From: Redgate (Bodmin Moor), Cornwall

To: Roche, Cornwall

Distance: 21.2 miles / 34.1 km

Total distance so far: 1,035.2 miles / 1,666 km

Date: 24 June 2021

Gorse looking beautiful dressed in the overnight rain

I went for speed over beauty when planning today’s route, wanting to make up for the time I lost over the past few days so I could still get to Truro by tomorrow evening. That means I didn’t see Cornwall at its glorious best today; I spent the last few hours essentially shadowing the busy A30 on parallel roads that were never far from the roar of the traffic, but flatter and quicker than my originally planned meander would have been. I skipped Bodmin in favour of a nice but all too short walk through some plantations, and failed to investigate the National Trust property at Landhydrock, which seemed to be attracting tourists in their droves.

Saying goodbye to last night’s amazing home

Still, I enjoyed some of the place names; I’d had no idea that a lot of the characters and locations in Poldark (books that have been turned into popular TV adaptions twice, although I’ve only watched the more recent version) took their inspiration from sites across Cornwall. I passed the sign for Warleggan, walked close to Carne Woods, and spotted Demelza on the map. The Visit Cornwall website can shine more light on the matter here – I rather enjoyed today’s Poldark spotting.

It was a hilly hike across Bodmin Moor this morning

Nikki also gave me some advice on my route last night, which meant I spent the first few hours wandering some very quiet and picturesque country lanes in the southwest corner of Bodmin Moor. My ankle, although still swollen, even felt better enough to do some off-roading on tracks – I enjoyed the walk across Tawnamoor after days on walking on roads with high hedgerows and little in the way of views. Still, it was a relief to get into Roche this afternoon – I ache in a way I haven’t since the first few weeks of my hike across Britain: my back, my arms, my foot… perhaps because I’ve been walking differently to compensate for my ankle? Or perhaps my body knows the end of this absurdly long walk is in sight? Whatever it is, I’m currently really looking forward to a good old sit down!

A great track across Tawnamoor – a nice change from all the lane walking!