I have terrible internet so may not add anymore for a while but I can tell you that this day was right up there with the best on this tour. This place is amazing and I know I go on about it but it is true. I just wanted to stop every couple of minutes to take a photo as we came to the finish, way better than my expectations.
In the photo this is a place 3 or so Km further on for John O groats, amazing eh.
All day was good.
Weather perfect, Can see island's offshore as clear as a bell.
We completed 1855km of such lovely countryside in generally good weather that got better as the tour progress. A little rain but not a problem and was cool for most of the time but not freezing. Best temps were the last to days ironically at the top of Scotland !
Average ride per day was 81km so not a lot, and average ascent was 923 per day which was more than I expected, but on an electric bike so so so much easier. I am not sure how I will be able to ride my own bike now.
What a trip. Britian is so beautiful and I so grateful that I have been able to do this. Thank you Lee -Anne-Anne. for allowing me to do this.
Need to shower now and see what I can do with downloading my photos .
Apologies in advance if I can't post more photos for a day or too. I have taxi booked for 6:30 am in morning to get me down to Wick and catch a train to met Lee -Anne at lunch time in Dingwall.
And at around 4 pm we get a train to Inverness for tomorrow tonight after 3 or 4 hrs in Dingwall looking where my grans family came from. Talking to Marion this morning I think she said Grans family left Scotland in 1861 ?, which was earlier than I thought..
I understand flooding is occurring in Gisborne today with high winds as well.
Oh I dearly hope all OK. Thinking of you all. Take care everyone.
Added to this by post script Wednesday morning.
But first :I had message yesterday about the loss of three people from home in terrible sea conditions. I read more this morning. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those lost at sea. We are a small community and that loss is a huge tragedy. I am so sorry for your loss.
I am now adding a few pictures in morning before racing to taxi and then train station.
We will start at the end and then go back to the beginning
These are stats for the day, map of what we did and elevations (see green lumps in elevation map today-in screen shot below)
Information below is produced from my spot that I carry indicating where I am every 5 minutes. What you can see is a bit of a trail beyond lands end in this screen shoot is that after appropriate pictures at lands end, Nick and I ventured on a few kilometres from the most northerly part of Uk, to the most westerly point. If you look closely you can just see a little green after the current position at the finish. It's a spot called Duncansby head. This is where the photo that heads this page is taken,
Amazing place and so beautiful and with those familiar with the apostles on Victorias (below Melbourne) Ocean Road, you may see a similarity.
It certainly is a contrast to John O groats views, which are also speculatour as you will see latter but way different as well .
This is the harbour-a Tiny Harbour at John O Groats, but in the distance but actually much larger to the naked eye, are the Orkney islands.
These islands were actually really close and beautiful.
It was a warm sunny day as we cruised along the coast road with our jaws wide open. We were dumbstruck with the beauty
This the first glimpse, I think? of the sea on our final days journey. Nice beach eh, what a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. It just got better and better as we progressed during the day
I will go back and try and put the photos in order and give you the run down.
But it has been a great day.
I didn't want it to end.
Glad I did stop to take photos and as I said should have taken way more. iI was a day of real contrasts in landscape.
Involving scenery like the alpine stuff that we had over the last two days as we moved inland at times to go past various coastal bays and as you can see from the map with the stats screenshot,
the most lumpy bits of elevation climbs were where we back tracked over the various hills around various bays and coastal areas.
The day started cool and became more open farming country as we moved further westward and particularly for the last 40 km of the 100 km day.
Daily briefing at our lovely accommodation. I had a great double room at the top of the hotel. lovely hosts.
Qwen doing a briefing for our final leg-turned out to be just over 100km as I did a little extra at the end
Not sure if I fitted this into the right time slot but it was along the way today 😀. I didn't take this photo as we share photos at the each of the day using what's app. Its software I don't use much but is internet based for messaging and phone calls.
Beaches.
Below is in one of the stretches back into the hills, more like the alpine scenery of the last few days. Again my photos don't do it justice.
I loved the flowers. This was heather I think, In sheltered spots it grows so well and nice when it flowers
Another wind farm 😀,
Scotland exports a lot of electricity back to the National UK grid
Big cliffs and a sandy beach obscured where we stopped a a cafe for morning tea.
A nuclear Test facility.
This was built at end of war and was put on the top of Scotland. Far away from anywhere if things went wrong ?
Dounreay Nuclear plant is apparently now in a state of decommissioning. Was a 3 reactor power generation plant
We were on our way to lunch down by the port.
At the port and photos from all directions. reminded me of Bluff.
The North Sea and across to a ferry and terminal that takes people further north and also presumably across to Europe and places in the west and north. Open to the North Sea.
Where we had lunch
The finish in the distance.These photos do it not justice at all. was beautiful and warm as well.
A tick came out of a hole in my knee and I confirmed with Gwen what it was. This occurred two days back yesterday.
Saw a black dot on the inside of my left knee, rubbed it off and out climbed this tick.
Was quite disconcerting.
