TEN DAYS IN MAY

The account of my cycle ride from Lands End to John O Groats

MAY 2008

The ride took me ten days and I carried all my own stuff which was really just a change of clothes for the evening, something to get washed with, a toothbrush and a towel. I also took a pair of shoes to wear on an evening rather than clip clopping about in cycling shoes. Although this doesn't seem much it all adds up increasing the weight of the bike considerably. Fortunately I stopped for two nights at relatives so my cycling kit could be washed. Also I didn't get any rain on the ride so things stayed relatively clean. I did have some wet weather cycling kit as well that took up space and added to the load. But as you can see from the photos everything packed into a couple of small bags.

DAY ONE

I set off from lands end at about 9:00 on the 18 May into a head wind from the north east and also in the rain, the sign post at lands end doesn't get put out until 10:00 so I couldn't get a picture at that end. I stayed at a bed and breakfast at Sennan or rather a sofa bed and breakfast and as the owner was suffering from a bad hangover the breakfast was slow and not very breakfast, normally his wife does it but she was in a worse state than him and didn't even get out of bed. So with little sleep and not much breakfast but £25 worse off I set off in the rain. The rain stopped after about an hour and stayed away for the rest of the trip.

As I set off there was a time trial being ran along the A30 from Penzance so the whiz of aero wheels and the site of hunched figures disappearing in front of me every minute or so made me feel very slow. ‘They are only going a couple of miles’ I thought ‘whereas I have a long way to go’ so I resisted the urge to try to keep up.

I decided to follow as close as I could the A30 in Cornwall as it is the most direct route along the peninsular. I picked up the old A30, which still exists and is traffic free, just outside Redruth. Cornwall is very hilly with lots of steep little banks so by the time I got to Bodmin I took the shortest route along the new A30 over Bodmin moor to my first stop at Launceston. I was only on the main road for about six miles but it was very busy and very fast so was glad to get back to the minor roads and the steep banks again on the lanes leading to Launceston. As it was Sunday night I struggled to get somewhere that served food but managed to get a curry and chips in a pub full of local youth who seemed to enjoy running around slamming doors as they went - well I suppose if there's nothing on the telly.

DAY TWO

The next day I set off to Cheddar and despite being told not to go via Crediton and Tiverton due the hilly terrain I found myself in a low gear struggling up a couple of long steep hills on the road between Crediton and Tiverton the only compensation was catching another cyclist on one of the banks. But he soon left me on the descent.

By now I was tired so decided to follow the canal path to Taunton, a bad mistake as the path is poor for cycling and you have to get off every few hundred yards to negotiate the narrow path at bridges over. So I rejoined the roads only to encounter more steep hills to get back to my original route at Bridgewater. From here it was very flat and I was able to enjoy the country lanes and occasional pub of the Somerset levels.
I stayed the night at the Arundel hotel in Cheddar, which was very good -Local beer and organic food including homemade pear ice cream mmm!

DAY THREE

From Cheddar I climbed over the Mendips and followed the road to Clevedon and then the Avon cycle way over the Avon mouth M5 road bridge and along to the Severn road bridge which I crossed into Wales.
I travelled along the Wye Valley and into Herefordshire taking minor roads through the hills to Leominster. This was a very good day as the roads were quiet and not so hilly passing through some pleasant countryside I also made good time arriving in time for a pint before the hostel opened. I had a good tea a pub and a few pints.
I took some photos but when I came to look at them the next day they were all a bit blurred. Still Leominster is a nice market town with lots of old buildings. At the hostel there were some other blokes cycling but only local they were stopping at the hostel simply because it was three nights for the price of two, but as it was self catering only and shared rooms I was glad to get out after one night.

DAY FOUR

I had breakfast at a Roy’s a greasy spoon and set off through Ledbury and Church Stretton to Shrewsbury before joining some A roads on the way to Manchester. I went Via Tatton Park at Knutsford and stopped at the penny-farthing museum for a cream tea. I feasted on spag bol at my sister in laws in Altrincham and watched the Euro cup final with my 9-year-old nephew who was allowed to stop up for the penalties.

