The first two, to Lerryn and Penpoll, give you a taste of the sea: a trace of salt in the air introduces you to a
pair of tidal tributaries of the Fowey.
By the third, the prospect of climbing another 350 feet from sea level is unappealing. But stay with it: just
beyond the crest, the horizon is suddenly filled with the gleam of the Channel and the muscular headlands
that guard Fowey. And as you drop down to the ferry at Bodinnick, the final left-hand bend reveals the
harbour in its playful, colourful glory. Of all the Cornish fishing villages-turned-cherished resorts, Fowey
indulges the eye most generously, thanks to a gorgeous setting embellished with pastel-painted cottages
and bobbing boats.
Celebrate your achievement with a feast in some of the county’s most imaginative restaurants: after all, you
may be only the second person to go from summit to source to sea in a day. But I must move on for my next
adventure.
Tomorrow: can Simon Calder beat the trans-Wales express train from Cardiff to Holyhead – by hitch-hiking?