, we were both very hungry, so we happily stopped in Pentewan for a cream tea. Afterwards, we cooked a camping lunch overlooking the beach, feeling proud that we'd made it all the way to Cornwall's south coast. As we ate lunch, I was impressed, as always, with the British commitment to a beach holiday. Clouds hung dark overhead. And yet, adults sunbathed and children played in the sand. 10 out of 10 for commitment.
Brett wanted to stop off at the bike shop in Pentewan, where we noticed signs for the NCN. The trail led off into a forest, diverging from the route suggested by Komoot. We decided to trust Sustrans and followed the trail through the forest and along a canal, before rejoining the NCN 3 and climbing up through the forest on the other side of the road. Although I had been dreading the hills and roads between Pentewan and Mevagissey, being able to do the journey on a cycle path made it much more enjoyable. We stopped for an hour in the charming harbour town of Mevagissey. Brett got a snack and I edited the press release sent over by the university's press team (editing a document on my phone was a new challenge!).
The steep hills out of Mevagissey and Portmellon were not fun, but I was proud of myself for persevering and not having to stop to push my bike. When we arrived at Treveague Campsite, we were excited to learn their kitchen was still open and that they served pizzas! I'd been craving a pizza all day, so was thrilled we could have a proper meal for dinner. The campsite was lovely and we had a sea view from our tent. The £32 price tag was arguably less lovely, however. And that didn't even cover a free shower! Shocking how expensive some of these campsites are getting...
After dinner, we sat on the grass near our tent as Brett taught me the basics of gear ratios. I mentioned we should probably do a tick check and then, looking down at my leg, I spotted one. Okay, one tick, no big deal, right? Pulling up the leg of his trousers, Brett spotted one on his leg. We ended up sneaking into one of the shower cubicles in the male block, where we spent at least half an hour looking over each other's bodies in the light of our phone torches. We found multiple ticks on each of us. What a romantic evening...
Leaving the toilet block, I began to cry. Everything had been going so well: I'd been feeling great on the bike and had been loving the adventure. But in this moment, the reality of what I was planning to do for my PhD fieldwork came crashing down on me. I had a hard time sleeping that night, nervous by the ticks and the thought of being interviewed by the press upon reaching Falmouth.
Day 4: Gorran Churchtown to Falmouth // 22 miles (35 kilometres), 582 metres
We got up at sunrise to attempt to watch the sun rise over the sea, but, as before, the clouds were thick overhead, so we went back to sleep. As we packed up our campsite, I was still feeling pretty down about the ticks, fears of Lyme Disease clouding any joy I had that we were nearing our final destination.
It was our last proper day on the road and we were back on the NCN 3. The first highlight of the morning was passing the majestic Caerhays Castle, where we watched a herd of cattle grazing near the pond. We had hiked on this stretch of the South West Coast Path in 2023, so it was fun seeing the same area from a very different perspective.
We stopped to take some pictures at Porthluney Bay. As we were climbing away from the coast, I could feel that something was getting progressively worse with my bike – the chain was beginning to skip – so I was keeping my fingers crossed it would make it until we got to Falmouth.
The NCN 3 led us through the cute town of Veryan, where we spotted several thatched-roof round houses! The steep descent into Pendower Beach was frightening, and when we got to the coast, I was shocked to see we had the whole beach to ourselves! It was mid-morning in July – where were all the tourists? Brett convinced me to join him in dipping my bike wheel into the sea – apparently this is a tradition amongst people cycling from coast to coast in the United States.
Soon, the NCN route ended and we were deposited unceremoniously onto an A-road (one of the larger road classifications in the UK). If we'd been heading to Truro, we could have picked the NCN 3 back up as it headed north, but we had decided to catch the ferry from St Mawes, so we had to continue west along A-3078. Unfortunately, there weren't any country lanes we could take to avoid this stretch, so we put on our high vis jackets, turned on our lights and got onto the road.
This was the only point on the trip where we had a mechanical issue – Brett's chain fell off after we'd pulled off the road to let some cars pass. Luckily, we were able to safely pull off the main road and it was an easy fix. Within a few minutes we were back on our way. After getting multiple flat tyres on our first bikepacking trip, I felt incredibly relieved that we had managed to avoid most mechanical issues on this trip! Paying extra for the puncture resistant tyres had really paid off!
We turned off the A-road to descend into the coastal town of Portscatho, where we stopped for a hot chocolate and a snack near the harbour. We knew the ferry between Place and St Mawes would stop at 13:30 due to the low tide, so we didn't linger too long in Portscatho.
Just three miles later, we had reached the floating pier at Place, where we were hoping to catch our first of two ferries over to Falmouth. Brett carefully carried our bikes down the steep walkway. There were already a fair number of people waiting on the pier, so I thought we would have to wait for the following ferry, but luckily the captain was able to squeeze us and our bikes onto the small boat. As we boarded the boat, it was clear, our trip had been a success!