DAY FIVE

The next day I had planned to take a route over the Bowland fells but by the time I had got around Manchester I was practically at Preston and on the A6 which didn't have much traffic so decided to follow this all the way to Penrith. This included the climb of Shap fell; I clocked this as ten miles of climbing from the first warning sign near Kendal to the top. Then a good drop into Shap and a well deserved pint, before continuing to Penrith for a fish and chip supper and a comfy though expensive double bed all to myself.

DAY SIX

I followed minor roads to Carlisle then picked up the A7 turning off at Langholm for the climb over Eskdalemuir and Etterick Bridge to Peebles this section was about 40 miles worth of Scottish moor roads. I saw about three cars and enjoyed the scenery made all the better due to the isolation. I past the Buddhist monastery that appears as a colourful illusion at the top of one of the moors with Gold temples and lots of flags, you can get Tibetan tea but I didn't have time as I had to get through Edinburgh to Dunfermline. Getting over the Forth Bridge was difficult as cyclists are banned from the busy A90 that leads to it and rightly so. There is a cycle path but the signs run out about two mile from the bridge so I had to go about another five mile to get to the roads that would lead to the cycle/ footpath on the bridge.
After crossing the bridge I arrived at my brother’s house in Dunfermline after 133 miles. Give me some weetabix!!

DAY SEVEN

This was a significant day as the hard part was now done. The next day was a walk in the park by comparison - about 70 miles up to Pitlochry. After Perth I followed a signed cycle route alongside the busy A9 and the silvery Tay River, which I stayed on all the way until I had crossed the Black Isle. I stayed in another hostel at Pitlochrey and had my tea at what claimed to be the best pub in Scotland - had haggis neeps and tatties and some local brew shared with a fella who worked looking for earthquakes in France -a size mologist, so called because you get big earthquakes and little earthquakes.

DAY EIGHT

From Pitlochrey I climbed over the Cairngorms, which isn't very steep but just goes on and on. Snow was still visible on the peaks and I enjoyed another day following the cycle path route and avoiding the busy A9. I met another end to ender on a bike who was on the main road. We took some photos and congratulated each other but I couldn't persuade him to follow the path away from the traffic as that was the route his sat nav was following.

The road climbs to Shlochd summit north of Avimore and then drops at an equally sedate gradient past Culloden battle field to the shores of the Moray Firth and Inverness.
The hostel at Inverness was very well run but very difficult to find from the directions given. Still they did breakfast at least which set me up well for the next day up to Helmsdale.

DAY NINE

From Inverness I was back on the signed SUSTRANS route across the Black Isle and then on and off the A9. After it’s junction with the A835 traffic thins out considerably. I followed the minor roads where I could however passing through Alness and Invergordon.
I met up with the same cyclist that had met after Pitlochrey and rode with him for a while although he was still determined to follow the A9 sat nav route. I had lunch in Tain and caught up to him again just before Helmsdale.

At Helmsdale I met a bloke in the pub who spent his time panning for gold on his holidays with some success although it had probably cost him more travelling etc than he had managed to collect over the years. This amounted to about 12mm * 6mm dia worth of gold flakes, apparently though this is the most valuable gold that you can get due to its purity and rareness. The same bloke turned up at the hostel with a bottle of whisky that he was happy to share so a good night was had by all.

DAY TEN

Only one day left and only 55 miles but with a brisk head wind and the climbs at Helmsdale and Berridale to contend with it was a hard day. I got to John o Groats about 1 pm, had my picture taken, signed the book, had a bowl of soup in cafe full of pensioners on a bus trip and set off back to Wick and another bed and breakfast.
After a couple of whiskeys I sat down in a comfy seat and fell asleep.

The total distance was 909 miles

I raised £2017.50 in aid of Hartlepool and district hospice.