To the ends of the earth

I'm going to have another of my long trips today. I'm up early and will see how far I can go in a day, Land Rover permitting. I just need to clean my teeth and put the tool box in the car and I shall be off. Once again, I shall demonstrate the superiority of the Defender as a long distance touring vehicle, as if it were ever in doubt.

Don't go too close!
http://img01.deviantart.net/f564/i/..._of_the_earth_by_fairiegoodmother-d58c7km.jpg

Have you got your ear muffs ?

First stop Taunton. My tracker knows where I am but won't show me the route on a map, unfortunately. So you'll just have to take myword for it. Here's the town centre:

And some more:

We used to live near here when I was about three. As a small child, I was very interested by this copper beech. It used to be in front of a building called 'The Clinic' where my mother got powdered milk in blue and white tins, and vitamin fortified orange juice - 'clinic orange'. The Clinic is long gone but the tree is still there:


A good run down on the motorway. The Land Rover is flying along. There was a good deal of fog, but where the sun is breaking through it looks like it's going to be a fine day.

Taunton is really posh and gentrified now.

I'm in Falmouth:



That didn't take too long. What took a while was negotiating the tourist traffic and finding somewhere to park in Falmouth itself. Here I am having a coffee and a cake as I usually do when I arrive somewhere new. Here are a couple of pictures of the harbour.





The West Country has changed a lot since last I was down this way. If Taunton was twee and gentrified, this is a whole order of magnitude more so. There are Land Rovers about, looking very spruce in metallic paint and KBX style aftermarket front grilles.

My goodness me, isn't the internet slow in Cornwall? I don't know how Turboman manages to be so active online. It's like stepping back into the 1990s. Probably all the tourists using the bandwidth.

I'll see if I can find Land's End next.

I love these road trips!
I'm probably too late to warn you now. But, the last time I went to Lands End I found myself stuck in a queue for the toll booth! A very rich man, Peter de Savary, had bought the end of the country and was charging a lot of money to visit it. Didn't seem right. Had a couple of holidays there when I was a kid. Back then, it was the end of the world from where we are. Happy days.

Land's End!



Yes it's expensive. But then Cornwall is pretty expensive all over.

Right, I've been for a bit of a walk about. All the cliffs are fenced off and bedecked with danger signs, so there's no esy way to get down to the sea. It looks pretty though.





I walked along the coast path a little way towards Sennen and saw the shipwreck. Astonishingly, there weren't any signs telling you not to go down and see it so I did:







And finally went paddling:



Off back north eastwards now.

Brown said:

Right, I've been for a bit of a walk about. All the cliffs are fenced off and bedecked with danger signs, so there's no esy way to get down to the sea. It looks pretty though.

Off back north eastwards now.

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Try driving north a few miles to St Just, and go to Cape Cornwall, much better than LE, and you can walk to the sea and it is free.

Turboman said:

Try driving north a few miles to St Just, and go to Cape Cornwall, much better than LE, and you can walk to the sea and it is free.

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Yes, that's why I'm turning north eastwards, in the hope of seeing a bit more scenery and some ruined mine workings too.

Brown said:

Yes, that's why I'm turning north eastwards, in the hope of seeing a bit more scenery and some ruined mine workings too.

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Should be a nice old arsenic calciner RHS of the road up to St Just. Opposite an old quarry IIRC.

Then drive up the byway from Cape Cornwall to Geevor, check out the old mine workings on the cliffs, come out on the coast road, drive to St Ives, you will pass more mines etc.

Up for a beer this evening if you fancy it? About 15 miles from where you are now.

Yes, Mr Turboman, even though I got your message too late., that's pretty much the route I took. Very kind offer, but i'd better be getting back home as i have work in the morning sadly. Another time, I hope. Sounds like you've got an interesting set up there and I'd love to see it one day.

Saw some old mine workings:



Attractive coastal views:



And here's the harbour at St Ives:



Right, better get on the road.

That was brilliant! I live at the other end and frequently get within feet of Mr O' Groats.

I would LOVE to visit Cornwall and see all the old stuff & the wreck, which looks recent. Is there a helipad there? The hexagonal bit all fell off and squint?

Anyway, I can't believe some rich C rhymes with PUNT, is charging people to visit the end of Britain! Worra fanny as we say i Scotland

More of the same please

On the way back now. Just popped into a supermarket in Bodmin to get some diesel.
I did the north of Scotland - or rather went for a long drive round the top bit - back in December. there was a good deal of horizontal sleet so i didn't get out of the car very often to take pictures. Must do it again when the weather is more clement.

Brown said:

On the way back now. Just popped into a supermarket in Bodmin to get some diesel.
I did the north of Scotland - or rather went for a long drive round the top bit - back in December. there was a good deal of horizontal sleet so i didn't get out of the car very often to take pictures. Must do it again when the weather is more clement.

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Clement weather?

Aye, good luck with that!

Doo said:

That was brilliant! I live at the other end and frequently get within feet of Mr O' Groats.
I would LOVE to visit Cornwall and see all the old stuff & the wreck, which looks recent. Is there a helipad there? The hexagonal bit all fell off and squint?
Anyway, I can't believe some rich C rhymes with PUNT, is charging people to visit the end of Britain! Worra fanny as we say i Scotland
More of the same please

Click to expand...

To be fair, I've just been on their website and they say the money is not to visit Lands End, it's a parking charge. They also say that the money is invested in to maintaining the area, cliffs, environment and wildlife etc.

Mr O'Groats was Jon de Groot. A Dutchman who ran a ferry from the mainland to Orkney. In the fourteen hundreds, I think. (Edit, I didn't know that - I've just read it)

Al2O3 said:

To be fair, I've just been on their website and they say the money is not to visit Lands End, it's a parking charge. They also say that the money is invested in to maintaining the area, cliffs, environment and wildlife etc.

Mr O'Groats was Jon de Groot. A Dutchman who ran a ferry from the mainland to Orkney. In the fourteen hundreds, I think. (Edit, I didn't know that - I've just read it)

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Aye, and WE get called tight!

Turns out it was all down to the Europeans

Brown said:

On the way back now. Just popped into a supermarket in Bodmin to get some diesel.
I did the north of Scotland - or rather went for a long drive round the top bit - back in December. there was a good deal of horizontal sleet so i didn't get out of the car very often to take pictures. Must do it again when the weather is more clement.

Click to expand...

Morrisons just off the Bodmin junction is usually a good deal. Hope you made it through the Temple contraflow ok, two lanes open westbound now, so maybe not too bad.

Missed your earlier post, I had to go out as well. Catch up with you if you are ever this way again!

I was only there a few weeks ago but it feels like years. Your pictures have just reinforced my resolve to spend a couple of weeks between Plymouth and Penzance in just ten months. Didn't it get dark early this evening?