Day 22 - We Made It!

We've arrived at John O' Groats!


Fuelled by landlady Maggie's porridge, we made an early start to tackle the Berriedale Braes before the A9 got busy.  The excitement of being "nearly there" made the 747 ft climb seem easy.  The subsequent downhill run was even easier, hitting our Lejog record speed of 34 miles per hour before remembering the brakes! Keen to get there, we had a brief tea stop before leaving the A99 at Lybster and taking a lovely quiet single-track road to Watten.  For the first time in Scotland, the wind was with us and we coasted along at 20mph on the flat, stopping for a quick sandwich before pressing on.


We arrived at John O' Groats to be cheered by a man we'd met on the road a few days ago, and the welcome sight of Martin who had the champagne waiting on ice.

After the necessary photographs we relaxed with the bubbly and watched other Lejoggers arriving before getting our taxi to Inverness where we were staying before our Sunday evening flight home.

A huge thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way, the messages of encouragement, the donations, blog edits, accommodation and meals, luggage transportation and company all made a real difference, and we were very touched by your help and generosity.

Many thanks to all of you,
Amanda, Louise, Fiona and Steve

Planned miles: 53.5
Actual miles: 54.0
Total planned miles: 1061.3
Total miles: 1065.4
Punctures: 0
Total punctures: 0!!!

Wine of the day: Laithwaites Champagne (magnum!)
Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 28% (The helmet has now been humanely destroyed in the interests of public safety)

Day 21 - A Free Ride ...

After a night in the best B&B of the trip so far (Fiona was ecstatic it was a bungalow), we waved goodbye to Martin - and our bags!

Hitting the very, very flat road we were pleased to discover our average speed was in excess of 18mph. A great start to a day that was going to see us covering over 69 miles. Uncle Phil described the terrain as "invigoratingly comfortable" and it certainly was; we covered over 20 miles before we stopped for our morning coffee and cake in Cromarty. We were particularly excited to see our first John O'Groats road sign since Land's End.


Then disaster struck. The Nigg Ferry wasn't running. To return to the bridge and use the alternative A9 route would add an extra 40 miles to our day.

Louise called the ferry company. We could tell by the reaction on her face that it wasn't good news. The ferry wasn't running as they didn't currently have a boat. Fiona was livid they hadn't updated their website as she'd checked it the previous night. (They've updated it following our complaint!) Needless to say there were a few expletives.

What do we do? Well that's easy; get the girls to smile sweetly at the local fisherman and hitch a ride. They were very obliging but explained they'd only just fixed the engine and it may conk out.


"Not to worry" said Louise and Amanda. "If you have oars we don't mind rowing." Not sure they believed us but they agreed to give us a lift! Only two people (plus their bikes) would fit on the boat. Louise and Amanda went first, then Steve and Fiona.


We tried to give our saviours, Eddie and Colin, a thank you but they refused. So we'll donate the money to Sue Ryder.

One thing we've really noticed here in Scotland is how wonderfully helpful and friendly everyone is. If you ever see someone in need, please give them a helping hand; you'll make their day and they will remember it for a long time.

We were on our way again - Amanda and Steve stopping to watch the seals before we hit the "dreaded" A9.

It was heads down to Helmsdale - arriving at our B&B by 6pm - not bad considering.


On to John O'Groats tomorrow...

Oh and never give a boy an iPhone when your conversation's not scintillating!!


Planned miles: 69.1
Actual miles: 69.5
Total miles: 1011.4 (yay!)
Punctures: 0

Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 36% (remnants from yesterday, mainly)
Beer of the day: Orkney Ale
Sore Bottoms: Lots!!

Day 20 - Lots of Lochs and Locks

Today we woke up to a picture-perfect Scotland; the sun was shining, the sky was blue and there was only a light wind to keep us cool.

We've been very consistent over the last 3 weeks; breakfast at 8am, then leaving promptly at 9am. We were rather special this morning, however - managing to faff for ages before we finally left Fort William an hour late!

Our route today took us along the famous Great Glen. The cycling proper started on the Caledonian canal uphill alongside "Neptune's Steps".


At the end of the canal we headed up onto a forest track which gave us fantastic views of the top of Ben Nevis near which Martin was mountain biking (still snow-capped in July - clear sightings of which are nearly as rare as those of Brigadoon).


Lunch at Invergarry was excellent; the best food we've had on the entire trip. Special mentions go to the "Haggis with bashit neeps and tatties" and the haddock chowder.


After lunch we sadly had to break away from the scenic stuff and use our "beloved" A82 - with nearly as many trucks and buses as yesterday.

The reward for surviving this road was an intermittent view of Loch Ness. No monster was sighted. However we did spot afternoon tea, coffee and cake at Drumnadrochit. The owner of the Drum Farm Cafe also donated to our charity fund - thanks!

