As I made my way towards the Lizard Peninsula, I couldn’t resist a short detour through Helston – adjacent to the valley where I grew up and home to that irrepressible Spring bacchanalia, the Furry Dance. Once at the peninsula itself, ghostly figures from decades past – smiling and laughing I am happy to report – danced along beside me through such familiar landmarks as Porthleven and Mullion, before skirting the cliffs at Kynance Cove, circling around Lizard Point and heading up the east coast through Cadgwith to beautiful Coverack where I spent the night.
My final full day took me to Gweek on the Helford Passage, the inspiration for Daphne Du Maurier’s Frenchman’s Creek, then north over the hills west of Falmouth, skirting the alluring bleakness of Stithians Reservoir and beyond Redruth to Portreath. Every corner I turned revealed unexpected highlights. With its combination of coastal views, winding rivers, wooded creeks and an inland patchwork of fields and lanes, it was the perfect end to the ride – a section that captured the appeal of the West Kernow Way as a whole.
Gearing back for normality, I found myself in rushing train-catching mode on the trail back to Penzance, the ebike battery tuned to flat-out turbo. But I did manage to steal enough time to climb Carn Brea on the outskirts of Redruth. As I gazed out over this ancient landscape, Daphne Du Maurier’s moving elegy to a lost past, Vanishing Cornwall, first published in 1967, popped into my mind. Changed since my childhood? Yes. But vanished? Most certainly not.
The details
The route: A PDF of the West Kernow Way can be found on the Cycling UK website (cyclinguk.org).
Where to stay: Accommodation should be booked well in advance if visiting during peak season. My choices were a few miles off the trail itself but all within easy reach. Hotel Penzance (01736 363117; hotelpenzance.com) from £79; Pedn Olva Hotel, St Ives (01736 796222; pednolva.co.uk) from £120; Bay Hotel, Coverack (01326 280464; thebayhotel.co.uk) from £96; Driftwood Spars, St Agnes (01872 552428; driftwoodspars.co.uk) from £77.
Bicycle hire: Ebike Penzance (07394 981083; ebikecornwall.com) rent e-bikes with powerful Bosch motors and waterproof satnav systems programmed with requested routes from £30 for three hours; £100 for three days; £180 for seven days
More information: visitcornwall.com; visitengland.com. See our guide to the best hotels in Cornwall.
