Earlier this year me and Mrs Blackflag cycled the Loire Valley and she loved it, so next year we are thinking of doing a route round Cornwall.

Any suggestions as to routes or places to see? have seen a few tour company routes which i could copy if all else fails.

How hilly is it? The Loire is very flat and we did around 30 to 40 miles a day and this felt about right for us, so if its hilly what would you suggest we shorten our daily distance to assuming the same level of effort etc.

It’s bloody hilly. HTH.

If you do the south coast there are lots of little ferries which are fun, and which will take you via some nice places like St Mawes and Fowey.

Yup, hilly as hell, and you can never see what’s around the next corner.

It’s bloody hilly. HTH.

Ha ha. It does.

I did a really nice trip along the south coast a few years ago. Rarely got more than 100m above sea level, but went from sea level to 100m many, many times each day! Hard work and narrow roads.

sunken roads don’t make for good touring.

Morwenstow to Boscastle, via a trip to Duckpool then onto Sandy Mouth, Bude, Widemouth Bay, Millook & Crackington Haven on the coast road is a fantastic hilly ride with beautiful sea views

Beware of Trotsky, the Spanish inquisition and tomatoes.

So for those of you in the know, how does this route sound???

Coast to Coast Cycle Tour – 5 Days

Ming The Merciless – having lived and frequently cycled exactly there … you have my undying respect and suspicion of insanity.

Take this Barking Mad Cyclist Lives Here blue plaque and tie it to your bars 😎

Wait, you were having a giraffe! OP, no, just no.

OP, no, just no.

Really?? Is it that bad? I’ve not been to Cornwall for many years and can’t really remember it, but you lot make it sound like bloody Norway.

Don’t.

did Lejog a few years ago and much to my surprise Cornwall was tedious. Sunken roads give you zero visibility and issues with cars and laden bikes. All the pretty seaside villages are off the main routes and are usually one road in and then a STEEP climb out again.

I really enjoyed Shropshire and then into the Welsh borders. That’s where I’d head.

having moved to cornwall a year or so ago there is a lot of terrible riding but also a lot of good riding if you look in the less obvious places. On that five day tour the wadebridge to charlestown is quite nice, charlestown to truro misses some nice bits, i would go Caerhayes, portholland, port loe, portscatho, st anthonys head, ferry over to falmouth then head up to devoran to pick up the mineral tram way over to porthleven.

The road from St Ives to St Just is about as scenic as Cornwall gets. Open, with views. Dartmoor, although not Cornwall, is fantastic. Very steep around the edges, but the main roads across the moor are all open with no hedges and 40 mph speed limit. +1 for @MingtheMerciless’ suggestion; the coast roads around Hartland Quay/Welcombe/Duckpool are generally pretty decent/scenic.

Have a look at Sustrans for traffic free but a lot of road roads are very very hilly……..

We’ve done the below cycle ways so if you wanted to car about and cycle but they’d be out and b@cks but you could overnight as a couple are a bit longer

Camel Trail, as in your hol link, is lovely esp into padstow

See also Tarka trail *n Devon from Braunton etc, some nice costal bits

See drakes trail , Plymouth n to Dartmoor so could probably add a bit

See granite trail okehampton, Ledford I think

See mineral tramways deveron to portreath (can chuck in ferry rides to Truro)

See https://cycle.travel/route/devon_c2c

What steelisreal said. Then when you’re back on the north coast, either pick up the sustrans route via Truro back to Wadebridge, or pick a way along the coast.

Thanks a lot for all your help.

Really?? Is it that bad?

That particular stretch between Boscastle and Morwenstow is particularly challenging (if you stay off the A39, and I do). Joking aside, it’s a splendid and scenic ride if you like climbing. Millook is notably steep. I lived in North Cornwall/N. Devon on the coastfor a number of years and sadly didn’t road-cycle much owing to my fear of the A39 and the other options (if extant) coastal roads, many dead-ends and lots and lots of steep V-shaped valleys. The Dark Side (over East of the A39)I tried a few times and it was ok with many miles of little lanes and more hills yet no nearly so gruelling. Dartmoor and Bodmin are great areas to explore