The Mermaid café and Pier One
The south west coastal road is wonderfully jagged. I first developed the desire to cycle as close to the sea when I was at University. I wanted to cycle from Plymouth to Bristol, and I wanted to avoid climbing up over Dartmoor. When I cycled through Kingsbridge towards Torbay I was shocked at how relentless my choice of route had been to me.
Almost a decade later, I still daydream about the road near Torcross and Slapton. More recently I have been thinking about revisiting Plymouth. So I plotted a route along the south coast of Cornwall and decided to go as close to the sea as I could. A friend of mine described the elevation graph as a heart beat monitor.
I left Truro later than I wanted to, so decided to skip the chain ferry to the Roseland. Which I have cycled before and I highly recommend. I've recorded a video of St Maw on the Roseland which I'll include at the end of this.
I cycled out of Truro via Ladock, Probus, Treghony, briefly across a main road and reached the coastal road at St Michael's Caerhays. A beautiful looking coastal castle, that I must remember to visit. I stopped briefly at Porthluney Bay because there was an ultra marathon happening. Runners had been out since midnight and they were taking on a 100k challenge!
I climbed out of Porthluney, through Boswinger, and down to Hemmick beach. I must warn you that the sand comes on to the road here. After Hemmick there is an immediate climb to Penare. This was the first brutal climb of the day, averaging at 18%, very gravelly and with no starting speed because of the beach. Kudos to anyone who makes it to the top!
Down the otherside my route took me into Goranhaven. I cycled down to the seafront and to the Mermaid café. This is a wonderful café, I asked for a cappuccino and was counter offered a frothy coffee. I love places like this, being offered frothy coffee reminds me of walking into old friends kitchens. It's unapologetically homely.
The seating area was outside and pretty much on the beach. The ultrarunners were coming past on the road just behind me. It was raining and the beach was mildly busy. I had the thought that perhaps this is where my cool aunt would take me.
I carried on through Porthmelon, which has an amazing seaside road. Then sweeps into town, passes what I guess would be a lovely pub and swoops up and out over a hill. Before coming down into Mevagissey.
I don't recommend Mevagissey on a bike. I also think cyclists are not welcome there. I got lost on their one way roads and was shouted at from inside shops about getting off my bike. Eventually a forklift driver told me I wasn't allowed on my bike, before a van drove past me. Whatever. Come here for Christmas shopping, not for a café stop. It's too busy and not intended for bikes.
However, when I got to Fowey I had the opposite experience. I had stopped on a street corner looking for a bank. A shop owner came out and asked me if I was lost. He smiled and told me the bank was just around the corner. I stopped to buy fruit at the town delicatessen. The store reminded me of a similar shop in Wells which brightened my mood.
Here I had to change my route slightly because of the storm, which was causing the passenger ferry to remain closed. At Polruan I took the chain ferry to Bodinnick, where my route remained away from the coast until Polperro.
Here was monster climb number two. Its a quiet road and its one way traffic, with cars coming towards you. So don't expect much sympathy. Tallard hill is about a kilometer and regularly goes over 20% and I think peaks at 38%. It features in Simon Warren's 100 greatest climbs and I imagine further details about conquering this hill can be found there.
The jagged edges of the cliffs smoothed out a bit from hill. Crossing the bridge at Looe, climbing out of town I was back in familiar territory. Cycling through Seaton and towards Port wrinkle. I have only cycled here a handful of times, and I imagined my brother, who cycled for the university, knew these areas really well. I wished he was there to show me the best routes and I was trying to remember the café he had recommended.
The view on this final stretch is wonderful. You can see the long beaches of Whitsand Bay for miles. It's a stunning view that makes the entire trip worth it. Its very hard to capture on camera, as its so far away but its also so present.
When I arrived into Torpoint the chain ferry was free and I managed to book an advanced ticket back to Truro on my phone. Three pounds fifty, bargain. I also stopped in Lidl, to eat like I had been touring. Sandwiches in the carpark and snacks for the train.
Finally, my favourite café in the south west. I've never remembered its name and its currently called Pier One. It's directly on the seafront and overlooking the rocky steps that I used to sunbathe on. The seating area is protected from the wind with transparent glass/plastic. The sun is always shining on the seating area. When you look down as the tide is in it feels like you're on a sea cruise. The sea laps against the rocks rather than crashes. I thought about all the seafront I had seen today, the cornish ones felt like a day at the beach, whereas sitting here felt like I was on a cruise liner.
The coffee is good, there's always space, I could see my bike, it was warm even though it was windy. I love it here. If you ever need a piece of your soul back, come here for half an hour.
I would recommend a loop leaving from Torpoint. You can take the A374 or Trevol Road to start. Once you've reached Antony follow the A374 to Sheviock, head towards Crafthole. Then follow the B3247 to Cawsand. This road will loop around to Millbrook, St John and then back to Torpoint. The A374 can be busy, but you're limited for roads in this area. Alternatively you can take the passenger ferry to Mount Edgecumbe and create a loop from there.
