Actual Route Map

Here is the final route map, taken from the log on my GPS, showing how every one of those 2212.8 miles was covered. There was not too much variation this time from the original plan, but a few unpassable and closed roads forced me to alter it slightly. I managed to stay pretty much on schedule, apart from condensing the last 2 days into one. All in all, a succesful trip...

Home Again, Home Again!

2212.8 miles later, and here I am. Back where I started. The trip was a very different experience to last year's. Obviously the weather was a lot better, which was a plus for me. But it was more than that. Last year's trip was more about the achievement. Land's End to John O'Groats. This year's was more about taking time en route to enjoy the scenery and appreciate the beauty that Scotland has to offer. I tried to schedule each day in a way which would allow plenty of stops to take pictures. I must have been fairly successful in that respect, because I took 467 of them! Plus the ones on my phone!

The one thing that caught me by surprise slightly was how slow my progress was because of the roads I had chosen to travel on. I made good time on main roads, but the vast majority of the journey (particularly the first week) was all on very narrow, and often very poor quality roads. I was really off the beaten track for a lot of the time.

I was genuinely surprised at just how beautiful a lot of Scotland is. I knew it was good, but there were moments when the view literally took my breath away. I swear I have seen some of the most beautiful countryside on the face of the planet. If you were to ask my recommendations, I'd say the West coast from Kintyre north to Durness was the best scenery. Best individual road was probably the Bealach Na Ba into Applecross, and then North along the coast. That was truly stunning. Next best was the North Coast, and the whole stretch of coast can be done in a day's riding. Again, the views are stunning. The East coast was less exciting, although John O'Groats to Inverness was lovely. But south of Inverness it was pretty uninspiring. Not ugly, but definitely less amazing than the other coasts (probably in part because most of the roads don't stick that closely to the coast). After Leith, it opened out again into some lovely countryside in the Borders.

The slight downside of this trip compared to the last one is that the remote nature of it meant that I met fewer people, and spent more time alone. I felt more lonely than last time. Special mention has to go to Debbie, the compilation Queen! Your CD's kept me sane on the trip. Well, as sane as I managed to stay. Not sure if someone who shouts "Moo", "Neigh" and "Baa" every time he passes a farm animal can be described as "sane"! Not that I met nobody, and those people I met were in general interesting and memorable. I'll never forget Jeanette, the Embo Minister of Drink. And the people I met who lived in Penrhyndeudraeth (the next village from the one where we lived in Wales). Not to mention the perfectly timed biker gang who helped lift my bike! Or the biker who invited me into his house for a cup of tea. And the hotel owners around the country, who were all friendly faces at the end of a long day. So it's not that I met noone, but from leaving the hotel in the morning to arriving in the evening, I generally spent the day in my own company.

It's a trip I'm glad I did. It was beautiful, peaceful, calming and good for the soul. I'm really glad to be home, but it'll be weird for the first few days not waking up early and getting organised. The little ritual of packing everything in a set way in my panniers, the full breakfast, loading up and heading off. The long days with nothing to worry about other than the road in front of me and the petrol in my tank. It was only 10 days, but it was my world and my life for those 10 days. It takes a bit of time to get back into "normal" life. I came back feeling relaxed, rested and invigorated.

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without thanking all my friends who kept me going. As before, the messages on the blog and the text messages all helped keep me motivated. Thank you all for helping out, and for showing an interest. I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen. I certainly have.

Fin

And suddenly, there it is. The border. I was making such good time today that I decided to press on. So this will be my last on the road blog. I'll probably do a round-up post when I get home. I'll abandon the coast now and just pick up the fastest route home. It's an odd feeling when you complete one of these trips. Should be home in about an hour I'd guess. I can't wait. Much as I have loved doing this trip, I feel ready for home now...

North Berwick

I've made good progress today. Crossed the Tay and the Forth, and now I'm working my way Eastwards. This is the beach at North Berwick. Lovely little town.

Smokie Anyone?

That's Arbroath.

A Bit More Like It!

The route South of Aberdeen is proving better than that to the North! At least you can follow the coast quite closely as long as you get off those dull A roads and onto the single-trackers. The scenery is nowhere near as spectacular as the Highlands but it's still pretty.

Just as I was riding out of Aberdeen, waiting at traffic lights, I was accosted by a mad Scotsman! Yes, fabweld found me! A quick 3 sentence conversation, then the lights changed and I had to go. But I feel happier that I met up with my lucky charm! No trip would be complete...

Not Quite The View I've Become Used To

I've become quite used to waking up to views of castles and lochs and spectacular mountains. City views aren't quite the same. Sadly, fabweld had an emergency situation last night and had to go home just as I was about 2 minutes from the pub we were meeting in. It was beyond his control and totally understandable. So I wandered around Aberdeen for a bit, got something to eat and back to the hotel. City centres were not what the trip was about, so onwards and southwards!

