Truro Cycle Paths – OGIL ride 2nd April 2025

Twelve hearty souls gathered at the two OGIL start points, engaging in the usual pre-ride discussions—wind conditions, past rides, hearing aids, shorts-or-no-shorts, blah, blah…. Eventually we decided to head into the wind and make our way to the Café in the Park at Boscawen Park, Truro.

Before the ride started Phil S admitted to a “senior moment”—he’d forgotten to charge his battery. Opting for a shorter ride, he made his way to Via Ferrata for a coffee and later met up with the Wednesday Wanderers.

The rest of us tackled Halvasso, navigated Crane Garage in three groups, and rode on toward Stithians. Steve and Ian had already declared their intention for a shorter ride to Bon Appétit, so we escorted them through Pulla Cross and down toward Bissoe. A moment of confusion arose when Dave mistakenly thought we were all stopping for coffee, and Mike C misunderstood why we were leaving Ian and Steve behind! Meanwhile, Paul turned for home, investigating a mysterious noise from his bike, so by the time we left Twelveheads, our group had reduced to eight.

The main adventure of the day was ahead of us – exploring Truro’s new cycle routes. We joined the route at the bridge over the A30 at Chiverton Cross and enjoyed the well-surfaced, purpose-built path that led us down to the new roundabout at Langarth Village. The wide shared pathway continued along the west side of the main road, passing straight over the Chacewater turnoff and heading toward Truro. Cyclists should be mindful of multiple tracks and roads crossing the path from the right.

At the new roundabout, the cycle path crosses the main road via a traffic-light-controlled crossing before continuing down the eastern side of the A390 to the Langarth Park & Ride roundabout. Here, the route becomes less obvious, but we pressed straight on, using the bus lane to McDonald’s, where we re-joined the shared path leading to the mini-roundabout by the Spar shop. From this point, clear signage guided us off the main road and through a residential area toward the station. A fun descent down a switchback hill led to Coosebean Lane and Trenalt Terrace (under the viaduct).

At this point, the group had split into two: one used the bus lane to access the city centre’s ‘pavé,’ while the other climbed to the Law Courts, followed the road to Trafalgar Roundabout and turned toward Malpas.

With 24 miles covered, we arrived at the Café in the Park, where coffee, tea, cakes, and breakfast sandwiches provided much-needed fuel for the return leg and an opportunity to debrief the route!

The return journey was less adventurous, following a fairly standard (Paula’s) route home. We joined the old tramway at Newham, crossed the bridge over Penweathers Road before descending to the road and heading back through Bissoe Valley. As expected, the usual debate over Suicide Alley vs. Grenna Lane vs. Station Road took place—Grenna Lane won, and up we climbed the hill!

We bid farewell to Steve at Perranwell, then made our way back to Falmouth via Hangman Hill, St Enys Gardens, and Dracaena Avenue, gradually losing riders as they peeled off toward home.
Final Stats: 42 miles, 3,200 feet of climbing.

Verdict on Truro’s New Cycle Paths

Apart from a few busy sections on the main road (which were minimal), the overall feedback was positive—everyone enjoyed the experience of discovering and riding the new cycle routes! 😊