From St Mawes, we got onto a larger ferry that took us across the Fal estuary and dropped us off in the centre of Falmouth.
Our trip wasn't officially over, but I was so proud of us for making it all the way to Falmouth!
Although I had lived in Penryn for a year, I'd never cycled in Cornwall before this trip, so to finish off our day's ride, I wanted to do the iconic loop around Pendennis Castle. As we cycled slowly along the Falmouth high street, dodging tourists and waiting behind cars, the rain began again. Arriving at Pendenis Point, I smiled to myself as we passed a group of children eating ice creams in the rain – gotta love that British commitment to summer. We stopped briefly so I could get a picture at the headland, with the Roseland Peninsula visible in the background through the rain.
By the time we had finished cycling around the headland, we were completely soaked. Luckily, we were able to check into our hotel early and escape the rain while we waited for my parents to arrive into Falmouth. I felt guilty bringing all of our soaking wet and smelly gear into our beautiful hotel room, but equally excited about the prospect of a proper shower and a real bed.
A couple of hours after arriving at the hotel, I was interviewed live on BBC Radio Cornwall – the university's press release had obviously been a success! As I sat in our hotel room, waiting for the phone call from the BBC team, I felt almost sick with nerves. But once the call had started, I felt more at ease. Some of the questions were a bit rogue and I would have preferred to focus the discussion on the cycle ride, but it was a good learning experience. And what a joy to share this moment with Brett and my parents, who were listening into the show from my parents' hotel room!
That evening, we had a fabulous dinner at Hooked on the Rocks, a fish restaurant overlooking Swanpool Beach. It was the perfect way to celebrate finishing our big ride.
Day 5: Falmouth to Penryn campus // 4 miles (7 kilometres), 155 metres
After three nights of camping, Brett and I slept deeply in our king size bed at the hotel. Thursday morning was the final stretch of our big adventure – cycling up from our hotel in Falmouth to the University's campus in Penryn, where I would be collecting my gown for graduation. Unfortunately for my tired thighs, the university's campus is located at the top of a hill. When we arrived on campus, we managed to get some pictures with the iconic rock before getting changed in the bathroom and picking up my robes. I was almost glad it was drizzling, because it meant we had the rock to ourselves as we took another set of photos of me in my gown with the bike. I felt incredibly relieved my bike had made it all the way without deciding to give up.
Graduation:
My parents met us on campus and the next hour was spent taking pictures, before we got on the coach to Truro. Luckily there was time to get pasties before we had to be at the cathedral – a very Cornish day!
The graduation ceremony took place in Truro Cathedral, which was such an impressive venue for a special occasion. It was lovely to catch up with some of the other students graduating from my course. The ceremony was short and sweet and soon I was back on the bus to campus for the drinks reception. Brett and I finally were able to have the glass of Pimms we'd been dreaming about our whole cycling trip!
Post-graduation:
Although our official trip from Exeter to Penryn was over, we still did another 47 kilometres (29 miles) of cycling around Falmouth over the next few days. Brett even cycled all the way to Kynance Cove and Lizard Point while I chilled on campus to see my friends all dressed up for their graduation on Friday.
Although I was originally dreading it, we thoroughly enjoyed camping at Coastland, a small campsite near Mylor Churchtown, which is a few miles out of Falmouth. The campsite was lovely, definitely our favourite of the three we visited during this trip. I started both mornings with a dip in the estuary, the water beautifully calm, but still freezing.
Getting home:
We had joked about cycling back to Exeter, but I was relieved when we finally got on the train at Truro that would take us home. As usual, the bike parking on the train was entirely insufficient, so I was impressed that Brett managed to squeeze both our bikes in and secure them using bungee cords.
Press coverage:
In addition to speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall, I was surprised to see the press release put out by the university was picked up over 50 different online news outlets across the UK! For example, you can read the ITV article here. I was happy to see that, for the most part, the comments on Facebook were very friendly. It's been a great opportunity to learn more about how the media works!
Final reflections:
Other than the tick incident, I had a great time on our bikepacking trip from Exeter to Penryn. I learnt a lot that will help me better plan my PhD cycling trip next spring. I'm so proud of us for achieving something that would have been completely out of my comfort and ability just a few months ago. We had an incredible time and although we enjoyed the camping, it was being out on the bikes that really made this trip so special. We've also realised how much we love hiking on the South West Coast Path – the landscape is a lot more varied and it's easier to have proper conversations when you're walking next to each other instead of cycling one behind the other! With that being said, I'm still looking forward to more bikepacking trips this summer, and hopefully one massive PhD-related cycling adventure next year!
Resources:
Route planning:
Advice:
Other useful links:
Interactive map of our route:
Comments