First, how does a river in Cornwall, far from the domicile of dromedaries, get the name “Camel River?” It has nothing to do with cranky ships of the desert and everything to do with the Cornish language. “Dowr Kammel” means “Crooked River” in Cornish but it has morphed into the modern name, Camel River
In the US we have great trails converted from old railroad lines and the Camel River trail is the same. It starts in Padstow, where we are staying, and runs 18+ miles upriver through fields and towns. The railroad itself was one of the earliest in England and was active until the 1960s. Conversion to the rail trail began in the 80s. A steam engine actually runs periodically along part of the trail, but we missed it today.
Because we had limited time and wanted to climb to a special village high up on a side hill we “cheated” when we rented bikes and got e-bikes. Please don’t judge.
We did run into one issue when the chain on Trev’s bike broke during our return. Fortunately we were close to a cafe which first tried to fix it, then called the rental agency who responded quickly with a new bike. We had to kill the extra time at the cafe with yet another sample of Cornish Ice Cream. The people in Cornwall are so great, or as they would say, lovely.
Is this message for dogs? Or maybe referring to the toilets around the corner. We were a bit confused.
As you will see from Laurie’s Relive video it was a spectacular day on the trail and a great way to finish up our stay in Padstow. Click here or on the picture to the left to enjoy the journey yourself.