LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

We drove from the campsite at Botallack near St Just to Rosemergy on the B3306, at Carn Galver Engine House car park. This was approximately 4 miles (6.5 Km) south west of Zennor Village. We started cycling at 10:15am and parked our bicycles by reception of Hellesveor Holidays campsite, St Ives. It was a very eventful cycle ride to the campsite. When we started cycling from the Engine House we passed and were passed several times by a guy from Walsall, England, who had just started cycling from Land's End to John o' Groats in Scotland, for charity. When Colin's bicycle chain broke he helped by loaning a chain splitter from his back up team. The guy rang his team and arranged for Colin to borrow the splitter to mend his chain. The guy continued cycling while the back up team caught us up. The support team stopped and Colin mended his chain. The back-up team sped away in their Landrover, while we prepared to continue our journey to St Ives. This is where disaster struck. We jumped on our bikes but before a wheel had turned, Colin immediately announced that he had a big problem. He could not peddle his bike. The investigation discovered that the chain had been threaded through the minor wheels of the gear selector wrongly. The chain needed to be split again and threaded correctly. However, the chain splitter was speeding away from us and into the distance. We were stumped again. After a long deliberation of the problem we decide to continue towards St. Ives the best we could, and rectify the problem in the evening after the walk. This meant us walking uphill and on the flat, and freewheeling downhill. Most of Cornwall is either uphill or downhill, so the momentum of going downhill had to be carried up the next hill as much as possible. We were successful but it took time and extra energy. The passing motorists must have been perplexed, why would anybody push their bikes up such a small gradient? It rained for approximately 20 minutes while trying to cycle. We eventually reached the St Ives campsite and started walking the planned walk to Carn Galver Engine House car park at 11:30am. I chatted to a Swiss lady who was walking to Zennor from St Ives while Colin walked ahead. The weather changed continuously, sun for a short time then rain. I was soaked near the finish of the walk when the rain was constant for over half an hour. Near the finish cows were blocking the path so I diverted, but I got lost amongst walled fields. I found the track again and walked up a bridle path to the road. Colin was waiting at another track up to the road. All's well that ends well. We finished the 10.5 miles (17Km) at 4:30pm, and collected our bikes from St Ives, Later in the evening we dismantled the gear selector wheel housing to release the chain so that it could be routed correctly around small selector wheels. That is, a chain splitter was not required that time. This was generally a low level walk with lots of coastal views as usual. This walk was a barren landscape with lots of large boulders around. Muddy in places so stepping stones had been added (slabs). This reminded me of the Lake District. The sea looked green in the dull weather, whereas it had looked blue in the previous days. This was an Adventure within an Adventure. There is never a dull moment when walking within the British Isles.

The campsites this section of the walk :-
1. First, Crantock – Excellent
2. Second, St Ives – Poor
3. Third, Botallack nr St Just, - Excellent. e.g. Pint of Beer £1.50,
Whereas other places £2.50

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, -
Start: St Ives, - Hellesveor Holidays, B3306, TR26 2AD
Finish: Rosemary, - B3306, Carn Galver Engine House Car Park, TR20 8YX