The Granite City

Lol! Mr tba! That's me!

Not many blog entries today because there wasn't much to blog! Today alternated between some of the dullest countryside so far and some really tired looking, ugly towns populated by the most miserable people on God's green earth! Still, I made it to Aberdeen and will be meeting up with fabweld from the forum for a drink and some dinner. It'll be nice to see a familiar face.

People. Fasands of 'Em!

It's getting visibly more built up and populated now. Even the B roads are two lane roads here. Luxury. As you can see there is still decent scenery to find but there are a lot more towns and cars now. It feels like the trip is coming to an end.

How Are The Soup Supplies Looking Debbie?

Need me to pick up any supplies while I'm here?

Well Earned

That's a fine sight. A pint of Guinness at the end of the day. I'm in an hotel just outside Nairn where I am about to have home made steak, mushroom and ale pie with chips, washed down with the above Guinness. I've really enjoyed today. More than I thought I would. Mainly thanks to the lovely people of Embo. I didn't mention the biker who spoke to me just as I was about to set off from there who invited me into his house for a cup of tea. God I hope they get their hall.

As Shooting Star told me in his comment on my Embo post, their website is www.embo.org.uk if anyone wants to have a look...

What The Hell Is That?

Anyone know? It's on the Firth of Cromarty, it's got 'Galaxy II' painted on it, it has a helipad on it and it's bloody massive!

Me and the Minister of Drink: I mean Minister of Health and Wealth!

Wow. What a morning. I went to Embo just because I read about their village hall and school on the Internet when I was planning my route. I expected to go into a local shop, give some cash and leave. No. That doesn't happen. Instead, I rode around the whole village. I found the only shop. I went in and asked the man about the fund. He didn't know what I meant at first. Then he shouted back the only other customer who was just leaving. Turned out her mother was in charge of the fund. She took me to her mother's house where I was invited in. Two hours later I left having spent time learning all about the village and what they are trying to achieve.

Basically, they no longer have a focal point for the village, Jeanette explained. The old hall is now so run down that it is not fit to use. As a result, the community spirit is disappearing. There is no way for newcomers to get to know the other residents and the village has lost its heart. They want to build a new village hall to get this spirit back.

Now the fascinating part. In 1988 (this is a long running campaign), in order to gain some publicity for the campaign, the village wrote to the Queen, asking for permission to declare their independence for 24 hours. Believe it or not, the Queen gave her permission, and for a 24 hour period, the village of Embo was an independent state. The press got hold of it and it just ballooned. Lorraine Kelly came up and did a feature for GMTV and even foreign reporters turned up. Admittedly, the French ones turned up because they thought that Embo was declaring full and permanent independence! So the story took hold. A special Scotch was bottled by the local distillery to mark the occasion. Jeanette showed me one. Apparently they are worth quite a bit on Ebay now. They also had their own currency; the Cuddy! She was going to give me one but was unable to find any. Jeanette herself was appointed 'Minister of Drink' although she now prefers the title of 'Minister of Health and Wealth'! I've seen the plans for the community hall and they look great. They are applying for Lottery funding too, but have been turned down once before.

I have had the best morning from the most unexpected quarter. This is a great cause, and a great story. There is so much more to it than I would have expected. I wasn't looking forward to the last few days of the trip as I was thinking I had left the best behind. But this was a timely reminder that life is full of wonderful surprises if you just take the time to look for them.

If anyone feels moved to donate, please contact me. I have full details of how you can do it painlessly through online banking or phone banking.

The Home Stretch

It's all been feeling a bit civilised today. Main roads for the last 2 hours. I've just turned onto my first single track road of the day and, as you can see, the scenery isn't over yet. Embo next to see if I can find someone to donate to for the village hall and school building fund.

This is the view I have of John O'Groats tonight. After a day of pushing hard to get here, including a delay to help a farmer and his wife round up their cows and get them into a field they simply did not want to be in, I arrived at about 8 o'clock to be told there was no room at the inn. The hotel was full, so I'm in a B&B just outside the village.

Also, today is the closest I came to running out of petrol. 166 miles between petrol stations and I was lucky enough to find one that was still open at 7pm. Phew!

What A Welcome Sight!

That, people, is the North Coast of Scotland! I'm here! What a relief. I have to say though. It's bloody freezing up here! Still sunny, but blowing a gale and COLD! And there are people on the beach!

The View From Drumbeg

I've reached Drumbeg. Pretty spectacular view! You can definitely see the coastline changing now. It's looking more coastal rather than a series of inlets and lochs. It's also very rugged!

Wow

What can I say? Not a bad place to kip. No blog entry last night because there was no signal up at the lighthouse.

