Rosamunde Pilcher’s Shellseekers Cycling Holiday (7 nights, 8 days)

Start your Shell Seeking journey by using the Camel Trail and follow the cycle route from Bodmin to St Austell. During today’s ride you will experience a variety of stunning scenery and interesting locations including Bodmin, Lanhydrock House and the stunning Eden Project.

Stay overnight in St Austell. Luggage will be transferred.

Apart from a few steep hills, you will cycle mainly through the beautiful rolling Cornish countryside. Cycle out of St Austell on the Avon cycleway, then onto a quiet road, before descending into the pretty coastal village of Pentewan.

Here head off along the cycle track through woods before climbing up to the famous Lost Gardens of Heligan where you can explore these amazing gardens and sculptures that are among them. You will then head through Lamorran and Tresillian and finally reach the town of Truro where you will stay the night.

Stay overnight in Truro. Luggage will be transferred.

There is a short climb out of Truro and a few steep hills to cycle in Falmouth, Constantine and Gweek. In between is rolling country with regular steady hills. Pass the old tin mine at Wheal Jane to Penryn, once the main port in this area, its heritage is displayed in some fine architecture from Tudor to Georgian and in a small museum.

Continue down the coast to Falmouth, a busy pleasant town where the atmosphere is flavoured by the salt sea air. Here you can visit several exotic gardens a Maritime Museum and some pleasant beaches. Impressive fortifications of Henry VIII’s Pendennis Castle still dominate the headland.

Continue past more subtropical gardens to Gweek on the Helford Creek, the home of the National Seal Sanctuary where they rescue injured seal pups from local beaches and also care for other abandoned sea mammals.

Stay overnight in Helston. Luggage will be transferred.  

Explore the west coast through the delightful Church Cove to Mullion from where you can continue all the way down to Lizard, the most southerly point of the British mainland. This also takes you to Kynance Cove where the combination of the rare serpentine rock and the powerful sea has produced amazing beaches with cliffs, caves and islands.

Next, cross Goonhilly Downs where the underlying serpentine rock gives the area most of its special characteristics. The soil it produces is the ideal habitat for the Cornish Heath that is almost unique to this area. It supports rare wildlife including the hen harrier and short-eared owl and is also the home of a satellite tracking station.

Stay overnight in Helston. No luggage transfer required.

Leaving Helston, continue to Porthleven which for many years the local centre for boat building and is still a working fishing port. Then follow the coast west to Praa Sands, this mile-long sweep of sand is renowned as one of Cornwall’s finest family beaches and also popular with surfers.

Further on is one of Cornwall's most famous landmarks and popular filming location in the German TV series The Shell Seekers, St. Michael’s Mount, a little island community that can be reached by causeway at low tide. Today's ride will end in Penzance where another mini-series, Coming Home was also filmed.

Stay overnight in Penzance. Luggage will be transferred.

Newlyn is England’s busiest fishing port. The scenery inspired the Newlyn School of artists and their legacy can be seen in museums and galleries around the town. Continue through narrow streets past little Mousehole harbour and over to the pretty, sheltered Lamorna Cove, a lovely spot for a swim.

Lamorna Cove is also a recognisable spot in Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers German TV series. Pass the Merry Maidens, a Bronze Age stone circle that stands amidst a remarkable concentration of ancient Celtic standing stones to Lands End. Lands End is a fantastic destination and it can be seen in the German TV adaptation of the novel.

Stay overnight in Penzance. No luggage transfer required.

Ride to the north coast, where the mudflats of the River Hayle are a rich habitat for wading birds. From here you can take a delightful detour to Lelant, the birthplace of Rosamunde Pilcher herself. You can continue to follow the coast road past miles of sand dunes then above rugged cliffs with spectacular views of the Atlantic.

Explore a woodland cycle trail at the tranquil Tehidy Country Park, on the way to the popular surfing cove at Portreath. This was one of the main mining areas in Cornwall until the early 20th century and you can still visit Cornish Goldsmiths workshops and exhibition and the Tolgus Tin Streaming works nearby. The ride ends along beautiful wooded valleys back into Truro.

Stay overnight in Truro. Luggage will be transferred