Camel route

FOR a holiday treat I hit the Camel Trail - but I was the one putting in the legwork and not a humped mammal. The Camel in question is a river in North Cornwall and the trailing is done by bicycle along a disused railway line that runs beside it.

About 350,000 people cycle the trail every year, making it the county's third most popular tourist attraction and most pedalled bike ride in Britain.

The original railway line carried thousands of holiday-makers on the grandly named Atlantic Coast Express until the line's closure in 1969. Perhaps the most famous of these travellers was Poet Laureate John Betjeman, for whom the railway, the river and the estuary were a great source of inspiration.

He is buried at St Enodoc Church at nearby Polzeath. From Wadebridge the line extends nearly 11 miles inland past Bodmin as far as Poley's Bridge.

A favourite excursion used to be to public executions at Bodmin jail which could be seen without leaving the train. In 1840 one hanging attracted 1,100 passengers keen to enjoy the spectacle. The destination of my wife, daughter and I was in the opposite direction and all together more genteel - the seaside at Padstow.

First, however, we needed our transport. We hired a couple of hybrid bikes and a trailer complete with plenty of cushions to prop up its passenger.

Manoeuvring my newly-articulated bike as gingerly as a first-time HGV driver, I moved off with the flag on the back of the trailer fluttering like a Blue Peter.

Initially, I felt so conspicuous I could have done with a flag carried ahead on foot of the type that used to benefit those early motorists. The trailer slowed me down but, I assumed, would be the most enjoyable way for Polly to travel.

Only sedan chair carriers are more willing to toil in the interests of another's comfort. Initially, she wasn't appreciative of my efforts - the merest bump in the generally flat surface being more than madam could manage - but Polly soon settled down to enjoy the ride. It's not a long one - a mere five gentle, flat miles alongside the estuary.

Often such coastal features are scarred by industry and no more appealing than a large amount of mud can be. At high tide, however, the Camel estuary is a glorious expanse of sand whose goldenness meets the occasional blue of the sea that's been left behind.

Thomas the Tank Engine and his chums could have had all sorts of maritime adventures hereabouts.

The trail begins in a cutting and passes under a bridge but soon opens up to give uninterrupted, foxglove-fringed views towards the northern side of estuary. The most notable feature is a rusty, old, three-span iron bridge that looks like a Second World War relic. As we crossed, the sun broke through lattice-work of iron girders creating a strobe-like effect. Already Padstow had come into view. Soon we had arrived and were sitting on the harbour wall enjoying an ice cream while the smell of fish and chips filled our nostrils and the gulls cried above.

A short walk took us through a sloping field of daisies up to the war memorial at St Saviour's Point. Resting before cycling back the way we came, we watched the Padstow-Rock ferry negotiate its chugging course past the sandbanks that could now be seen to extend as far to the west as the east. This is certainly not an area to come for a swim - unless you enjoy a long walk beforehand and, no doubt, a wicked current once immersed.

The iron bridge now looked so far from the sea it was hard to imagine the water ever reaching it again and the people on Daymer Bay looked like lonely desert travellers. All that sand - but only one Camel.

Fact file

Bike hire: From Bridge Bike Hire, Wadebridge (tel 01208 813050) and also at www.cornwall-online.co.uk/bridgebikehire. Adult bikes from £7, children's from £4-6 and trailer £6.

PICTURE: Bike, trailer and sturdy calves... and you are all set to hit the Camel Trail in picturesque North Cornwall