Day 14 - Penzance to Land’s End - 9 miles (and back again)

It was six in the morning when I settled myself gingerly on my saddle - this journey has taken its toll - for the last nine miles of my journey, my heavy bags removed for this final leg. True to form the first miles were a series of climbs and descents. It was all horribly reminiscent of the last two days and I was feeling weary from the outset but motivated by knowing this would be it. After four miles the terrain levelled out and I cycled at a more reasonable pace through a patchwork of cultivated green, passing the small villages at this distant end of England and the various brown signs to touristic points of interest - Trewiddan Gardens, the Telegraph Museum, the Minnack Theatre - that seem to abound.

It was just before seven, after fourteen days and 924 miles, when I cycled into that clutch of stores and amusements that have constituted Land’s End since it was bought by Peter de Savarry in 1987, sadly outbidding the National Trust. The once rugged outpost of England now sports a little theme park busy with red phone boxes, gift shops, questionable ‘adventures’ and representations of Wallace and Grommit, Paddington and even Morph, much of which is unquestionably British but all of which is questionably Land’s End related. It has become the monetisation of a place, no longer a simple landmark but now a brand and suffering all the worst for it.  And yet I could not help but notice the posters dotted around that advertised Land’s End as a destination were all of couples and small groups silhouetted against a radiant sunset and in what looked like unspoilt nature, making a point of selling it on the basis of everything it has not been for decades.

There was unsurprisingly nobody around, the car park where I have started a number of Land’s End related cycle rides stood empty when I arrived. I had to resort to a ‘selfie’ as my celebratory photograph and it was then time to return to the Penzance Youth hostel, a shower and preparations for my journey home. 

To be clean and to be in clean clothing at the beginning of the day was a pleasant and unusual feeling. I breakfasted on the way to the station, enjoying having the time to sit and relax. I mentally checked myself as I left and saw distant hills before realising they were no longer a concern to me. And I then made it to the station for my five hour train journey back to Chippenham before one last cycle to my home, watching names familiar from the last three days slip by, chatting with fellow passengers and letting sleep overtake me.