Yesterday was obviously my lucky day. I rode up to the lighthouse. Parked up. Decided to reposition the bike and promptly dropped it. Stupid. All the roads I've been riding on and I drop it then. Managed to get enough leverage so it was a slow descent with no damage. Tried to lift the bike but it kept slipping on the gravel every time the frame came up off the ground. Went to the lighthouse for help. They'd gone out, leaving the door open and a note for me telling me where my room was (yes really)! Was worried because I had just filled up and petrol was seeping out of the filler cap. What happened at that moment at the end of a remote road in the middle of nowhere? Four bikers arrived! 30 seconds later the bike was securely on its stand. Apparently the exact same thing had happened to them earlier.

So I got to sleep in the lighthouse. And it was great. I watched a beautiful sunset with the lighthouse in the foreground. Chickens running around, great walks to go on. Beautiful views. Great food. Lovely people. I could have stayed on. But I have set the ambitious target of John O'Groats today. Don't expect many blog entries! That's a lot of riding.

By the way, it's sunny again!

Oh My God, I'm Going Up That!

It's a 1 in 5 climb with hairpin bends the sign cheerily tells me...

Every bend has a view. I'm in serious danger of making no progress at all. It's so tempting to stop every few hundred metres! Views like this are everywhere.

Plockton

This is one of the planned stops that I ended up having to skip on my last trip. Managed to fit it in this time. I'm glad I did. Lovely little town.

Don't Be Scared Debbie...

Dolphins! Run for your life!

Fur Therapy

Wow. What a long and tiring day. I was planning to camp but every time I found a likely spot, the ground was boggy and I just didn't fancy that at all! So I stuck to plan A. Got in to Dornie just as it was getting dark. The last hour was spectacular. I hit Lochalsh and the mountains. Suddenly I was surrounded by massive mountains rising on all sides. Snow on the summits. The roads cutting through them, rising and falling. It's truly awe inspiring. This area is incredibly beautiful. And the roads are unbelievable! Two lanes! Two whole lanes!

The first picture is Eilean Donan Castle which is opposite the hotel I'm staying in. The second is the hotel dog who has licked me to death tonight. And I loved every second.

Perfect Place for a Spot of Lunch

I just rounded a bend and say this spot. Looked perfect so it seemed like a good place to eat. There is a cuckoo calling on the other side of the water! It feels really wild here. It's breathtaking. And hot! Wow! 2 days with no rain now. How long can this last?

And Here I Am Riding Through It!

I don't know if you can make it out in this picture, but that is snow on those mountains!

This Is Where I'm Going Next!

I'm just south of Fort William now. After Fort William I'll be riding through the scenery in this picture!

Otterly Incredible

How cool is this?

Oban

Well I'm sitting with a pint watching the advancing night across the bay. What a view! It's been a long day. After the highs of Kintyre, the last 3 hours felt like hard work. Not helped by having to turn back at one point because the road became a private road for access only. I'm not 100% convinced that somebody didn't just put that sign up to cut down on traffic passing his mansion!

I've realised today that my perspective on road quality has changed. I'm game for anything now. And there are roads which on day one I would have called 'rough' which I am now relieved to find! Basically anything which is 75% paved is an A road to me now! I also realised that I got it wrong earlier. Tomorrow is another tough day. The next day is the easier one. I may try to camp tomorrow if I can find a suitable spot. Not always easy on a bike. But I've carried this bloody tent for two trips now and I want to use it!

The Roads Less Travelled

Just a couple of extra images of the slightly more obscure places I've ended up. I'll quite happily head off down an unpaved road now where a few days ago I may have wimped out. And more often than not it turns out to be worth it.

Oh Mist Rolling In From... The Sea

More views of the Mull of Kintyre.

Mull of Kintyre

This whole area is beautiful. The coastline is really rugged and 'interesting'. And the silence is incredible. Just the gentle sound of waves and distant birdsong. Not a sound of the modern world. There can't be too many places in Britain left where that is the case.

A Room With A View!

Is this the best view from any hotel room in Britain?

More West Coast adventures today. North to Oban, with a lot of wiggly bits in between. It's another fairly tough side today but tomorrow is a slightly easier one to give of a chance to recover a bit! I now understand why John Wayne walked the way he did...

A Random Sample Of Images From Today

This should give you a rough idea of the scenery I've been looking at all day. Life is hard! It was even dry for most of the day, with just a few showers around midday.

I'm now in the Lochgair Hotel. I'd recommend it highly if you're ever in this area. The staff are really friendly, and the food is delicious! I'd recommend the vegetable pakora starter and the steak pie. Yum.

Loch Eck

I've just ridden through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life. Ever. The B828 from Rest and Be Thankful to Loch Eck is a one track but paved road with loads of passing places. The road twists with some steep gradients, but it cuts through a mountain pass. It was breathtaking. Nowhere to stop and take pictures sadly. You'll just have to get on your bikes and see it for yourselves!

This Should Cheer You Up Dave!

Faslane, and not a submarine in sight! You didn't miss out mate!