LEJOG Day 10: West Taphouse to Liskeard

Weather: Cloudy and cool

Distance covered today:11.8km (7.3 mi)

Last night'sThe Old Chapel (£40)

% Complete: 9.3%

GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 10 (click!)

Eastward progress from West Taphouse, via Middle Taphouse to East Taphouse necessitated the longest stretch to date, about 3km,  along an “A” road and I can state categorically that people do not like travelling on a Cornish “A” road on a Saturday morning.   I haven’t seen so many scowls and grimaces in a long time. No returning of waves today!  I was pleased to get away onto the delightfully quiet back roads of the approach to Liskeard (pronounced “Liskaard”) despite the fact that I would have to descend three times to cross small rivers before once again ascending the moors. It was in a way a lazy day, with less than 10km to walk, and I took it very easily, enjoying the environment.  I made it to Liskeard early just after 13:00 and was pleased to find that I was able to check into the B&B, which is a rather rough and ready travellers’ hotel, but which suits me fine.

This gave me time to look around and get a sense of the place. First task was to find a laundrette, which I found easily enough, only to find that it was closed on Saturday afternoons.  I knocked on the door in frustration, only to hear a clatter of footsteps coming down stairs and there was the proprietor, who, when he had heard my plight, offered to do my washing for me! He and his family lived above the shop. They were going out, but if I called back later, the washing would be complete. And so it was. Liskeard is that sort of place.

This left me free to case the joint. Given that I would have a rest day on Sunday, I would have plenty of time to look around.  I found it to be a strange sort of place.  It is clearly a market town that has seen better days. It has a slightly seedy, improvised appearance.  Not even the multiples (M&S, Sainsbury’s, WH Smiths, etc.) have established any presence here, so the high street is still populated by local shops. At first sight, this would seem a good thing, until it becomes obvious that these shops are eking out a living on the edge of bankruptcy, and there are many empty premises looking for tenants.

It seems to me that Liskeard is town that has lost any sense of purpose, that has fundamentally lost its way.  No doubt, once upon a time, it was a local market town serving the extensive agricultural community. But with the huge improvement in the surrounding transport and distribution infrastructure, there is clearly no need any more for small market towns like Liskeard. It is too far from the tourist sites to attract many holiday-makers and there is no indication of any commerce or industry.  So the town doesn’t have any product. Nothing brings money in, and yet people still have to clothe and feed themselves, so money is still going out. How does it balance its books? I suppose that state benefits and pensions must play a big part, but without investment, it is hard to see anything that will change its prospects.

I realise that I have had a total of three or four hours of the evidence of my eyes and absolutely no documentary input to reach these conclusions! I’m afraid that much of this blog will be about these ill-informed, snap judgements, but there we are. I don’t in general have the time to do the necessary research!

So let me hastily change the subject to something safer, me!!  I have now been on the road for almost two weeks, so it seems a good time to assess my own condition and my forward planning. Physically, I am in better shape than I thought I would be. My legs are fine and are feeling much stronger than when I started.  My shoulders still complain under the weight of the pack, and I do need to take a break from time to time, when I feel a painful cramping sensation right at the base of my neck, that Veronica would call a “trigger point”. I still blow a bit more than I would like while climbing steeply.  On the positive side, there is no evidence yet of any deterioration or incipient repetitive strain injury, which means that all in all, I am in fairly reasonable shape.

Although the pack is still a little heavier than I would like, I can’t really think of anything I haven’t used (or won’t need in an emergency). It hasn’t yet become my security blanket or “my friend” as Marion has been suggesting that it will, but perhaps it is early days for that.  The water bladder is a great success and keeps me well hydrated, and there is no problem with chafing from the pack (it no doubt helps that I went for good quality), or for that matter, with sun-burn or any other ailments, from being on the road. I am even beginning to shake of the rather persistent cold that has been irritating me for the last week or so.

In fact, I am now sufficiently confident that I will start to increase my average daily distances and reduce the frequency of rest days. At this point, 22km (14mi) has been at the outer limit of my planned daily distances, whereas for the next series of planned stops, I’m going to make this the average daily distance, with far fewer very short daily treks. (This won’t happen until mid-Wales, as my stops are already planned and booked until then).  I intend to use the rest of this rest day to extend the planning.

And while I’m on this subject, if you are thinking of joining me, please have a look at the page called “Accomplices”, under Pages on the right-hand-side of the blog. It lists the initials of those individuals who have already indicated that they intend to join me for a leg or two along the way, which hopefully will help with choosing an appropriate slot.

Someone asked why I call them “Accomplices”? I decided that if I succeed, this whole thing will be an “accomplishment” for me, so that anyone helping by joining me on it must necessarily be an “accomplice”!!

Babs and Michael outside their delightful converted chapel B&B in West Taphouse

Braving the coaches on the A390

More A390 traffic chaos. This is a quiet Saturday morning. What's the rush hour like?

At last, peace and quiet!  My sort of road!

New lambs playing together

My B&B in Liskeard, the Nebula Hotel

Liskeard street scene

More of Liskeard