Day 53: Mount to Roche

Distance: 13.6 miles
Time: 4 hrs 5 mins
Weather: Cloudy, showers, sunny later
Cumulative distance: 887.4 miles

A leisurely morning stroll, a station reunion and a walk to an industrial estate with rural views.

I ate breakfast with Wayne and family, then they set off for home. The B&B owner kindly allowed me to stay beyond the normal departure time as, for once, I was in no hurry to leave. It wasn't the heavy showers which deterred me, but the fact that I only had 6 miles to walk before meeting my son Daniel at Bodmin Parkway station.

I followed a quiet country lane down towards the A38, when I was suddenly caught by a heavy shower for the second day in a row. I had to walk along the A38 for about 1.5 miles to the station junction, but it soon became the most difficult road of the entire journey. There was no pedestrian path and heavy goods vehicles thundered by at speed, so my only option was to jog along the roadside when there were breaks in the traffic. Crossing over to the station road proved to be another challenge as the junction was positioned next to two bends in the road. Eventually, I arrived safely at the station, which was a floral delight, with colourful displays along each platform. I ate lunch and watched the steam hauled passenger train of the Bodmin and Wenford railway arrive at the opposite platform.

Daniel's train pulled in impressively on time and I greeted him for the first time in nearly 8 weeks. He'd come to join me for the final 5 days of the walk, but I silently hoped that he'd done sufficient training while I'd been away.

We walked at pace, taking a short cut through the Lanhydrock estate, then followed a country lane which ran parallel to the busy A30 highway, until we finally reached an industrial estate, where our Travelodge accommodation was located. Despite its industrial base, our room offered rural views, including the local donkey sanctuary. We dined next door at the Victoria Inn (a wide choice of food and efficient service).