NCN 3 Penzance - St. Austell
Caerhays Castle
Ride overview
Rocky coves, white-washed fishing villages, and the tempestuous Atlantic are all very much part of this southern Cornish adventure, as are the inland hills of a green and windswept land. However, as any Cornish person will tell you, Cornwall is not just a visual spectacle for passing cyclists, it has a rich industrial history too. It is this perhaps, more than the spectacular coast, which will linger longer in your memory. The cycle trails along the old mineral tramways through a bizarre but scientifically valuable landscape of spoil heaps, disused winding houses, old engine chimneys and pools. It is perhaps the strangest and most compelling landscape in Britain. The day is long and arduous for there’s nearly 1500m of hills to ride up, but as with any challenging landscape, it is a richly rewarding ride.
Ride practicalities
START/FINISH: Penzance/St. Austell DISTANCE: 102km TOTAL ASCENT:1443m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: The route is very hilly and the day is spent on narrow, twisting lanes. There are two glorious traffic-free trails, firstly in the The Great Flat Lode Trail through the old minescape of Cambourne and Redruth, the second along the Pedewan Trail linking Mevagissey with St.Austell RECOMMENDED CAFÈS/PUBS*; St. Piran, St. Piran Café, Mevagissey; King’s Arms ACCOMMODATION: Mevagissey; The Tremarne Hotel, FERRIES; King Harry’s Ferry (every 20 minutes, seven days a week) NEARBY MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Penzance, St. Austell LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: The Cornish Way, Tour of Cornwall, NCN 2
*WMWG only list places for food, drink and beds which have met our strict quality standards. They will promote local growers, are independent who set high standards, but who are not necessarily the cheapest place in town.
Ride notes
The sea hushes against the shore, voices shriek with the cold as bodies enter the waves, and the gulls keep a steady eye on you from above. The cycle path out of Penzance is pressed between the railway and the sea. As you pedal around the bay, St. Michael’s Mount rises before you, looking more impressive with every turn of the pedals. Linked with Mont St. Michel in Normandy, it has been an abbey since at least the 8th century.
At the end of Marazion Beach, you begin the shortest coast-to-coast route in Britain, a 10km dash across the peninsula. The route is quiet and pleasant following the Red River, so named due to the iron oxides which were a by-product of tin mining.
It is hard to comprehend now but Hayle, on Cornwall’s north coast, was (in the 1880s) the world’s most important mining port and home to the biggest steam engine manufacturers in the world. The route rides along the old quays on which an unimaginable tonnage of coal was unloaded and enormous iron machinery was hauled onto ships. Today, Hayle is a genteel sort of place, with arguably the best beach - certainly the longest - of all North Cornwall’s beaches.
The Mineral Tramway
Lovers of ruination and rare plants are in for a treat for over the next 30km between Hayle and Bissoe there are any number of gaunt former industrial buildings set against a Gothic-grey sky on the gorse on the lonely moor. From the mid to the end of the nineteenth century, this part of Cornwall was the world’s most valuable real estate and the industrial remains of tapering chimneys is as melancholy as it is dramatic. The old spoil heaps have become SSSIs thanks to rare lichens, mosses and biophrytes which live off the rich mineral remains of tin, copper and arsenic. The Cephaloziella integerrima, a liverwort as I am sure you know, is only found in two other places in the British Isles. The area is part of UNESCO’s Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, putting it on a heritage par with Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal.
An old Arsenic Mine
Arsenic helped keep the mines profitable when the world market price for tin and copper was depressed. It was exported to the US where cotton growers used it to kill Boll Weevils and the potato farmers to kill the Colorado Beetle. It was also a key ingredient in paint. Ladies whitened their hands with it and some even used it to murder their husbands. The last arsenic mine closed in 1950. The route uses single-laned country roads as well as a superb track which used to be the old mineral railway. It is labelled as the First and Last Trail, and it ends at the St. Piran Café, which is not only the home of the UCI Pro Continental Team, St. Piran’s, but also one of England’s best cycling cafés.
The NCN3 splits outside Bissoe, with the Northern route (taken here) going to Truro the capital of Cornwall. A small county town, it’s best known for the three spires of the Victorian Cathedral which soar above the slate rooftops. It was England’s first Anglican cathedral to be built on a new site since 1220 and it has more than a passing resemblance to Lincoln cathedral. The town has all the facilities that you may need - bike shops, camping shops, supermarkets etc. Out of town the quiet roads follow the river Fal to Trelissick House and Gardens (NT), one of Cornwall’s great houses.
Truro Cathedral
Take the King Harry’s Ferry to cross the river Fal, one of only five chain ferries in England. It departs every 20 minutes from each side, seven days a week. Why King Harry’s Ferry? One theory is that Henry VIII, whilst spending his honeymoon with the ill-fated Anne-Boleyn in nearby St. Mawes, ordered a ferry to operate here. The other more likely suggestion is that there was a chapel at Philleigh which was dedicated to St. Mary and King Henry - the Henry being the saintly King Henry VI, who was murdered in 1471.
Any of the 46 National Landscapes are beautiful and Cornwall’s is no exception; rolling green hills, the distant Bodmin moor, hints of the sea, grazing cattle, stone walls and pattern the landscape. But you have to work for hard. The lanes are narrow, often muddy, the hedgerows very high, the hills many and often steep. Fortunately there are plenty of gateways to stop at and recover your breath whilst you enjoy views. It’s not just countryside for there’s Pendower ( ice cream, sand and sea), and Caerhay’s Castle. Within the grounds are the National Collection of Magnolias, which is essential spring viewing.
Mevagissey
By Mevagissey, your legs are probably burning and in need of a break. You may wish to end the day here in the pretty painted fishing town. As well as white-painted cottages congregating around the bay, you’ll find a plentiful supply of pubs, seafood restaurants and any number of shops selling ‘Cornish’ stuff. Or, the other end-of-day option is to continue for a further 10km on the traffic-free Pentewan Trail, to St. Austell. The town is not pretty in the aesthetic sense, but it has all the facilities you need and should you have the energy, you might visit the St. Austell Brewery Visitor’s Centre where there are tours and tastings. St. Austell also neatly ends the south coast section of the route, for stage 3 heads northwards to Bodmin Moor.
All the details given on this route are given in good faith. However, situations on the ground can change, so if you know of any access issues, closures, or have any thoughts and feedback on the route, please include them in the comments section below.
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