LEJOG Day 9: Luxulyan to West Taphouse

Weather: Cloudy and cool

Distance covered today: 21.7km ( 13.5 mi)

Last night's B&B:Hillside (£30)

% Complete: 8.6%

GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 9 (click!)

Today’s journey was an exercise in avoiding “A” roads.  I have discovered that most of the roads in Cornwall that run west to east are “A” or “B” roads, and that most of the trails run South to North, so that avoiding the dreaded “A” roads on a trip from West to East isn’t easy.  My route therefore took me on a dog-leg trajectory, travelling first South to North on the “Saints Way”, and then heading eastwards on a succession of minor roads, until I could no longer avoid the A390 into West Taphouse.

The good bit was that this route took me right through the lovely Lanhydrock estate, which I would otherwise have missed, and of which more later.  The bad bit was that the estate runs down to the beautiful and ancient Respryn Bridge over the River Fowey at around 10m (33ft) above sea-level, and then climbs inexorably to 160m (525ft), without respite. After 16km of walking, this was a minor test, and I was blowing hard by the top. Despite these exertions, I was pleased to see that my moving average speed today hit a new record of 4.9km/hr (3mi/hr), which shows that I am getting fitter!

More importantly, reaching that average speed shows that I am at last on the same page as Mr Naismith. He was a Scottish Mountaineer who devised Naismith’s Rule in 1896, which decrees that one should allow one hour for every three miles forward, plus half an hour for every 1000ft of ascent. I have a bone to pick with Mr Naismith.  I may now be able to manage his pace on the level, but he has to be joking about going uphill! There are all sorts of corrections that people have applied to Naismith’s Rule, to take into account terrain and fitness, but in essence they just leave one feeling a little inadequate.  I’m going to try to ignore him and his acolytes all the way to Scotland!!

And while I’m ranting away again, I might add that I also have a bone to pick with the knuckle-heads in various county councils around England who are thinking of charging people to dispose of waste in their municipal dumps.  These decision makers are either idiots or they are beyond cynicism. I saw a news item on TV about a council where charging had been introduced and the yardmaster was saying that on the first day only one out of a plethora of people had refused to pay the charge and had left without disposing of their rubbish.  What else did they expect?

But one only has to walk down a quiet road in England to see the extent of fly-tipping that already is taking place, let alone the casual ejection of litter from moving vehicles. I don’t claim to understand much about the circumstances and thinking of your average would-be fly-tipper, but I would hazard a guess that their financial circumstances are not great and they are not exactly committed to the environment.  There can be no doubt that the increase in fly-tipping will be enormous if these people have to pay to get rid of their rubbish.

And who will eventually have to clean it all up? The very councils that now want to charge people for using the municipal dumps! Collecting and disposing of fly-tipped rubbish is going to cost a whole lot more than disposing of rubbish from the local dumps. So why are they advocating charging? Either because they don’t understand the problem or because they believe the average good citizen who pays to dump his rubbish will subsidise the council to clean up after the fly-tippers. On the other hand, maybe they are so cynical that they believe cleaning up after the fly-tippers will be a future councillor’s job, not theirs.

And after that rant, let me return to more genteel affairs. For those interested in the most spectacular display of camellias, rhododendrons and magnolias, I can only recommend a visit to Lanhydrock in the spring. The gardens are simply stunning and the setting, on the side of a steep hill where the shrubs are interspersed amongst indigenous oak and beech trees, is quite beautiful. I had no more than an hour there, which is nowhere near enough.  Yes, there were hordes of people there, but a different sort of horde to the horde at the Eden Project yesterday; somehow less intrusive. And although the conservation message at Lanhydrock is a little less global than the message at the Eden Project, I can’t help feeling that it makes its point with greater weight and far more subtlety.
 
Or is that just my background showing?

 Sharon and Paul outside their delightful B&B in Luxulyan. Paul is a professional photographer, amongst other things. I panicked therefore and managed to catch Sharon with her eyes closed! Sorry, Sharon!!

 I'm alright, then!

 Rather less subtle than the admonishment on the North Downs Way!

 The gatehouse at Lanhydrock

Formal gardens at Lanhydrock

Displays of colour beyond description!

The long road out of Lanhydrock and my path to West Taphouse

The beautiful Respryn Bridge over the Fowey River. The current bridge dates from the 15th century and includes a number of triangular pedestrian refuges along its length.