Paddington and the Beef Cat.
How does anyone come up with the idea of traveling England by bike? This was about the most heard of question preceding our vacation and especially uttered every single time we bragged about our summer-ish holidays. The answer is as plain as it is simple. Firstly, we are not traveling England but Great Britain. Secondly, I've been to England and Scotland before and all of this talk about rain - well, that's mere cliché. It never really rains there. Honestly. This was all there was to say about.
Actually, the idea came up when we, my love and I, remembered an article in the German TOUR magazine and particularly the statement "All I wanted was that it ends", which I disliked from the very beginning. After all - this was about my favorite country. So please refrain from whining! Each exhaustion will be met by breathtaking landscape and the wonderful sound of the most beautiful language ever heard of! A little hardship is not asked too much for such pleasures...
To cut a very long story very short: I also ended up wanting it to stop! Nevertheless, my love for the country never faded Even in the most enduring rain and the toughest ascent could I nothing but widen all my senses and inhale the beauty around me.
Off we went! Every journey starts with a never-ending train trip.
Our journey starts in London. With bag and baggage, meaning with disjointed bikes in hard-top cases, we stranded at Victoria Station and had our holiday kick-off breakfast. They offered sticky sandwiches and hot chocolate, all surrounded by hectic commuters. We remembered all the different and oftentimes magical kick off breakfasts we've had - especially the one in the beach café on Mallorca.
Victoria station definitely couldn't top that one. However, it just felt at home there, just as I always did when I was in England. So my excitement kept growing.
Once we weren't hungry any more, we took a taxi to Agata. Agata, a former colleague was part of the sophisticated logistics accompaniing this journey and would take care of our bike cases for the upcoming two weeks. We rang the bell. And were shortly afterwards greeted with sleepy eyes and a: "You are too early!" Behind her, Soenke, also former and also colleagues, peeked around the corner and added with a big smile: "I didn't even had time to do my hair!"
Whilst the two party people struggled to wake up, my beloved one began unpacking the cases and put the bike parts together. In the meantime, the rest of the crew engaged in some nostalgic talks. When two bikes and two cases blocked the 2x1 meter mini corridor, we were kind of ready to go. So we maneuvert the empty cases up the even smaller staircase to Agata's flat, dressed up as pro cyclists and boarded our bikes for Paddington station.
Ready for a British adventure.
As expected, driving on the left was something we had to get used to. However, by being increadibly slow and careful roadblocks, we mastered the short distance without any injuries. At the station, we had about an hour and I took the opportunity to visit the Paddington bear shop three times and each time left without any beary purchase. After all, we didn't have any space for a bear (too much weight anyways!!) and I also already adopted a Paddington, who lived safely in my cupboard back in Berlin. That definitely would be treason to now get another one and take him on a pleasant journey.
On the other hand: All these bear wore a "Please look after this bear. Thank you" label! To cut it short: At the fourth time, my reason failed and I returned with a brand-new Paddington. We then treated ourselves to some cookies to go from "mellie's cookies" and boarded the train, which would bring us in no less than five hours to Land's End.
The real (back) and the cuddly (front) Paddington. The latter accompanied us during our journey.
The sun shone, the landscape beautifully unfolded in front of our window and expectations rose with each and every of the quite long 300 minutes to the south-east coast. However, even the nicest train rides will end eventually and it was then that we hopped back on of our bikes to cycle the final 25 kilometers to Land's End.
Embarking on a big journey.
Five or ten kilometers to our destination, we met a lonesome cyclist, who looked terrible: exhausted, weather-beaten and it seemed like for every meter he had to go the extra mile. It turned out he was a finisher. He set off 9 days earlier from John o' Groats and he was so proud for what he achieved. He said, he saw so many great things and learned so much about himself. The End2End, he summarized, was quite a mental challenge.
O c'mon, I thought... And still, part of me got thinking that it might not be quite as easy as I have always told myself. In any case, my beloved one and myself were looking forward to our own finishing day - in thirteen days from now. For quite different reasons, though.
Three kilometers before his end, we said goodbye to the hero and turned left to our accomodation.
We loved the room, our host Susie showed us: it was all so carefully arranged and had all a cyclist's heart could look for: dry and save place for the bikes, power bars and shower caps. I will get to those later.
In addition, Susie called the pub for us to make sure they wait for two hungy travelers before closing the kitchen. We had to hurry up, she said. So we put down our bags and took the short walk to the nearby pub. The "First and Last Inn" greeted us with live music and the band got us in the right mood for Britain - with all the classics they played. London calling...
Conclusion: Main to-do for the first day was to have a hot chocolate deLuxe. I failed on that one but the rest went pretty much as planned.
