Dates for the 1993 junior tour to the Cornish Coast were chosen to coincide with school holidays in Devon, but unfortunately children in most other parts of the country had to return to school much earlier. The result was that we only received applications from two London boys, Clyde Fare and Jordan Walfall. We decided to go ahead with a shortened version of the tour. With Michael and Neil our group size reached the impressive total of four.

We took a train to Camborne and then followed the coastal road through the seaside villages of Portreath and Porthtowan. After some tough hill climbing we finally reached Perranporth hostel, situated on a cliff overlooking the enormous beach, in good time for supper.

Clyde had brought a large assortment of fresh fruit with him, some of which had not travelled too well. The rest of us insisted that he consumed the bananas for supper, before they became inedible: judging by the way he forced them down it was clear he felt they had already reached that unhappy state!

We spent the hours of dusk roaming the beach and sand dunes. By the end of the evening we had concluded that it's not terribly sensible to run around sand dunes in the semi-darkness when there are low wires strung across at random locations.

First stop today was the World in Miniature at Goonhavern, an interesting collection of man-sized models of the world's famous buildings and artefacts. Our planned pedal-boat session at Newquay could not take place because the boats hadn't been brought in yet for the new season. The cafe which overlooked the lake made a good lunch spot, however, and offered the youngsters an opportunity to make friends with the resident ducks.

We got some very unwelcome rain during the second half of the day. A short shower forced us to take shelter in the cafe near Bedruthan steps, but later, when we tried to explore the steps themselves (still closed after storm damage four years ago) we were caught in a torrential downpour that had us soaked in a matter of minutes. There comes a point when it is better to press on to the hostel than seek shelter, and this seemed to be such a moment. The thought of a warm dormitory spurred us on.

It was still raining when we arrived. The warden greeted us with a happy smile and directed us to the annex, a cold, spartan dormitory block across the yard from the main hostel. We felt sorry for ourselves until we discovered the hot shower. After supper we settled down in the warm common room near the open fire for a grand game of Monopoly, and finished the evening feeling that it was probably quite a good hostel after all.

The beach at Treyarnon is secluded and very pleasant. We were entertained this morning by a dog that liked to jump into an ice-cold saltwater pool and swim around frantically, barking in agony!

Next stop was the picturesque fishing village of Padstow, where we enjoyed refreshments in the harbour area before setting off along the cycle path to Wadebridge. The path is a converted railway line and attracts a large number of people on bikes thanks to the cycle hire shops at either end. The path runs to about five miles, so we stopped half-way along for lunch.

The afternoon delights included the donkey sanctuary near St Kew, the slate quarry and wind farm at Delabole and the steep climb to Tintagel. The weather was perfect as we descended the rough track to the hostel, situated spectacularly on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.

The climb to Davidstow Moor was arduous in the sweltering heat. We felt we had earned lunch when we reached the top, and were entertained by Micro Lites as we tucked into our sandwiches. The route to Altarnun was relatively easy and took us through some attractive lanes lined with spring flowers. The A30 across Bodmin Moor was not particularly enjoyable, so we were pleased to reach the Jamaica Inn where welcome refreshments were available.

The final leg of the journey, following the River Fowey downstream to St Cleer and Liskeard, was easy going and particularly enjoyable. We cleaned out the reduced Easter eggs from Liskeard and finished the interviews for the video on the station platform before boarding our train for home. Highlights of the video will be shown in one of our winter socials.

The tour had been blessed with good weather for the most part, and two well behaved, responsible youngsters. The tour was the first to have fewer than eight participants, and was also the first on which Michael was able to relax!