Tag: Lands End

The reliability of early motor bikes

In the early 1900s the Motor Cycling Club ran a reliability trial from London to Land’s End and sometimes back again. For example, in 1920 93 motor bikes and 60 sidecars were entered, with 33 ‘light cars’. Of the 195 entries, 117 made it safely to Land’s End, an overall reliability rate of 60 per … Continue reading The reliability of early motor bikes →

Cornish towns in 1698

Celia Fiennes journeyed through Cornwall on horseback in 1698. In her journal she provided brief accounts of some of the towns she saw. Having endured an hour-long crossing of the Tamar on the Cremyll ferry, she took the southern route to the west. She seems to have been most impressed, and a little scared, by … Continue reading Cornish towns in 1698 →