The Grand Adventure begins!

Day 1 – Wednesday 25 April

Years of dreaming. Months of planning. Weeks of anticipation. And now it’s here.

It starts – as all great adventures must start – with a  hearty breakfast. Just us this morning, the other guests having departed early, so we enjoy the cosy little dining room in peace and quiet. And it starts just the way we wanted, with cereals and juice and on to the cooked breakfast, with its bacon, eggs, mushrooms and hash browns. A gorgeous feast indeed!

Now, we won’t be going on about cooked breakfasts in every blog, but they will undeniably be a source of joy to us – and the best way to carry us through most of each day!

A clear sky gives way to cloud as Angie and Paul pick us up and we go to Land’s End. It’s bleak when we arrive, showers of rain and a bitter wind, so we don’t tarry long by the famous signpost, just long enough for the obligatory photo. And then we’re off.

Angie and Paul walk with us the first part, to the lovely village of Sennen Cove on a glorious stretch of sand. It’s a gentle, well-paved walk, though of course we know that won’t last. A coffee at Sennen Cove and then it’s just us. “Golly*” says Peter. “Gosh*” says Val. (*actual words spoken may differ from the ones written….)

Ahead of us lies 80 days and 1500km.

Bush and forest walks are lovely, but nothing beats a great coastal walk. The scenery is spectacular, the track winding around hillsides from cove to cove, and even the weather brightens up though remaining windy. To our left the wild Atlantic swells crash into the cliffs. To our right lie the largely treeless slopes. Excepting the occasional walker, it’s just us and the elements and it’s absolutely grand!

Towards the end of the day we pass through many remnants of the tin mining industry, walled-off ventilation shafts, derelict chimneys and the remains of stone cottages. We head inland, to our B&B. Now, the crucial decision: which pub to go to for dinner? We choose the one into the wind, so it will blow us back. So the first day ends as it should, with a hearty meal, in a lovely local pub, and a lovely local ale.

Distance today: 16km