Little closing story for the day: When we arrived on the evening in Land's end, our tired eyes read "Watch out for the beef cat". Our heads spun with nonsense until we giggled. The next day and some better light showed us we were wrong. Deaf cat. I see...
Accomodation
Land's End Hostel and B&B
Mill Barn, Trevescan
Sennen, Land's End, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 7AQ
Actually, the idea came up when we, my love and I, remembered an article in the German TOUR magazine and particularly the statement "All I wanted was that it ends", which I disliked from the very beginning. After all - this was about my favorite country. So please refrain from whining! Each exhaustion will be met by breathtaking landscape and the wonderful sound of the most beautiful language ever heard of! A little hardship is not asked too much for such pleasures...
To cut a very long story very short: I also ended up wanting it to stop! Nevertheless, my love for the country never faded Even in the most enduring rain and the toughest ascent could I nothing but widen all my senses and inhale the beauty around me.
 |
Our journey starts in London. With bag and baggage, meaning with disjointed bikes in hard-top cases, we stranded at Victoria Station and had our holiday kick-off breakfast. They offered sticky sandwiches and hot chocolate, all surrounded by hectic commuters. We remembered all the different and oftentimes magical kick off breakfasts we've had - especially the one in the beach café on Mallorca.
Victoria station definitely couldn't top that one. However, it just felt at home there, just as I always did when I was in England. So my excitement kept growing.
Once we weren't hungry any more, we took a taxi to Agata. Agata, a former colleague was part of the sophisticated logistics accompaniing this journey and would take care of our bike cases for the upcoming two weeks. We rang the bell. And were shortly afterwards greeted with sleepy eyes and a: "You are too early!" Behind her, Soenke, also former and also colleagues, peeked around the corner and added with a big smile: "I didn't even had time to do my hair!"
Whilst the two party people struggled to wake up, my beloved one began unpacking the cases and put the bike parts together. In the meantime, the rest of the crew engaged in some nostalgic talks. When two bikes and two cases blocked the 2x1 meter mini corridor, we were kind of ready to go. So we maneuvert the empty cases up the even smaller staircase to Agata's flat, dressed up as pro cyclists and boarded our bikes for Paddington station.
 |
As expected, driving on the left was something we had to get used to. However, by being increadibly slow and careful roadblocks, we mastered the short distance without any injuries. At the station, we had about an hour and I took the opportunity to visit the Paddington bear shop three times and each time left without any beary purchase. After all, we didn't have any space for a bear (too much weight anyways!!) and I also already adopted a Paddington, who lived safely in my cupboard back in Berlin. That definitely would be treason to now get another one and take him on a pleasant journey.
On the other hand: All these bear wore a "Please look after this bear. Thank you" label! To cut it short: At the fourth time, my reason failed and I returned with a brand-new Paddington. We then treated ourselves to some cookies to go from "mellie's cookies" and boarded the train, which would bring us in no less than five hours to Land's End.
 |
The sun shone, the landscape beautifully unfolded in front of our window and expectations rose with each and every of the quite long 300 minutes to the south-east coast. However, even the nicest train rides will end eventually and it was then that we hopped back on of our bikes to cycle the final 25 kilometers to Land's End.
 |
Five or ten kilometers to our destination, we met a lonesome cyclist, who looked terrible: exhausted, weather-beaten and it seemed like for every meter he had to go the extra mile. It turned out he was a finisher. He set off 9 days earlier from John o' Groats and he was so proud for what he achieved. He said, he saw so many great things and learned so much about himself. The End2End, he summarized, was quite a mental challenge.
O c'mon, I thought... And still, part of me got thinking that it might not be quite as easy as I have always told myself. In any case, my beloved one and myself were looking forward to our own finishing day - in thirteen days from now. For quite different reasons, though.
Three kilometers before his end, we said goodbye to the hero and turned left to our accomodation.
We loved the room, our host Susie showed us: it was all so carefully arranged and had all a cyclist's heart could look for: dry and save place for the bikes, power bars and shower caps. I will get to those later.
In addition, Susie called the pub for us to make sure they wait for two hungy travelers before closing the kitchen. We had to hurry up, she said. So we put down our bags and took the short walk to the nearby pub. The "First and Last Inn" greeted us with live music and the band got us in the right mood for Britain - with all the classics they played. London calling...
Conclusion: Main to-do for the first day was to have a hot chocolate deLuxe. I failed on that one but the rest went pretty much as planned.
 |
Accomodation
Land's End Hostel and B&B
Mill Barn, Trevescan
Sennen, Land's End, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 7AQ
Caliope - 21. Mai, 23:17