Scott Westwood

Lands End to John O'Groats

25th - 31st August 2006

In aid of the Walsall Hospice Appeal

Day 1 – Worst road in the world !!

I started the journey just before 9am on 25^th of August after a decent breakfast of porridge and beans on toast. This combination at breakfast time was to become a recurring theme throughout the seven days. Having reached Penzance I approached a roundabout entering the first dual carriage way section. It was at this early stage that I was to have the first ‘near miss’ of the day when a car (obviously not seeing me) came right across in front of me and missed me by what only seemed like a few inches. I’d normally get quite angry at such events but I remained calm and just carried on – probably as it was such an early phase of the journey and it was pointless getting worked up. The next 95 miles or so were a complete nightmare ! I was quite looking forward to the ‘Cornwall section’ as I imagined quiet roads and great scenery. I was wrong on both accounts. The A30 between Penzance and Exeter ranges from single lane through to triple carriage way. The volume of traffic was horrendous. Most of the it tended to be lorries or cars towing caravans, neither of which leaves much room for cyclists. This was made worse by the fact that there was a 25mph northerly wind coming right across from my left meaning that I was being blown sideways, into the flow of vehicles most of the time. This together with the rolling hills of Cornwall made the A30 a road to forget. If ever anyone asks for advice in choosing a route, the avoidance of the A30 would be at the top of my list !. In hindsight I would have taken an alternative route (A road running near the north coast of Cornwall and Devon). This may have added a fair few miles onto the journey but it would have been far more enjoyable. On each of the days I’d planned to stop for 20 minutes or so in order to grab a quick bite to eat at around 1:30. It was around this time that I left the A30 for a short while after seeing signs for a farm shop restaurant at Liftondown. It was at Exeter that I’d make the first of a few minor navigational errors. Instead of going through Exeter in order to pick up the B road towards Cullumpton I continued on the A377. After realising my mistake and re-planning my route I finally arrived at my destination at 5pm after completing an additional 15 miles above and beyond what I actually needed to do.