Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Train to Nowhere and Land's End

Penzance station
Today we were supposed to go to the Eden Project. That required us to take a train to St Austell and then a bus to Eden. We arrived at Penzance railway station in plenty of time to catch our 9:35 am train, but unfortunately there were delays on the 2 trains ahead of ours. Turns out that a train broke down on the tracks somewhere and it created a domino effect. Our train was announced to be running at least 30 minutes late, and then, an hour late. Since I didn't want to rush through something as special as Eden Anne made a brilliant suggestion.  Since we were already in Penzance, and next to the bus station, why not catch a bus to Land's End?


Anne & the famous Land's End sign
Turned out to be a great idea! We had a leisurely bus ride up top, on a double-decker, through beautiful rural landscapes. Speaking of bus rides, let me give a big shout out to the bus drivers in Cornwall. Holy cow! They drive these huge buses down twisting narrow lanes and around hairpin curves and never lose their cool! Also a big "well done!" to Cornish drivers, who must be the most patient, polite drivers on the planet.  You NEVER hear them honking their horns at people, or see them flipping people off. They are the poster children for courteous driving.

Land's End, or Pedn an Wlas in Cornish, is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. It has become very commercialized over the years, but the views are still breathtaking.

Being both hungry, and thirsty, we stopped off at the Land's End Restaurant for refreshments, before exploring the area.

cliff view looking north
We had planned to walk a bit up the paths, in each direction along the coast, but some wet weather rolled in from offshore, and we decided not to get wet. I wasn't able to get but a few decent shots because of that, but that's okay.

To get out of the rain, we ducked into the shop, there and looked around, then it was time to walk back to the bus stop to wait for our ride back to Penzance. We didn't get a double-decker that time, so weren't able to appreciate the scenery as much on the way back, but it was still a nice ride.


We had to wait a bit for the bus back to Marazion, but met a retired school teacher with Crayola pink hair, and had a nice natter while we waited. Once back home, we relaxed with a cold drink (cider for Anne, Guinness for me) and then we had a lovely dinner.  Now it's time to relax a bit before bedtime. Tomorrow we go to St Michael's Mount to visit the gardens and the castle!

Stay tuned...

1 comment:

  1. These pictures have been great but maybe some with YOU in them too?

    ReplyDelete