The hill up to Beauly was described by Uncle Phil as "punchy but relatively short". We conclude that punchy is not a good thing, especially when the hill is 3/4 of a mile long. Louise pedalled all the way up but was still beaten to the top by a walking Fiona.

Our bed for the night is in the delightfully-named Muir Of Ord, which we're looking forward to after a lovely dinner.

Planned miles: 66.1
Actual miles: 68.2
Total miles: 941.9
Punctures: 0

Monsters spotted: 0
Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 94% (punchy hill=excessive heat!)
Beer of the day: Belhaven Best (again, sorry)

Day 19 - We Fort The Elements

We awoke to an early alarm and a packed breakfast, having to catch the first ferry from Tobermory at 7:20am. Luckily the slipway was only 100 feet from our guest house so we couldn't get lost.

Having spent the last few days on the Inner Hebrides (i.e. Mull), our ferry back to the mainland docked at Kilchoan. The girls were delighted to see that there was a proper toilet block at this small port but, then totally distraught to find it was locked; it was a relief when a lady (with toilet roll) turned up to unlock them only 2 minutes later.

The next hour's cycling was a serious challenge as the strong headwind practically blew us backwards if we stopped pedalling for a second. After 20 minutes we had only covered a couple of miles and had begun to despair.

Our first disaster occurred as Louise broke a spoke. But not to worry; this is Scotland and her ageing knight in a shining Land Rover appeared with a pair of wire cutters.

Scots wildlife was in good evidence:
Steve had a near miss with a red deer stag (beautiful antlers, squire). Fiona and Steve saw a Golden Eagle silhouetted against the sky. Amanda saw a Buzzard at the same time (and in the same place). The nice people at the wildlife centre told us it "might have been an eagle...but it was probably a buzzard" which is good enough for us. They also opened their cafe an hour early for us, so big thanks are due! (These were the ladies that passed us earlier when we were having the spoke issues. I think they were expecting us!)

The wind abated awhile and we made good progress to Strontian where our packed lunch was enjoyed on a dry bench under a tree.

Heading on to the second ferry of the day (across Loch Linnhe) the wind and rain both tested us but we prevailed.

The joys of the A82 were more troublesome; logging lorries which gave cyclists little room but smelt pine fresh as they overtook us. (Quite a contrast from the earlier A-roads this morning which were single-track-with-passing-places..!)

The busy road ensured we reached Fort William in good time. Having dumped the bags at the B&B, Louise headed to the bike shop to get her spoke fixed while Fiona, Amanda & Steve headed into town and found a chap who'd been waiting some time for a bus.


We ate at the top of Ben Nevis - the pub, not the mountain - and we're cheered to hear that we now have over £1000 in online donations! Thanks to all who have given so generously.

Planned miles: 51.4
Actual miles: 52
Total miles: 873.7
Punctures: 0

Amount spent in bike shop: £44.63
Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 42%
Beer of the day: Caledonian Brewery Deuchars (even though you can get it in Reading)

Day 18 - What's the story in Tobermory?

After a rather-too-early-for-a-rest-day breakfast at our guest house, Louise and Martin set off to explore the island, leaving Amanda, Steve and Fiona with the dirty washing. The laundrette was busy because of the sailing club, who seemed unable to get their heads round the fact that you can wash more than two pairs of knickers at a time.

After the washing Amanda, Steve and Fiona went looking for lunch but got caught when a downpour began - they ended up in the pub drinking the BOTD before eating lunch for a nice change. Unfortunately the rain continued to fall for several pints...

When the sun came out again the three of them staggered off on a nice walk doing a multi-part Tobermory geocache.

Steve got a bit romantic (must have been the beer) and bought Amanda a bargain-priced pair of earrings.

Meanwhile, Louise and Martin spent a lovely sunny day cruising between the Isles of Staffa and Iona. The uninhabited Isle of Staffa has immense hexagonal basalt pillars which loom out of the sea to form a series of cathedralesque caverns,one of which, Fingal's Cave they visited via a precarious traverse from the jetty along basalt stepping stones while holding on to a rope handrail just above the waters edge!

On the tiny Isle of Iona where the famous Book of Kells was written, they went for a walk around the coast passing coves of beautiful beaches and turquoise waters, and visiting ancient sites.

The highlights of the return journey back to Mull for Louise and Martin were seeing seal pups and a basking shark that swam within a few feet of the boat.

We're now all enjoying a tasty meal in Cafe Fish - ready for an early night and a very early start tomorrow morning.


Planned miles: 0.0
Actual miles: 1.5 (clambered while geocaching)

Geocaches: 1
Beer of the day: Mishnish Ale