by Alan Cook
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I accomplished Phase 2 of my British End-to-End walk (also known as John O'Groats to Land's End - JOGLE, or Land's End to John O'Groats- LEJOG) from August 27 to September 4, 2000.
Since my wife, Bonny, is my support team, and since my time for walking is limited, the following ground rules are in effect:
- 1. (Bonny's rule) She must be able to find me at all times. In other words, I have to stay on roads.
- 2. I can walk in either direction.
- 3. I can walk the various segments of the walk in any sequence.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 27; CAMBORNE TO LAND'S END; 26 miles; walking south (or southwest), all on A30. I walk this segment in reverse in order to get an earlier start (we are driving from near Plymouth). Land's End, in Cornwall, is the southwestern-most point in England. The road has a dual carriageway at first, with a nice shoulder for walking. As the road narrows, it has walkways - asphalt or grass. But beyond Penzance, (made famous by the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, "The Pirates of Penzance") for most of the final 10 miles, the narrow road has no shoulder or walking path. It is necessary for me, walking on the right facing traffic, to press into the wild blackberry bushes that grow for miles along the stone walls lining the road, in order to avoid oncoming traffic. I get well acquainted with the prickers and end up with stinging legs and a rash. However, the ripe blackberries are delicious.
The weather is pleasant, with one rain shower and a moderate headwind at times. Clouds keep the heat down. Occasional views of rolling farm land, and ocean near the end. Land's End is a tourist trap: a 2-pound charge to park, some attractions, a hotel. Rocky cliffs keep people away from the water. Some bicyclists are on the road, perhaps doing the End-to-End; it is more dangerous for them than for walkers.
Distance signs are misleading, e.g. within 50 yards of each other one sign says "Land's End 6 miles" and the other "Land's End 9 miles." They were placed there years apart. We stay at the Mt. Royal Hotel in Penzance, once the mayor's house.
MONDAY, AUGUST 28; CAMBORNE TO VICTORIA; 26 miles, walking north, all on A30. I walk to the Victoria Inn and Lodge (where we stay), at Victoria. Moderate tailwind at times, one rain shower, partly cloudy and warm the rest of the time. The traffic is very heavy at times, with people returning home from the three-day weekend caused by the Bank Holiday (today).
Sometimes the road is a dual carriageway with a good shoulder or walkway, sometimes two lanes with a shoulder, but sometimes two lanes and no shoulder. We pass large windmills used to generate electric power, similar to those near Palm Springs, California. Also pass the Jamaica Inn at Bolventer, used as the name of a Daphne du Maurier novel. The area is thinly populated, with much farmland in shades of brown and green. There are many cows and sheep, and occasional pigs.
I take ibuprofen for chronic lower back pain, and have some pain above my left knee for the first time ever. We eat dinner at pub named Eliot Arms, opened in 1625.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29 (our 36th anniversary); VICTORIA TO SOUTH OF LAUNCETON; 26 miles, all on A30. The weather is cool and cloudy in the a.m. It warms up but the sun is never bright. Walk through Bodwin Moor, with stone formations a la Stonehenge, and group graves, called barrows. I try a shortcut, taking a local road to Temple, but chicken out at a confusing sign. However, it would have worked. Rolling hills and lots of farmland. The moor looks a lot like the land around it, but rises to 1,377 feet at a hill called Brown Willy.
Left knee problems get worse and I contemplate taking the next day off.
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