The end: LANDS END

We made it!

There was a dramatic finish (more about that in a minute).

Thank you to everyone that has sponsored us and helped us out along the way. The sponsorship page will stay open for the next few months at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

Penzance to Lands End

We made the decision to roll the last two days into one and push onwards to Lands End before the heavy rain and strong wind that was forecast for the next day.

We were also up against the light, as we had to complete before sunset.

It was a 'Challenge Anneka' -style race against the clock, minus the chopper and that 4x4 buggy inside a lorry that she had. 

Right up until the last 2 miles the weather was on our side and we made good time. We had an hour to go until it would be dark. But... Then the rain started.  The rain really started. And the wind was gusting so fiercely that the rain stung as it hit our faces.

We took a bridleway that was not so near the cliff edge to be on the safe side.

When we finally made it to Lands End we just about managed a bedraggled photo at the Lands End sign post, but we didn't hang around for very long. We ran for cover in the nearby Lands End Hotel bar for a celebratory pint!

Day 8: North and South

We left Hayle on the north coast of Cornwall and walked to Marazion on the south coast. It's about 5 miles coast-to-coast across this thinnest part of Cornwall.

At Marazion we saw St Michael's Mount, tide in, so no chance of hopping across the causeway for a look around.

From a perfect blue sky in the morning on the north coast, by the time we'd reached St Michael's Mount just a couple of hours later the clouds had rolled in and the forecast was looking pretty bad for later on.

We met a lady in Marazion that told us her story about Macmillan helping her when she had a brain tumour 4 years ago. She has just been for a check up with her specialist who said she didn't need another appointment for a year. A great success story. We've heard so many great stories about the charities that we are walking for, and what they mean to so many people.

Please support the excellent work of Macmillan and RMH Bristol by sponsoring our walk here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

When we reached Penzance we made the decision to push onwards to Land's End and combine the two last days into one. We'd always factored in flexibility with the days in case of delays, bad weather, or any other problems, but so far we were on track and on good form so we thought we would be able to make the last 9 miles before the weather closed in on us and before it got dark.

Did we make it? Was it possible? Find out in the next installment of the blog!

Here are a few photos from the Hayle - Penzance walk:

Day 5: Moor to Sea

We started today's leg of the walk in Bodmin, and swiftly picked up the Camel Trail, which is another former-railway-line-turned-walk-and-cycle-path. It seems like there are quite a few of these trailways in Cornwall; many railway lines must have been removed.

The next part of the walk followed country lanes through villages and farms. The weather provided us with April Showers (acceptable because it is April and this is what we took on), although a couple of times the showers were more like April Deluges, getting us thoroughly soaked.

We took refuge from one of the heavier downpours under a church gateway porch in small town called St Columb Major. In this unlikely spot we got talking to a local lady also taking shelter from the rain. It's so interesting to get small snippets of the lives of the people we are meeting along the way.

By the time the sea came into view as we approached Newquay, the sun had pushed its way through the clouds and we realised we had kept walking for 20 miles without really sitting down.

We are over half way on the walk, with four more days to go.

To see how we're getting on during the walk, see the 'Track Our Progress' page which shows a live map - http://2walkto.blogspot.co.uk/p/track-live-progress.html

Here are some pictures from today's walk:

Day 3: Drama in Cornwall

The day of extreme rain, a medical emergency and a phantom path.

We left Gulworthy and headed straight into the forest (rainforest, as it turns out). The rain theme continued throughout the day. By the time we'd crossed the River Tamar into Cornwall we had been thoroughly drenched.

Soon after the first soaking we then had a map-based incident. After following a sign post which seemed to make sense for the direction we should have been going, it transpired that it wasn't and sent us on a 3 mile detour which ultimately ended up back at the place we first went astray.

More heavy rain closed in as we climbed 1000 feet to the peak of Kit Hill. And then down the other side to Callington.

Callington is a smallish town so we were lucky to find a shop open on Easter Sunday. We didn't need anything in particular as we'd planned as if nothing would be open. However it was a welcome warm and dry place which contained chocolate.

A medical emergency unfolded in front of us in the road in Callington and Alex's first aid skills came into action . Once the ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over we were on our way again, into the rain for the final 7 miles to Pensilva on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

Being such a wet and 'eventful' day, it meant we didn't take many photos. But here are a couple of grey-looking pictures, of ghostly things appearing through the murkiness.