Blogs from Caithness County, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 4

Tuesday 14th July Journey to the end of the road............John ‘O Groats We hadn’t realised that the A99 road on mainland Britain doesn’t actually finish at the most northerly point.That honour falls to a lesser road a little further west of the small famed village of John “ Groats .That road being the B855 ending at Dunnet Head. But it doesn’t sound right to say that we have been from Lands End to Dunnet Head as we are sure no one outside the village of Dunnet,about 4 miles from the headland actually knows where that place is.So we will opt for John ‘O Groats as our destination as we want to also set foot at Lands End ,at the bottom of the Britain,in about 10 days time when we return to England. The weather has deserted ... read more

Gisterenavond heb ik nog wat extra tijd gestoken in het uitpluizen van de route voor de volgende dag. Het weerbericht belooft droog weer in het noord oosten , een toenemende kans op buien in het westen. Alhoewel er serieuze twijfel is over het uiterste Noorden (op de Orkney Islands na) besluiten we het er de dag op toch maar op te wagen. Niet gaan zouden we ons later ook nog kunnen beklagen nu we relatief 'dicht' bij het uiterste Noorden zitten. Ik vrees er wel voor dat het een lange rit zal worden zonder uitblinkers en dat het voor de kinderen vooral dan een lange dag zal worden. De oostkust is naar het schijnt niet een bezienswaardige plaats. We stoppen eerst bij het Dunrobin Castle maar gaan niet verder dan de voordeur. Het oogt wel zeer ... read more

Just in case I haven't already text you or screamed down a phone at you...I've reached John o'Groats! Yes that's right folks, I've completed my marathon bike ride across Great Britain and Ireland, and the grand total mileage is 1228 miles for all you crazy people who sponsored me by the mile. In Wick now waiting for my marathon train journey back down south. I'll be back tomorrow and ready to hassle all of you who haven't paid up yet! Will update blog with photos and descriptions of glorious Bonnie Scotland in a day or two when I'm home and recovered! fxx... read more

Friday, August 3rd- Inverness to Thurso: Well, at this point in the journal I stopped writing specifics and did summaries: Head to Thurso and stop at a big ass mansion along the way and watch a Falcon show. Rain. Arrive in Thurso- pouring rain and mom and I walk in it. Dinner sucked. Bubble bath for Burt. So, now I will attempt to go thru and remember what happened (two weeks later) The big ass mansion (I can turn a phrase, can’t I?) that I referred to above is Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland (East coast of Northern Scotland, about 90 minutes North of Inverness). Parts of the castle date back to 1275. Unfortunately it was raining quite a bit when we went to tour this one and that dampened everyone’s spirits and desire to explore. I ... read more

Much cycling, extraordinary Scottish scenery and getting lost on mountain tops have been the themes of the last week. I headed north west from Inverness to Ullapool then north to Durness, Britain's most north-westerly mainland village. John Lennon went on holiday there and the villagers have built a little memorial garden for him. The climb to Ben More Assynt, Sutherland's county top, was harrowing. The mist engulfed me and I wandered blindly around in the dark. It's easy to become disorrientated in these conditions, but when you are 1,000 metres up in the clouds, without a map and knowing that one clumsy foot step will result in falling off a cliff, it's quite daunting. A little fear is healthy, but I was on the wrong side of frightened, half of me just wanted to get off ... read more