I was more apprehensive about the train journey than about the ride itself. I'd loaded the bike the night before. For the train journey I had packed everything into the panniers except the tent which was long ways on the back rack. I set off for Keighley at 10:45. The bike felt a bit unstable: I put this down to a slightly overloaded bar bag and the overload
ed panniers placing the weight too far back. I hoped I'd be able to correct this when I packed for real at Penzance. I caught the Leeds train at Keighley. This was superb for a fully loaded bike; I simply wheeled it into one of the carriages with the seats that fold back to make way for wheelchairs etc. Leeds station was straightforward with the platform accessible by lifts.
The train to Penzance was a few minutes early but even so, having waited for other passengers to get on, as soon as I got my bike on board it set off. It was fortunate that I had checked out the train a couple of weeks before. The attendant had explained that the bike racks were at the opposite end from first-class carriage and that you can identify which end of the train that was when the train was approaching by the yellow plate on the end (the plate at the other end was not yellow). Having seen a few trains arrive, it appeared that the first-class carriage was likely to be at the back so I positioned myself towards the front. Without this information it could well have been a bit of a panic.
Once the train was moving the area around the racks cleared of passengers and I was able to secure the bike in the rack in my own time. There were two spaces for bikes to be hung, one on each side of the central corridor. One seemed to be designed for a single bike the other was slightly wider and therefore I assume for two. The single rack was already occupied. I removed the panniers. Securing the bike was more difficult than I thought it would be mainly because my bike was on the large side (the stem riser made it higher than normal and the handlebars were quite wide. However, I managed to squeeze it in, though there was no room for a further bike. If I had hung my front wheel on the hook provided the bike would dangled and I was concerned it might not be good for the wheel; so I used one of my straps to lower it so the back wheel was supported. I placed the panniers on the floor beside my bike.
I made my way through the entire train to the first-class compartment and found my seat. I was almost immediately offered coffee (from a cafetier). In fact I had several more complementary coffees, a sandwich, bottle of water, an orange juice and several packets of biscuits. These must surely have more than made up the difference between first-class and second-class!
At Birmingham large numbers of people got on the train; apparently an earlier one had been late and a lot of people had missed their connection. The second-class compartment was packed with people standing in the central corridor. All seats were also taken in first-class. Several of these clearly did not have tickets but I was very impressed with the polite way in which the conductor dealt with this. He spoke quietly and caused no embarrassment to those who had to leave. The guy who had sat in the seat opposite mine also did not have a ticket but explained to the conductor that he had had a reserved seat on the train which he had missed and he was registered disabled. He therefore stayed and we chatted the whole way to Bodmin where he got off.
Only two lavatories were working on the train so I had to fight my way through the crowded compartments (too much free coffee!). Crowd thinned out at Taunton, where the conductor also changed. The coffee changed to instant, too; is it up to the conductor?
The train journey had gone without a hitch but I don't think I would have been so happy if I'd not gone first-class. Although I was asked to show my ticket and reservation I was not asked for evidence of having booked the bike on the train; in fact, no one mentioned it. I'm not sure what would have happened if someone had simply taken a bike onto the train before I got on and put it in the rack.
The train arrived in Penzance on time but I only had an hour or so to get to the campsite at Lands End if I was going to put the tent up before dark. I therefore, put the panniers on the bike, plonked my helmet on my head and set off. As it turned out it was the only part of the
ed panniers placing the weight too far back. I hoped I'd be able to correct this when I packed for real at Penzance. I caught the Leeds train at Keighley. This was superb for a fully loaded bike; I simply wheeled it into one of the carriages with the seats that fold back to make way for wheelchairs etc. Leeds station was straightforward with the platform accessible by lifts.
The train to Penzance was a few minutes early but even so, having waited for other passengers to get on, as soon as I got my bike on board it set off. It was fortunate that I had checked out the train a couple of weeks before. The attendant had explained that the bike racks were at the opposite end from first-class carriage and that you can identify which end of the train that was when the train was approaching by the yellow plate on the end (the plate at the other end was not yellow). Having seen a few trains arrive, it appeared that the first-class carriage was likely to be at the back so I positioned myself towards the front. Without this information it could well have been a bit of a panic.
Once the train was moving the area around the racks cleared of passengers and I was able to secure the bike in the rack in my own time. There were two spaces for bikes to be hung, one on each side of the central corridor. One seemed to be designed for a single bike the other was slightly wider and therefore I assume for two. The single rack was already occupied. I removed the panniers. Securing the bike was more difficult than I thought it would be mainly because my bike was on the large side (the stem riser made it higher than normal and the handlebars were quite wide. However, I managed to squeeze it in, though there was no room for a further bike. If I had hung my front wheel on the hook provided the bike would dangled and I was concerned it might not be good for the wheel; so I used one of my straps to lower it so the back wheel was supported. I placed the panniers on the floor beside my bike.
I made my way through the entire train to the first-class compartment and found my seat. I was almost immediately offered coffee (from a cafetier). In fact I had several more complementary coffees, a sandwich, bottle of water, an orange juice and several packets of biscuits. These must surely have more than made up the difference between first-class and second-class!
At Birmingham large numbers of people got on the train; apparently an earlier one had been late and a lot of people had missed their connection. The second-class compartment was packed with people standing in the central corridor. All seats were also taken in first-class. Several of these clearly did not have tickets but I was very impressed with the polite way in which the conductor dealt with this. He spoke quietly and caused no embarrassment to those who had to leave. The guy who had sat in the seat opposite mine also did not have a ticket but explained to the conductor that he had had a reserved seat on the train which he had missed and he was registered disabled. He therefore stayed and we chatted the whole way to Bodmin where he got off.
Only two lavatories were working on the train so I had to fight my way through the crowded compartments (too much free coffee!). Crowd thinned out at Taunton, where the conductor also changed. The coffee changed to instant, too; is it up to the conductor?
The train journey had gone without a hitch but I don't think I would have been so happy if I'd not gone first-class. Although I was asked to show my ticket and reservation I was not asked for evidence of having booked the bike on the train; in fact, no one mentioned it. I'm not sure what would have happened if someone had simply taken a bike onto the train before I got on and put it in the rack.
The train arrived in Penzance on time but I only had an hour or so to get to the campsite at Lands End if I was going to put the tent up before dark. I therefore, put the panniers on the bike, plonked my helmet on my head and set off. As it turned out it was the only part of the
entire journey that I wore a helmet and that was only because it was quicker to put it on my head than fix it to the rack. I tell myself that I wear it when my risk assessment identifies a need. I always used to put it on for long fast descents but I tended to go faster (to compensate for the perceived additional safety) so have tended not to, of late (I had a fairly serious fall in the Alps in 2004 which might not have happened because I am almost certain I'd have been going more slowly if I'd not been wearing a helmet because I would have felt very vulnerable).
I faffed around getting out of Penzance but soon got to the A30, which was very quiet. I arrived at the campsite, which I had paid for in advance, just as it was getting dark; I didn't see a soul. Pitched the tent and went to bed.
Campsite: Seaview Holiday Park, Land End. Difficult to comment on this site as I only saw it in the dark and did not see a single person. It seemed to be mainly caravans (probably static) but I found a nice area of grass to pitch the tent. Facilities seemed fine. All in all an excellent location from which to set off and only £10.
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