Wednesday 22 July 2015

Homeward bound - John

Started out from the Breadalbane Hotel in Wick...
Taxi to Wick airport with Heather and Bill - takes 5 minutes!
Sat with them for a couple of hours, enjoying coffee and snacks, after an incredibly painless and friendly check-in, no problems with the luggage.
A small plane, Dornier turboprop - proper flying! Very smooth...
A view of the coast we rode along yesterday.
Interesting route, shown by the iPhone GPS with Pocket Earth, also shows speed and height...
Flying right over our route up - pity I couldn't see under the plane and through the clouds.

Shot of the Forth bridges, old, new and rail, from the BA flight leaving Edinburgh. Been there!!
And another GPS screen shot from the BA flight - different category of aircraft, at 10000m and 700+kph...

Over the Lake District - too much cloud so no pictures :-(
Finally made it home about 19.00, Jen picked me up from the station after getting the bus from Heathrow. An easy day, and fascinating to watch the places we'd been during the last weeks zoom past on the GPS!

Monday 20 July 2015

LEJOG Outtakes

Top heckle (in a broad Mancunian accent), while stopped at lights at Wilbrahim Road and Barlow Moor Road on Chorlton:
"The bird in the yellow hat [Heather] is a Sharon Stone lookalike; I know what I'm talking about, I'm a Chelsea supporter!"

Injuries, previously undisclosed, in chronological order:
Bill:Northam:Minor fall-off, narrowly missing wall: grazed elbow and minor bruising
Heather:en route to Clevedon:misjudged kerb and fell off:grazed elbow & shoulder,major bruising and contusions on leg,and grateful to be wearing helmet


Ishbel:Stoke on Trent:glancing blow to canal bridge resulting in bucking bronco recovery from near plunge into canal:bruises to shoulder and inner right thigh; photo includes earlier Devonish horsefly bites
John:Worcester:misjudged lock ramp climb,fell into wall,narrowly missing dog:graze to arm,light bruising
Bill:Preston:ran into wooden post:cuts to side of knee
Rod:Aviemore:looked around to check companions' whereabouts, caught kerb and fell off:minor tweak to back

Tufty Club hair award goes to Ishbel.
Triple Mohican hair award goes to Bill.
Zebra Scalp Tan award goes to John.
Increasingly Interesting Fringe award goes to Heather.
Most Consistent Cornrows award goes to Rod.

BnB Assessment Categories:

  • Acreage and Fluffiness of towels
  • Shower
  • Cleanliness
  • Bed comfort 
  • Breakfast 
  • Space in room
  • Wifi function 
  • Friendliness of staff
  • Value for money
  • Quality of piano 
  • Quality of dressing gown
  • Quality of living room
  • Quality of Picasso

Best BnB: The Lint Mill in Carnwath. Runners up include: Catherine (Rena) Murray's in Thurso, Kindale in Helmsdale, Culloden Farmhouse in Camelford,Sunnybank in Sennen.

Special Mention for the staff at the Travelodge in Kidderminster and the Weston Park in Clevedon.

Best Bike Shop/Cafe Concept Award: The Velocity cafe and bike shop in Inverness, lovely venue, coffee, cakes and staff.

Song List:
There's Only One More Hill - to the tune of "Guantanamera"




Day 22 Thurso to Wick - Journey's End?

The view of Orkney from the BnB.
Mrs Catherine (Rena) Murray's wonderful establishment in Thurso.
Ready for the final push...
Looking back from the big climb out of Thurso - Bill's yacht parked in the harbour.
The whistful atmosphere of Castletown harbour, a place of former glories.
Heather takes a refreshing dip before the Famous Five get here!
Yet more interesting local residents, observing their neighbours.
We made it!
Lunch, coffee and the world's most ridiculous 4-slice sandwich at John O'Groats.
Great to see John's friend Mick, who came over from Orkney to meet us and made a very generous donation to our cause.
Last atmospheric view of the Caithness coastline en route to Wick, into the fierce headwind.
A toast to our success at the Norseman Hotel in Wick! An excellent dinner, especially the venison.
Total raised for our cause so far is over £4000 - a big thanks to all who contributed!

Where next?!












Sunday 19 July 2015

Day 21 Helmsdale to Thurso - Kildonan Gold Rush

Views around Helmsdale.
A great breakfast at the Kindal Guest House in Helmsdale, and Iona sees us off.
Hurray, not the A9! Venturing into the heart of the hills.
Maybe there is gold in them there hills... Kildonan gold panner at work.
And the views are golden!
We'd be lost in the Scottish mist, if there were more than one road...
Ish and Rod reclaim their land!
Our most unusual tearoom to date - the Station Cottage in Forsinard, and it stopped raining too!
Couldn't find a sign on entry, so here are our exit visas...
Little and Large get to Caithness!
The sea! A lovely beach...
At Dounreay's decommissioned nuclear power station.
Strange goings-on near Dounreay.
The Pentland Hotel's magnificent carvery in Thurso provides a fitting end to yet another another great day! Tomorrow is The Big Day... Only one more. Boo.
















Saturday 18 July 2015

Day 20 Alness to Helmsdale - Gone With The Wind

Lovely stay at Martin and Janet's Morven Guesthouse in Alness. In yet another coincidence, Janet lived in Hayling Island, her two daughters still do, one of whom is getting married at St Mary's Church the day before Heather and Bill!
Ready to go... 
An unexpectedly picturesque comfort break at the Rose Garden in Tain...
Romeo, wherefore art thou!
We're going the right way!! Hurrah! And we're going with the wind!
Crossing the Dornach Firth, against a dramatic sky.
Speculation on the interesting feature included salmon catching...
At one of only three shops in Scotland for Alzheimer Scotland, founded and run successfully by Brenda for the last fourteen years. 
Following Brenda's recommendation, a great lunch at Poppy's in Golspie, well-timed to miss the downpour!
Met Sue and Amelia in Poppy's, en route to Land's End, only 900+ miles to go against a headwind. Keep it up ladies!
Stunning scenery and beaches on North Sea coast, seen from the A9.
Iona joins mum and dad in Helmsdale for dinner and a sleepover - welcome Iona!
Dining well at the Thyme and Plaice, still in Helmsdale. Yet another great day, sadly not many more to go.