Tuesday 18th June:  Weather: 9°C to 19°C: Overcast with sunny patches

Ruthernbridge to Lostwithiel:  18.7k walk to Ruthernbridge:  Ascent 440m, Descent 389m

Time:  8.15am to 2.45pm: Total time 6hrs 30min: Walk time: 5hrs 30min Plus 2 x 30m stops: 

Accommodation: Little Breoke Rose Hill Lostwithiel 

Morning Coffee at Lanivet Church

Corny Cornish signs - 3ish miles

View from Helman Tor

Lunch on top of Helman Tor

About Helman Tor

Dinner at Little Breoke Lostwithiel

Highlights today were simply more lovely country lanes over the downs of central Cornwall, and climbing Helman Tor with beautiful views.

I had a wonderful night’s sleep in my little Glamping Pod and I’m awake at 5am to a cold 9°C so I turned the heater back on.  The Holiday Camp is in a hollow valley shrouded in tall trees cutting out the sun.  After a hot cup of tea, I pack, then have breakfast of a very crumbly squashed scone with butter and jam and some left over cream. 

I leave at 8.25am all rugged up in 5 layers of thermal, shirt, Aldi jacket, fleece jumper and Hagloff’s rain coat, and say good bye and thank you to Andrew.  Turning left out of the holiday Camp, I head towards Temorbridge where I’ll re-join the Saint’s Way.  Two minutes up the road, I walk into glorious sunshine and have to stop to take off three layers of clothing.  The temperature had jumped to 15°C in the sun.

Two kilometres down the road, my Garmin Watch tells me I am back “On Course” and I rejoin the Saint’s Way.  It’s a long uphill climb on farmer’s tracks out of the low valley  before descending to the small village of Lanivet at 10am where i stop for a coffee and one of Suzie’s Meusli cakes sitting in the sun opposite the Lanivet Church.  

At 10.30am I’m on my way again steadily climbing out of Lanivet on a laneway passing under the busy A30 motorway to Bodmin.  Through Trebell Green then there’s supposed to be a split in the Saint’s Way, and I take the Eastern route to go via Helman Tor.  There’s a few Corny Cornish signs along the way - it’s "3ish miles" to such and such, or such and such place is “just up the road a bit”.  Helman Tor is a small hill where a few people have parked in the Car Park to walk the short distance up 50 metres to the top.  It’s an easy walk with 360° views across to both sides of Cornwall and ahead to Bodmin Moor where I’ll be in a few days time. I stop at the top near some rocks for lunch - bread and vegemite again, no cup of tea, a bit windy for the cooker, just water as it’s now a warm 19°C.  

Down off Helman Tor, there’s a beautiful ridgeway walk with several day walkers, not through hikers, for several kilometres.  Down to the village of Lanlivery where there’s a 600 metre walk on the shoulder of the busy A390, then across to a lane and up to Rose Hill which leads me to Little Breoke overlooking the ancient village of Lostwithiel.  Co-incidentally, Suzie is visiting friends there so we catch up for a few minutes at the local Co-Op where I buy a bottle of Mayonnaise, an iceberg lettuce, 6 tomatoes and a small packet of ham.  Back up Rose hill where I enjoy my salad dinner with a bottle of cider left by the hosts for the guests.  Little Breoke is a one bedroom apartment and very comfortable except there was no milk for the tea.  Lucky I bring my own full cream powdered milk.  Bed at 8pm.