Mark has always been determined that not one single day of this trip should be less than 21.1km/a half marathon and for a brief moment, today’s route threatened that determination with a 19km route from Hayle to Mousehole.

So of course as soon as there was an opportunity to detour for an additional 1.6km to see St Michael’s Mount we were bounding down the beach to take photos. 

That didn’t quite cross the 21.1km threshold though, so today was the day we also went off piste to experience another of Cornwall’s regional delicacies.

Three days before we reached Fowey and our overpriced lobster roll food truck, Stanley Tucci had been filming at the restaurant opposite and extolling its virtues on Instagram, likely contributing to the pricing we experienced. He’s got a new series out about the amazing regional dishes around Great Britain, so he also likely had a different budget and schedule to us as he stalked us down through the country. I wonder if he stopped at Penzance for an award winning pasty though?

Mark and I had spent most of an afternoon recently discussing how a traditional pasty is essentially a combination of the following:

– a lot of starchy potato carbohydrate;

– swede, which is only fed to cattle in France as it’s not considered fit for humans;

– minimal seasoning/flavouring;

– more starchy pastry carbohydrate and

– possibly some steamed/grey meat of indeterminate origin, tradition suggests beef.

So once we’d completely written it off as neither desirable or particularly nutritious, then of course it had to be done.

Ours had beef and stilton in it and it wasn’t bad at all.

We then walked the last few kms to Mousehole in the sunshine past someone balancing stones……

……and a couple of pretty harbours.

Finally, we hit Mousehole and the most classy BnB of the whole trip, as demonstrated by a) the linen bathrobes hanging up by the door – a first for anywhere we have stayed and b) the request to order breakfast on the iPad in the room, which will be delivered to our garden patio tomorrow morning.

The BnB owner was frankly flabbergasted we had mastered an iPad within minutes of arriving, without any tuition from her. We didn’t have the heart to break it to her that between the pair of us we have seven academic degrees so it will take more than an iPad with a description of porridge served with creme fresh (sic) in it to break us.

But the real preparation for tomorrow starts tonight and a distinctly not classy Wetherspoons. Who doesn’t prepare for the last 1.3% of walking the length of the UK by watching Resident Evil with a pizza and movie ticket meal deal at the Savoy cinema in Penzance?

Over 20 years ago we came to Penzance to stay in a holiday cottage via a scheme at Mark’s workplace (HP). We both recall the Hollywood style diner that was part of the cinema, offering a pizza for two people with a bottle of house wine, an ice cream each and a movie ticket each for ~£15 in total. We can’t remember what we watched, but we remember where we sat in the cinema and how much fun we had. So we’re back tonight for the movie and meal deal that is currently £18.95 a head. With a bottle of house wine and no ice cream, it’s £60 in total now, but worth every penny.

Tonight was just as much fun as the last time we were here, suggesting that we have not grown up one little bit in the last two decades. I don’t regret a minute.

Whatever tomorrow brings, it’s been a blast so far. I’m hoping the cliff edge walks aren’t scary, the weather holds out and the champagne we’re carrying (Lanson 20cl insulated bottles) stays chilled-ish to the end. It’s not a done deal yet as the route tomorrow is one of our worst on ascent per km, and has some seriously vertigo inducing and boulder climbing sections.

Cornwall isn’t done with us yet. 

Distance – 22.8km today, but over a 1,000 miles walked so far. You can’t scare us, Cornwall.