LEJOG Day 14 - The Crask Inn to John O'Groats
Day 14 - The Last Day!
87 miles
1324m ascent
3200 calories
Icy Highland beauty, desolation, further flat tyres, & the finish line.
Today was going to be the furthest of them all; if we included a diversion around the northern most point (Dunnet Head) it would've been close to 100 miles, the planned start time was therefore 0800. Unfortunately poor Mr Crask had stayed up late to check in guests at 0130/0200 (!owning a B&B sounds hard..), so was running a little late with breakfast, & for whatever other reasons we didn't actually set off until just before 0900.
Also, the epic 3 course vegan spread he served us the previous night, was included in the room rate, as well as breakfast - what a legend!
There was frost on the ground, & the air felt like ice when it touched our skin, so wrapped up in all of our layers we headed off along that single road towards the north coast (32 miles to go!).
The sky was clear, the scenery stunning & ethereal, low lying mist at the foot of grand dark mountains.
We passed through Altnaharra at 8 miles, a very small community with a few houses, a church & school ("see, this isn't in total wilderness - there's a school here!").
Perhaps 3 miles later we reached a breathtaking viewpoint on the shore of Loch Naver: a silent, still expanse of water mirroring the awe-inspiring & misty Ben Klibreck towering above it. Honestly, we could have been at a lake in Northern Chile, but no, this is Scotland.
We met a few campervanners come photographers, contently chatted about the delights of wild Scotland (including the aurora borealis this week, & the cries of stags that had kept them awake in the night), & one chap kindly offered me a donation for the Alzheimer's Society (my chosen charity for LEJOG).
At one point on this long beautiful lane, Greg & I separated to relieve our bladders; I continued ahead for a bit, then waited for him to return. Nada. For at least 15 minutes. Oh god. Cycled back & saw him with his bike upside-down, working on the rear wheel (3rd time this trip). Another flat tyre!
Sorted and on our way to Bettyhill. Whether it was due to my cold, or the gum infection I'm on antibiotics for, or general fatigue from 2 weeks of cycling, but I felt pretty washed out & ready for a caffeinated beverage.
Getting closer, we could hear the waves & see the deep blue water up ahead, yes!
Hotel café at Bettyhill 'closed' - on a Saturday at 11:45am, right...
We saw a sign for the Bettyhill café 1.5 miles away, so Greg told me to head there whilst he tried to find their village shop to get a new inner tyre, as he felt it was going flat again.
Arrived at the café after a steep & cold downhill: 'closed'. Closed!?! A passerby informed me that of course it was closed, it's October.
So I threw all of my layers back on, awaiting my cycling bud. 30 minutes later, & a few passing cars questioned, but no sign of him. No telephone reception or Internet signal on my phone either. Brilliant! A little boy informed me he had seen a man whose 'wheel had fallen off' down a side road... there was Greg with his bike upside-down again!
No spare inners in this town, & the biggest town on the coast (30 miles away) has a bike shop, but it would be closed because it's a Saturday (!?). Luckily my spare tube fitted Greg's tyres so he used mine, & we could finally head off.
The northern coast of Scotland was also beautiful, but completely different to the deeper highlands we had arrived from - the rugged brown cliffs threw their roads up & down, & slowly let us in on their vista: a hazy view of slabs of distant lands - the Isles of Orkney.
We soldiered on across the raw seascape, passing occasional sandy bays, & feeling the slight pressure of time. We decided that to make it to JOG before dark, & in time to get food from somewhere, we would have to miss out on Dunnet Head.
At 62 miles we arrived in Thurso, the nearest big town (& the first with an open café!), where we stopped briefly to check if anywhere would be serving food in JOG. Two of the three hotel restaurants stopped serving at 1700 (on a Saturday), however greg found one which served until 2030 & could do a vegan burger - win!
The last 30ish miles went quite quickly, & we were soon rolling down the tarmac lanes surrounded by the green flat pastures of Caithness, as the sun was blending into the land with a warm orange & purple glow behind.
Once again we were also surrounded by fluffy bright-eyed cows & their sweet little calves, staring at us inquisitively as we passed.
Sometimes, however, the placidity was rudely interrupted by old chaps zooming past in supercars (yes, it was quite bizarre).
Soon enough JOG town appeared as a sprinkling of residences across the fields, & we met the junction where we turned left to meet the sea front.
Through the closed souvenir shop & cafès we could see the sea, & the famous post!
