Day 9 Jamaica Inn to Launceston

Day 9 Jamaica Inn to Launceston

Kilometers: 0

A very misty morning again today. My left foot's been bothering me all night. I was expecting that but it's not just the little toe, it's the three smaller toes. I'm taking a taxi to Launceston, to give the foot some rest. When I got to Launceston the sun even came out for a bit! 

   Launceston Castle 

   The view from my room 

   And at night

My fundraiser, Rare Cancers research ❤️

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ullas-giving-page-9

Day 8 St Tudy to Jamaica Inn the long way

Day 8

Kilometers: 28-ish

Misty, misty, misty! As I started walking it was very misty and it stayed that way throughout the day. Today's plan was to walk up Brown Willy, the highest "mountain"  in Cornwall, 420 meters. Getting there was 12 kilometers, from there it was about 5 more to Jamaica Inn. Let's say 19 including the obligatory wrong turns. I had asked in a couple of FB groups and been told the best way down Brown Willy and also that there would be no problems with the route, so I felt confident that the route was fine. Of course, those people were counting on me being able to see where I was going.

A looong hill, up all the way. 2.5 km/1.5 mi.

   Sheep!

From here I should be able to see Brown Willy, but it's hidden in the mist.

I saw a couple of "No unauthorized motor vehicles", but nothing specific to walkers, so I kept going.

The mist swirled around, coming and going. Well, almost going.

As I neared the end of the road there was a "Keep out" sign, then "Private, no public through way". So I turned around and went back past the Keep out-sign when I met John, also on his way to Brown Willy. He figured we could take another path, so off we went.

   A pre-historic settlement 

We made it to the top! I really enjoyed having someone to talk to today. We stopped fo tea twice, mainly because I was tired, I think. John is a very fast walker! As we started to descend John went back to his car and I walked towards Jamaica Inn. It should be no more than 4 km/2.5 miles from where we parted ways. Easy going, just aiming for two Catshole Tor and Hillsborough Tor (two hilltops). They weren't visible in the mist, but I followed a compass bearing. Yay I could see the outline of the first Catshole Tor! That's when I came to the barbed wire fence. There should be a stile or gate, but in the mist it was impossible to know if it was to the left or to the right. On the map I could see a road off to the right, if I didn't find a stile before then I could just follow the road. It would only be maybe a kilometer longer, so right I went.

I didn't find the stile, but I found the road, which led to a locked gate, which I climbed over and kept following the road on the other side. It soon disappeared, but I kept going in that general direction, thinking the road would appear again. I don't know if it did, I got to another barbed wire fence. So I followed that one for a while, but it got increasingly difficult and all of a sudden I found myself in a bog. I changed my direction and managed to get out of the bog, but it was now around 4 - 5pm. Looking at the map I could see a public footpath to the north of me. I needed a sure way to get off the moor before dark, so north it was. I was so happy to reach the footpath and the stile next to it, even though I knew there was still a long way to go to get to a road (5km/3mi) and in the wrong direction. 

   A ruin I passed on the footpath. 

A couple of times the footpath crossed open moor for long stretches that would have been hard to navigate in the mist and almost dark without phone or compass, luckily I had both (and a head torch, which I didn't need). Eventually I made it to a road. It was now almost fully dark and I stopped the next car that came along. I was so lucky, they were going to The Old Inn in St Breward (almost back to where I started this morning), where I wanted to go as well, to phone for a taxi! 

  The red dots is where I wanted to go!

Staff at the pub were very friendly and helpful! I had supper there and one of the men, Norman, even took me all the way to Jamaica Inn! All I had to to when I got there was take a shower and then get some sleep.

I just want to point out that I do carry full camping gear, in worst case I would have just stopped for the night.

The person who thought off-white would be a good color for hiking boots should lose their job.

Blister is ok. The knee's a bit of a bother, what's worse is that my toe that I hurt six months ago is quite painful tonight. If it doesn't improve overnight I think I'll have to take a rest day tomorrow.

Please consider donating to my fundraiser, I worked hard today 😂

My charity, Rare Cancers research ❤️

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ullas-giving-page-9

Day 7 Victoria - St Tudy

Day 7 Victoria - St Tudy

Kilometers: 22

What a lovely day! The day started with road walking, but the sun was shining and the temperature perfect! I soon got to Bodmin, where i joined the Camel Trail. The trail follows an old, dismantled railway, so there are no hills. Yay!

Just as I stopped to take this photo I heard someone coming behind me. I looked around and saw a girl with a backpack the same size as mine. It was Lily from Australia and she was on her way to John o' Groats as well!

As it turned out Lily had started from Land's End about an hour before I started. We had also stayed at the same guest house in Truro, but not the same night. It was nice to have someone to talk to for a while, time flew by. All of a sudden we had walked 8 kilometers together, but now we had to go our separate ways, Lily was going to Camelford and I was going to St Tudy. We'll both walk the Pennine Way later on so you never know, we may meet again!

Tonight I'm staying at St Tudy Inn, a very nice pub in a tiny village, so I hope I'll sleep well!

My fundraiser, Rare Cancers research ❤️

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ullas-giving-page-9

Day 6 Mitchell to Victoria

Day 6 Mitchell to Victoria 

Kilometers: 19.5

Today was a cold and windy day!  I wore both my windbreaker (which I found as I was packing in Penzance!), my rain jacket and my gloves. And both hoods up!

The first part was a quite boring road walk until I came to the approach trail to Goss Moor. Finally away from all the cars!

Part of the way I walked an old abandoned railway, a bit muddy after the rain last night. 

Not a good picture, but work is being done to restore the old wetlands.

And then the sun came out! It was still a bit chilly because of the wind, but walking in the sun is so much nicer.

Gorse bushes. I love all the little yellow flowers.

The blister's been fine all day, I haven't felt it at all. I've used the needle and thread approach befor and it's always worked well for me. The knee has been a bit of a bother, but not too much.

My charity, Rare Cancers research ❤️

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ullas-giving-page-9

Day 5 Truro to Mitchell

Day 5 Truro to Mitchell 

Kilometers: 18-24?

Today there's supposed to be a storm with 25-26mm of rain in three hours sometime around lunch. I decided to get up as early as possible to get as far as possible before it started to rain. 

   The outskirts of Truro in the dark.

Truro cathedral. I came down this road last time as well.

I found a nature area close to the town center and I could walk through it instead of hard city streets.

   Daubuz Moors

   Idless Woods

After a couple of kilometers on country lanes I came to Idless Woods, another large recreational area, where I walked 3-4 kilometers. I met a couple of dog walkers, if any of you are reading this I enjoyed our chats! 

Shortly after, I passed St Erme. Unfortunately there was no pub, it had been torn down some time ago, but the church was nice.

Eventually I had to go back to the hard road walking. It was however down very quiet country lanes and I hardly saw a car for an hour or two. As I was coming down a hill towards a house a lady came out and asked if I wanted a glass of water. I said yes, and could I please use the toilet as well 😁

We had a nice chat, but I had to leave, I still had some miles to go. 

I don't know what was in that water, this is my trail after leaving "the water lady!" Joking aside, I have no idea why this happened. I didn't walk as far as 24 kilometers I'm sure, but the correct number is, and will remain, a mystery!

   Got my first blister today.

Thanks to leaving early this morning I arrived at the Plume of Feathers in Mitchell early, which was a delight, since the room was lovely!

I always forget to take a pic before I unpack and untidy the room 😂

And the 26 millimeters of rain in 3 hours? They didn't come until after I went to bed!

My charity, Rare Cancers research ❤️

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ullas-giving-page-9