| Weather: Cloudy and cool |
| Distance covered today: 16.4km (10.1 mi) |
| Last night's B&B: Rosemoor & Sedgemoor Heights (£40) |
| % Complete: 7.4% |
| GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 8 (click!) |
In the event, my misgivings about St Austell were justified! Not only did I get rained on, but as I attempted to get my hood out of the collar of my coat, I slipped on a manhole cover, on a very steep bit of pavement and went flying. I remember seeing my feet horizontally parallel to my head and thinking; “This isn’t going to end well!” Next thing I was being helped to my feet by a passer-by who was presenting me with my netbook in its foam pouch which I had apparently flung sideways as I attempted to save myself.
With as much dignity as I could muster, I tested all my extremities and none of them complained unduly, so I staggered off for a cup of tea in a café nearby. I tested my camera; no damage. Similarly, my Kindle, but when I fired up the netbook, I found black marks over the lower part of the screen where the programme icons appear, as well as lines and other artefacts all over the rest of the screen. Well, it could have been a lot worse! I might have lost the hard drive, which would have severely curtailed the online aspect of this little venture, and of course I might have injured myself, which would have been only a little bit less serious!! Ah well, serves me right for taking a rest day!
Meanwhile, Sheila’s establishment was no better than I had expected, and I was pleased to vacate it after one night, to establish myself with Ray, who had been my originally intended host for the night. Ray’s place is interesting. He has the most amazing sound system and a set of LP records of exactly my vintage including original rock classics as well as all the folk-rock of my youth. All the names were there. I can imagine that when Ray has a party, it really rocks. The rest of the house is a wild kaleidoscope of strange things in odd corners. He insisted on washing all my clothes, despite my insisting that I would take them to a laundrette. A fine job he did too. Before I left, I took a portrait of him. I think, even if I say so myself, it captures him perfectly, right outside his extraordinary yellow and green house. I would have liked to have had more time to talk to Ray. I think there are stories there….
I was also cross with myself that I didn’t listen to him as I left. He was suggesting that I leave via the clay pits above St Austell, which I would have found very interesting, but I was thinking about where to buy my lunch, and I interrupted him before I understood what he was saying. He let it be. Only much later did I realise what had been going on, and I was really irritated that I had broken another of my journey rules. So be it!
Next stop, the Eden Project! I had mixed feelings also about this. I had spoken to my mother-in-law previously and she had expressed a carefully worded view that suggested she would not be choosing to go there again, but my route was taking me right past it and I felt that I had to have a look, if only because of its significance in this part of the country.
There is no doubt that it does have a huge impact. Throughout the region, its footprint can readily be felt, in the B&B prices; in the recommendations for what to do in every public place and in the comments of many of the locals. It is undoubtedly the attraction for many of the trippers who come to this place. So it had to be seen!
But fortunately, my seeing of it was to be brief, just half an hour! I don’t think I could have taken much more! For me it is Disneyland come to Kew Gardens. Actually, in my time, I have enjoyed both Kew Gardens and Disneyland, but I still have some sort of visceral, middle-class over-reaction to the simplistic presentation of the fundamental problems of this planet through a bubble-gum and apple-pie demonstration to the masses! If even one of the day-trippers changes their behaviour, I will stand forever corrected, but all I can say is it is not for me! My mother-in-law, as always, is right (If a little more restrained)!
At least I didn’t waste much personal resource for my visit! I found that I could gain entry both as an old codger and as someone who had got there on foot. They almost paid me to enter! And while I was there, the wonderful news came through that my lovely daughter Marion has found a job in London, with a reputable organisation and at a really good salary. It transformed my mood!
So I was soon on my way Northwards, with one very last backwards glimpse of the sea, and a rather fraught encounter with The Saint’s Way, my first major trail on this journey. I managed to avoid being gored by a herd of very placid cows (I’m going to have to toughen up here!), but then I got myself totally lost in a dead-end, closed off by a river and an active railway. I retreated, resolving to up my game tomorrow, but very pleased to have left St Austell well behind me!
Ray, my host at Sedgemoor Heights
pole sign
En route to the Eden Project; a lovely bridal path
Horse sculpture at the Eden Project
Geodesic domes at the Eden Project
A statue representing the electro-mechanical waste each of us can expect to dispose of in our life-time
The tropical enclosure
Lest you forget...
My last view of the sea until Inverness!
My first aggressive encounter with one of the English "big four" (cows, sheep, horses and dogs). I took their picture and that seemed to satisfy these ladies. They let me pass.
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