A CORNISH RAMBLE

Land’s End to Roche

20-25th

September 2014

Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance – 9.69 miles

OS Explorer Map 102

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John Downs

Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Route* tracked by my Garmin 110 on 20th September 2014

* My Garmin’s batteries went flat around 3 miles before reaching Penzance

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Full distance walked was 9.69 miles (measured by Garmin E-Trex 20)

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Set off from Land’s End at 11.30. A fine dry, sunny warm day. Altitude : 113 ft. Followed the cliff path from Land’s End to the top

road south of Sennen Cove (start of Cycle Route 3). Crossed Mayon Green at Sennen and then joined A30 opposite Whitesands

Lodge. Took 56 minutes to get here, and elevation now 330ft.

Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

View from Land’s End towards Sennen

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Coastal cliff path to Sennen Cove

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DAY 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Coastal cliff path coming into Sennen

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Route into Sennen after leaving coastal path

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

View down to Sennen Cove beach

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Walked along A30 – no footpaths or pavement- towards Penzance. Traffic hazardous . Turned left off A30 up a track at

Newshop, just past B3306 turning. 1 hour 27 minutes into the walk and altitude of 399 ft. 200 ft climb up the side of Chapel

Carn Brea on a farm track, crossing minor road at Bolankan House and a National Trust car park. Footpath overgrown.

Would have been easier to go through gate half way up on left and walk to summit of Chapel Carn Brea with its Tomb:

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10213 . Highest point near summit was 600 ft, at 1 hour 39 mins into the walk.

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Leaving Sennen Cove on A30

Chapel Carn Brae hill in the background. No pedestrian pavement or path for 1.3 miles. Traffic is

a hazard on this stretch

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

On the A30 heading towards Chapel Carn Brae

A lot of jumping into the hedgerows/banks to avoid traffic on busy road

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The farm track from the A30 up to Chapel Carn Brae

The track becomes overgrown as you climb further

Best to turn left at gate further up and walk up to Carn Brae summit (less overgrown)

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The overgrown track up the side of Chapel Carn Brae Hidden rocks under the bracken/brambles – difficult walking

Carn Brae summit just to left – but no way over fence from this track

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

View from Chapel Carn Brae over Tredinney Common

The path across the Common runs to left of the hedge next to the cows in field below

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Crossed minor road and then straight ahead through Tredinney Common on good open flat trackway that finishes beside St Euny’s

Chapel and Wells (both sides of track). http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=12325 . Nearby is Carn Euny, an Iron Age

settlement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carn_Euny. Took a left at the Carn Euny settlement and then a right to follow trackway running

behind Caer Bran Farm. Badly overgrown with brambles, etc. Caer Bran hill fort looming on the right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caer_Bran. Then across open moorland to minor road running from Sancreed to St Just, at Grumbla

Common. Reached the walk’s highest point , 619 ft, on this path beside Caer Bran. Walking time : 2 hours 34 minutes.

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The entrance to the track over Tredinney Common

The entrance is opposite the National Trust car park, off a minor road

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The track runs straight ahead over the ridge

Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The track over Tredinney Common

Heading towards Carn Euny Settlement – the mound in the distance

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The track behind Caer Bran farm

Caer Bran hill fort is on the right behind high hedge

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The route around the foot of Caer Bran hill fort

The line of the track is marked by some small trees in front of the farm buildings

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Aerial photo by Hamish Fenton - http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=19351

Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The last part of the track across Caer Bran

Grumbla Common and The Beacon ahead

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Crossed road onto Grumbla Common footpath that disappeared completely under bracken and brambles. I followed rough

animal tracks through the undergrowth almost to summit of Sancreed Beacon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sancreed_Beacon and

then down to an unnamed settlement on a minor road coming out of Sancreed. This detour is obvious on the Google Earth map

of my route. Took a left onto the road, and then a right at the T-junction. Climbed hill out of settlement past Trannack Mill and

followed this road for several miles to Skimmel Bridge and then on to Tremethick Cross on the A 30171 (Penzance to St Just

road) . The battery on my Garmin ran out half way along this long section of minor road. Crossed the A3071 and took a B-road

past West Lodge and Boscathnoe reservoir on to Heamoor village, where I stopped just before the big school.

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The entrance to Grumbla Common

No visible footpath ahead after 50 metres. Sancreed Beacon in the distance on right

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

View across Grumbla Common

Footpath disappears off downhill to left after 50 metres. I took a right up through the

bracken

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

View back across Grumbla Common

I guess this is the terminus of the footpath that disappeared soon after entering the

Common

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The road to Skimmel Bridge and Tremethick Cross

Taken just after Trannack Mill, at the top of the hill

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The road between Trannack Mill and Skimmel Bridge

Skimmel Bridge about half a mile ahead down hill

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

The river at Skimmel Bridge

Now within 1 mile of Tremethick Cross

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance

Tremethick Cross and the road opposite to Heamoor/Penzance

The road opposite, by the house, leads downhill to Heamoor on the

outskirts of Penzance - the destination on Day 1 !

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Day 1 – Land’s End to Penzance (Heamoor)

Walk statistics -up until Garmin 110 batteries ran flat before Skimmel

Bridge

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• Time: 3 hours 13 minutes

• Distance : 7.41 miles

• Elevation climbed : 890 ft

• Maximum elevation logged : 617 ft

• Energy consumed : 902 calories

• Total distance walked : 9.69 miles * (from E-Trex 20 trip monitor)

• Total walk time : 4 hours 15 minutes

• Total elevation climbed during day : Approx 1,000 ft

• Total Energy consumed : Around 1,200 calories

* My Garmin E-Trex 20 Trip Monitor reading on arrival in Heamoor. My E-Trex 20 logged my route, time, distance, pace, etc, but would not save or archive it to a PC.