Day 2. Monday, 30/05/2011: Trenestral Farm to Higher Manaton
Actual riding distance 85km. Ascent 1444m. Total distance 191km. Total ascent 2789m.
In the tropical biome.
A shortish day but with an ascent that more than doubled our ascent so far. The wonderful food at Trenestral farm continued this morning at breakfast. The full breakfast I had could have kept me going all day I am sure. The weather at first was drizzle with a bit of tailwind to help us along. With a comparatively short day we had decided to pay a visit to the Eden Project so that Ron could check it out for a future visit with Trish.
In the temperate biome.
We arrived about 11 o'clock and had a drink and an Eccles cake for our elevenses. There was no real choice available in the cakes line so an Eccles cake it had to be. Our visit could not really do justice to the place but it was very enjoyable none the less. We made a very foolish decision leaving Eden thinking we would be able to find somewhere for lunch a little way up the road but unfortunately we reached Dobwalls before finding somewhere even remotely suitable.
Grass in the middle of the road.
The local pub could do us a cup of tea but could not provide food at that time so Ron went up to the local Spar to buy some supplies for us to eat. We had also found another End to Ender who rather put us to shame having arrived there from Penzance via Lands End in one day rather than the two and a half that we had done. He had been travelling on the A30 all the way which, on a bank holiday, was a particularly unpleasant experience. We, on the other hand, had spent most of the day on very quiet little lanes some of which had grass down the middle.
Massive boulders.
We also passed some fields that were littered with enormous granite boulders, some of which had been gathered together to form massive dry stone walls. It is difficult to think about how these boulders had been moved way back in time when no mechanical aids were available.
King Doniert's stone.
From Dobwalls we headed north to Minions the highest village in Cornwall. On the way we passed King Doniert's Stone and the stone circles called The Hurlers that we took time out to visit. In Minions we went from famine to feast as there were two cafes and a pub.
The Hurlers.
We still had a bit of time available so we stopped for our first proper cream tea of the trip. This was a bit unfortunate as we were then unable to do proper justice to the scones, jam and cream that were provided on our arrival at
Higher Manaton. We walked the 2.6 km each way to the pub in Bray Shop for dinner.
Cream tea at Minions, the highest village in Cornwall.
The walk was not very pleasant as the traffic on the road was very fast and by the time we came back it was starting to get a bit dark. The B&B is very comfortable and the hosts were very welcoming. David Trewin is a wood turner and his collection of bowls, dishes and lamps etc. were quite stunning. Definitely another place to recommend.
Higher Manaton Farm.
David's wood turnings.
Day 2 track
Day 2 elevation plot