It looked like a small spider/crab. I have been watching it and don't think is infected thank my lucky stars. Probably from sheep helping espiosde on a farm some time back now, as the days past so quick.
Jaw droppingly beautiful and oh perfect weather. We tinned it
More farming and animals than we have seen for some day.
This is more like I expected the place to be, similar to Lands end with buildings like this, but is generally was so much better than this.
Gathering for the photos around the landmark sign
and that us in a pose.
Let me tell you about our team.
From the left. Andy Bevan-Top man and that understating it. Andy and his wife Gwen on the far right were our official guides and soon became our friends. They are superb people, have had previous careers and now are retired but this guiding life is their third career. both were Homicide detectives for 20 years in their last jobs. Andy in a very senior possible leading a team of about 300, so a big role.
He is welsh and Gwen is a Scot. We were so grateful that they were our guides. They are honestly the most customer forced team I ever encountered. They went way beyond what we ever expected and constantly were thinking of us. Just amazing and also very professional. I could just go on and on they were so good.
next to Andy I Nick Foreman, Nick was my buddy in crime. He is a retired Physics teacher over over 25 yrs and prior to that as a mountaineer and climbing and research and ski guide. He was our McGivor when ever we needed something fixed. he was also our tour commentator as he studied history and living n Scotland was able to tell us so much of the history as we traveled along. Nick lead me astray on a couple of occasions to see trails that lead along some more difficult territory. Now a strident Scot supporter but was born and raised in England.
Me in the red jacket.
On my Sid eof the pole is Dorothy Cox. Dorothy is turning 70 very soon and this was part of her motivation for doing this trip. Dorothy had a civil service background in the ministry of Defence, generally based around London and at ministerial level. Loved talking thru, in a general way, as she was discrete, about events she was involved with, which occurred at the time Lee -Anne and I were in UK. She did very well and thru the highlands lead the pack as she found her Rhythm. lovely lady and a good friend now.
in the yellow top is Caroline Bonnie. Caroline was nervous at the start as this tour was something very new for her. She did so so well and gained in confidence as the tour progressed. Caroline worked in some interesting jobs including for. record company and for the national Lawn Tennis federation., I hope I have this right . they organise Wimbledon and stuff like that. Her bike didn't have the battery storage that ours had, so had a bit of range anxiety at times but always had something left at the end. Once only 1 % power. She displayed great word skills when it came to a reference we did for Andy and Gwen for which I was so grateful. Her daughter had a nasty head injury approx 18 months ago and was lovely to se her at the start with her husband both supporting her..
In the orange tops beside Caroline is Suzanne and Crawford Duncan. My fellow kiwis. we were all in the orange tops of Ground effect, a New Zealand cylce gear manufacturer. Suzanne worked in the IT side of the Health department and obviously had a pressure job during the pandemic. I loved them both. Suzanne looked after me when my lips cracked up yet again with a lip cream which I really appreciated an both kindly got up early to see me off this morning before my Taxi came at 6:30 am. Their daughter did a really cute thing and gave them cards to not to be opened until they were half way thru and then at the end of tour. They both were in Uk at the same time period we were in the early 18980's. They were I think 5 years here, so were had some similar recollections. they went on cycling holidays whilst here in both UK and Europe. they live now in raumati on the Kapiti coast and did live for most of their married life in Wellington. Crawford is in a cycling group out of Wellington and had done some of his own tours in nZ which we shared stories of. He did these with Suzanne as his support crew and in holidays. He is really Stoic character and had a fall at the end of the second and third day that I think probably broke a rib but he recovered and didn't mention it and know he had massive bruising. Made of tough stuff. Quietly spoken he was a character and had a special desert most nights that we all made fun of. Both really likeable and enjoyed their company.
Lastly Gwen Bevan on the far right. I really strong lady and very athletic. At times she picked up bikes and carried them easily it seemed for others over rocks and up and down upstairs stairs on the trails . No trouble for Gwen. She also took our bags and delivered them to our rooms again often in far away high rooms. Much appreciated. They operate so well together and a very much a team. In her own right was an interviewing specialist as a detective. You can only imagine the cases they both have been involved with. Both don't look their ages and are keen to make everyone's experiences the best they can be.
All up we were team and all helped each other and was really nice to enjoy each others company for over three weeks.
Below are photos of Andy and Gwen both together at the finish. Dopey Lyall missed getting the whole sign in which maybe being tired, dopey or just not a good photographer, you pick !😀
See the arrow down to Bluff. thru the centre of earth. Half a world away.
Riding out all together in a staged photo. I called it the Bonanza photo and started humming the theme song.
As highlighted in the opening photo of this blog, this is just past Lands end and is the most easterly part of Uk facing Europe.
Nick had been here before and knew I would enjoy and boy did I.
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Oh Nick how I love this(not). Nick has been encouraging me to drink a famous Scottish soft drink. Ion Bru- He bought one for me on the final night,
In the morning and not even dark. Such is living at 58 degrees north. This was I think about 3 am in the morning. Was actually far lightly than this photo shows. That's the Island in the photo is really close and the orkneys are behind that.
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