Almost a decade later, I still daydream about the road near Torcross and Slapton. More recently I have been thinking about revisiting Plymouth. So I plotted a route along the south coast of Cornwall and decided to go as close to the sea as I could. A friend of mine described the elevation graph as a heart beat monitor.
I left Truro later than I wanted to, so decided to skip the chain ferry to the Roseland. Which I have cycled before and I highly recommend. I've recorded a video of St Maw on the Roseland which I'll include at the end of this.
I cycled out of Truro via Ladock, Probus, Treghony, briefly across a main road and reached the coastal road at St Michael's Caerhays. A beautiful looking coastal castle, that I must remember to visit. I stopped briefly at Porthluney Bay because there was an ultra marathon happening. Runners had been out since midnight and they were taking on a 100k challenge!
I climbed out of Porthluney, through Boswinger, and down to Hemmick beach. I must warn you that the sand comes on to the road here. After Hemmick there is an immediate climb to Penare. This was the first brutal climb of the day, averaging at 18%, very gravelly and with no starting speed because of the beach. Kudos to anyone who makes it to the top!
Down the otherside my route took me into Goranhaven. I cycled down to the seafront and to the Mermaid café. This is a wonderful café, I asked for a cappuccino and was counter offered a frothy coffee. I love places like this, being offered frothy coffee reminds me of walking into old friends kitchens. It's unapologetically homely.
The seating area was outside and pretty much on the beach. The ultrarunners were coming past on the road just behind me. It was raining and the beach was mildly busy. I had the thought that perhaps this is where my cool aunt would take me.
I carried on through Porthmelon, which has an amazing seaside road. Then sweeps into town, passes what I guess would be a lovely pub and swoops up and out over a hill. Before coming down into Mevagissey.
I don't recommend Mevagissey on a bike. I also think cyclists are not welcome there. I got lost on their one way roads and was shouted at from inside shops about getting off my bike. Eventually a forklift driver told me I wasn't allowed on my bike, before a van drove past me. Whatever. Come here for Christmas shopping, not for a café stop. It's too busy and not intended for bikes.
However, when I got to Fowey I had the opposite experience. I had stopped on a street corner looking for a bank. A shop owner came out and asked me if I was lost. He smiled and told me the bank was just around the corner. I stopped to buy fruit at the town delicatessen. The store reminded me of a similar shop in Wells which brightened my mood.
Here I had to change my route slightly because of the storm, which was causing the passenger ferry to remain closed. At Polruan I took the chain ferry to Bodinnick, where my route remained away from the coast until Polperro.
Here was monster climb number two. Its a quiet road and its one way traffic, with cars coming towards you. So don't expect much sympathy. Tallard hill is about a kilometer and regularly goes over 20% and I think peaks at 38%. It features in Simon Warren's 100 greatest climbs and I imagine further details about conquering this hill can be found there.
The jagged edges of the cliffs smoothed out a bit from hill. Crossing the bridge at Looe, climbing out of town I was back in familiar territory. Cycling through Seaton and towards Port wrinkle. I have only cycled here a handful of times, and I imagined my brother, who cycled for the university, knew these areas really well. I wished he was there to show me the best routes and I was trying to remember the café he had recommended.
The view on this final stretch is wonderful. You can see the long beaches of Whitsand Bay for miles. It's a stunning view that makes the entire trip worth it. Its very hard to capture on camera, as its so far away but its also so present.
When I arrived into Torpoint the chain ferry was free and I managed to book an advanced ticket back to Truro on my phone. Three pounds fifty, bargain. I also stopped in Lidl, to eat like I had been touring. Sandwiches in the carpark and snacks for the train.
Finally, my favourite café in the south west. I've never remembered its name and its currently called Pier One. It's directly on the seafront and overlooking the rocky steps that I used to sunbathe on. The seating area is protected from the wind with transparent glass/plastic. The sun is always shining on the seating area. When you look down as the tide is in it feels like you're on a sea cruise. The sea laps against the rocks rather than crashes. I thought about all the seafront I had seen today, the cornish ones felt like a day at the beach, whereas sitting here felt like I was on a cruise liner.
The coffee is good, there's always space, I could see my bike, it was warm even though it was windy. I love it here. If you ever need a piece of your soul back, come here for half an hour.
I would recommend a loop leaving from Torpoint. You can take the A374 or Trevol Road to start. Once you've reached Antony follow the A374 to Sheviock, head towards Crafthole. Then follow the B3247 to Cawsand. This road will loop around to Millbrook, St John and then back to Torpoint. The A374 can be busy, but you're limited for roads in this area. Alternatively you can take the passenger ferry to Mount Edgecumbe and create a loop from there.
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