John O'Groats

There are two things I need to explain to non cycle tourers first.

1) There are just two kinds of wind, my friends, The wind against you and the wind you don't notice.

2) There are quiet roads and there are flat roads, but there are no quiet flat roads in the UK.

We decided to visit the iconic location at John O'Groats as it was a mere 20 odd miles east along the coast.  John O'Groats fame comes from being one of the two furthest locations you can get to by road in the UK.  The other is Lands End on the South West coast some 860 odd miles by the shortest route. This has become an iconic journey for many people, and while not the longest in the world has it's place in the nations psych.

It has also been described as 'Not the most scenic spot in Britain', a statement that in itself was described as 'Classic British understatement'  :)

When we saw the weather forecast we were sure the wind was for 7 mph easterly, not  a problem.  When we left, into wind it felt more like 17 mph.  We made our way forward with some determination, following the approved quiet route.  This almost turned out to be our undoing. 

We crossed the river Thurso and turned left to connect with the route.  As soon as we took the first right turn we were into wind with a long hill in front of us.  Struggle as we might we slowly worked our way down to the lowest gears but to no avail.  The hill in front just kept on rising.  Within a mile of leaving we were already of the bikes and pushing up the rest of the hill, but hoping for a nice bit of downhill coasting.  This route though was never going to give it up and as we went on it seemed to be one hill after another complete with a never ending headwind.  

On the way we pulled off for a quick break in Castletown, down at the harbour.  There is something of a resurgence in attracting tourists to the area and many boards with information are placed around the small harbour.  Over the North side of the bay can be seen Dunnet head which is the true most Northern piece of the British mainland

After a stop for tea & banana we were soon back into the fight.  It was 18 miles before we had the first glimmer of hope, not a flat plain in front of us but an island just of the coast to our left.  This we recognised as the Island of Stroma, and we started scanning across to the coast looking for our target.    We saw a likely settlement but when we got there we realised we had miss-identified it and had another 2 miles to go.

(Isles of Stoma)

By the time we arrived at John O'Groats we felt very fractured and took time out to chill.  It had taken considerably more energy and we had only managed some 5 mph, having taken 4 hours to complete that leg.

We collected our thoughts and settled for some cake and refreshments before realising we had all but emptied our water bottles.  This we ended up having to pay for as the area is regenerated into another touristville.

 

Having refreshed ourselves we opted to have photos done at the Iconic sign post.  This was not inexpensive but we thought it would be worth it.  Unfortunately the internet does not seem to have found its way to the photo booth so will have to wait for a joint photo by snail mail.  To beat this we took our own of each other; when the offiicial one finally arrives we will share that one.

And the we stood in front of another tourist trap to do our own joint photo..

By now time had marched on and we realised we needed to start back very soon.  It was nearly 3 o'clock and given the morning escapade we still had to get dinner sorted.  Richard was not overly worried as the wind would now be behind us, but elected to use the normal road in the belief this would be more expedient.  That did not mean there would be no hills, just a faster, straighter way back to Thurso.

Although there were still hills to do, and some seemed just as long the gradients were far more gentle and progress was good.  Richard stopped to look at a graveyard from afar, now listed as 'Historic Churches' these seemed to be every few miles.  The graveyard filled with some magnificent art work of memorials.

Most impressive though was the standard of driving.  All but 5 of the many vehicles that past gave over 4 feet clearance, often having the nearside wheel touch the centreline of the road.  The journey back proved to be rapid, taking only three and half hour, when compared to the outward leg.

Quick shower first, feeling grimy, and then cups of tea before heading out for a great meal of lamb steaks & veg.  nom, nom, nom...