Cornwall

On getting back to London, we found ourselves with about 4 days to kill before Peter and Rosie (my parents) arrived for a quick visit. So we thought we´d hitch to Cornwall, to see some of these famous sea-cliffs (what else is Cornwall famous for?)

We took a train out to Heathrow airport, thinking it would be a good spot to get onto the M5 to Bristol. After about 2 hours of walking, taking a bus to the closest town and generally not getting anywhere we found a roundabout that led onto the M5 and a strip that meant cars could stop for us. We waited for 2 hrs for a lift but eventually this guy drove up in a really flash BMW just after I was complaining that only people in clapped out cars ever pick you up! He turned out to be a climber (recognised our packs) and offered us a place to stay on our way back from cornwall. He took us to the next services where we had a quick meal and were lucky enough to be picked up straight away by a guy who was heading all the way to bristol.

This guy had a really interesting job - he was a music composer working with one of the lead singers of Massive Attack on a song for some movie (can{t remember which). We got some tips that Massive Attack will be releasing a new album next year. He dropped us in Bristol centre and after a night in a hostal and a bit of food we headed to the outskirts of town hoping to get to more lifts to cornwall. At this point our luck was out. The heavens opened and we stood for 3 hrs hoping someone would take pity on us while the pavement turned into a small river. Someone did and it turned out we were trying to hitch onto the wrong road! B$%&ger! This guy took us 4 miles down the road totally out of his way just cause he felt sorry for us! He turned out to be a carpenter for one of those home renovation DIY programs on TV - 8.30pm on a friday apparently. Such a good guy!

I was so glad to get a hot meal at the services after he dropped us off!

The next lift was with an artist who looked after teenagers with Autism as a side job. He played some great music and took us about 300km south. We got one final lift to Liskeard where a friend of Jamies was staying. Jackie was really great and put us up for the night and dropped us off at early oclock in the morning to catch the first train to Penzance.

We found the best breakfast place in Penzance. It was 1.50pds for beans on toast and the only way I can describe it is it was a box right next to the sea! It had the prime real estate location. Lots of the local homeless people seemed to really like it because one old guy had his own table and sat there all day drinking tea and talking to the owner.

We caught a lift out of town with a guy called Jim Cotton in this wicked old campervan that stalled all the time! Jim ended up confessing that he had done many of the first ascents of the seacliffs we were trying to get to!! he was a regular old time climber. he dropped us near the coast and we walked 2km to the cliff we were planning to climb at - Chairladder. It was really windy uptop. So we ditched our packs found the descent route, went down and traversed across to Diocese the climb we had lined up. We had the crag all to ourselves. It was pretty cool to be finishing our time in Britain doing a climb right on the south-west tip of England!!

Jamie pitched the first bit and the second and I did the last:

Traverse on the second pitch.

Coming around the corner of the second pitch
Last pitch in a howling gale

The wind was pretty unpleasant so after finishing Diocese we packed up, ate some lunch, found a cafe, ate more lunch and then started hitching to St Just. We ended up in St Ives for the night (about 20km north of St Just). Its a beautiful beach resort town on the west coast of the peninsula with lovely white houses, narrow streets and lots of art galleries. It was the worst place for hitchhiking though because the next morning we walked for 5 km before being picked up. The couple who picked us up owned a silver shop in St Ives and were heading to Bali for a month to find some good jewellery there. They dropped us at a fancy services just before the airport. We ate some yummy but expensive food here.

Apparently this is a problem in the St Ives campsite?

Our final lift was from a guy called Mike. Mike had lived all over the world including New Zealand as a football (soccer) coach and outdoor recreation instructor. He was really interesting to talk to. He had a job in Tanzania where he would take school kids up Kilimanjaro.. He climbed it 40 odd times! He had worked in Malawi, Zambia, the US. Everywhere! Now he is a scout for the under 17s england football team and crystal palace. Hes also 70 yrs olds! and doesn´t know if he´ll retire or not next yr! He dropped us off on the outskirts of London....

Hitchhiking to Cornwall restored my faith in friendly, fellow human beings!

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Selling the van...

With sadness we waved goodbye to the faithful van (model 2.0) after selling it to Kiwi friend and fellow vet Jackie White, who had just started her stint in the UK. Jackie is a good ourdoors sort and will no doubt stuff it with kayaks and end up in all sorts of interesting places. We´ll miss cruising and listening to sounds in our 'project', though!