After some obligatory photographs, we found our respective B&Bs, where my lovely hosts (very enthusiastic about hosting & meeting people on their 'journeys' to JOG) kindly drove me to our dinner location. Veggie burgers & chips for £7.50 each, get in! & Greg spoiled us with some vegan dark chocolate strawberry fondants for dessert.
1013 miles
18000 metres of climbing
14 eventful days
That's it, finished!
I've seen so much of what the UK has to offer aesthetically (a hell of a lot), been warmed by its people south to north, & gained a new solid friendship.
Thanks for being interested in what I've been doing, I appreciate it.
Now for a wind down in the Orkney Islands!
87 miles
1324m ascent
3200 calories
Icy Highland beauty, desolation, further flat tyres, & the finish line.
Today was going to be the furthest of them all; if we included a diversion around the northern most point (Dunnet Head) it would've been close to 100 miles, the planned start time was therefore 0800. Unfortunately poor Mr Crask had stayed up late to check in guests at 0130/0200 (!owning a B&B sounds hard..), so was running a little late with breakfast, & for whatever other reasons we didn't actually set off until just before 0900.
Also, the epic 3 course vegan spread he served us the previous night, was included in the room rate, as well as breakfast - what a legend!
There was frost on the ground, & the air felt like ice when it touched our skin, so wrapped up in all of our layers we headed off along that single road towards the north coast (32 miles to go!).
The sky was clear, the scenery stunning & ethereal, low lying mist at the foot of grand dark mountains.
We passed through Altnaharra at 8 miles, a very small community with a few houses, a church & school ("see, this isn't in total wilderness - there's a school here!").
Perhaps 3 miles later we reached a breathtaking viewpoint on the shore of Loch Naver: a silent, still expanse of water mirroring the awe-inspiring & misty Ben Klibreck towering above it. Honestly, we could have been at a lake in Northern Chile, but no, this is Scotland.
We met a few campervanners come photographers, contently chatted about the delights of wild Scotland (including the aurora borealis this week, & the cries of stags that had kept them awake in the night), & one chap kindly offered me a donation for the Alzheimer's Society (my chosen charity for LEJOG).
At one point on this long beautiful lane, Greg & I separated to relieve our bladders; I continued ahead for a bit, then waited for him to return. Nada. For at least 15 minutes. Oh god. Cycled back & saw him with his bike upside-down, working on the rear wheel (3rd time this trip). Another flat tyre!
Sorted and on our way to Bettyhill. Whether it was due to my cold, or the gum infection I'm on antibiotics for, or general fatigue from 2 weeks of cycling, but I felt pretty washed out & ready for a caffeinated beverage.
Getting closer, we could hear the waves & see the deep blue water up ahead, yes!
Hotel café at Bettyhill 'closed' - on a Saturday at 11:45am, right...
We saw a sign for the Bettyhill café 1.5 miles away, so Greg told me to head there whilst he tried to find their village shop to get a new inner tyre, as he felt it was going flat again.
Arrived at the café after a steep & cold downhill: 'closed'. Closed!?! A passerby informed me that of course it was closed, it's October.
So I threw all of my layers back on, awaiting my cycling bud. 30 minutes later, & a few passing cars questioned, but no sign of him. No telephone reception or Internet signal on my phone either. Brilliant! A little boy informed me he had seen a man whose 'wheel had fallen off' down a side road... there was Greg with his bike upside-down again!
No spare inners in this town, & the biggest town on the coast (30 miles away) has a bike shop, but it would be closed because it's a Saturday (!?). Luckily my spare tube fitted Greg's tyres so he used mine, & we could finally head off.
The northern coast of Scotland was also beautiful, but completely different to the deeper highlands we had arrived from - the rugged brown cliffs threw their roads up & down, & slowly let us in on their vista: a hazy view of slabs of distant lands - the Isles of Orkney.
We soldiered on across the raw seascape, passing occasional sandy bays, & feeling the slight pressure of time. We decided that to make it to JOG before dark, & in time to get food from somewhere, we would have to miss out on Dunnet Head.
At 62 miles we arrived in Thurso, the nearest big town (& the first with an open café!), where we stopped briefly to check if anywhere would be serving food in JOG. Two of the three hotel restaurants stopped serving at 1700 (on a Saturday), however greg found one which served until 2030 & could do a vegan burger - win!
The last 30ish miles went quite quickly, & we were soon rolling down the tarmac lanes surrounded by the green flat pastures of Caithness, as the sun was blending into the land with a warm orange & purple glow behind.
Once again we were also surrounded by fluffy bright-eyed cows & their sweet little calves, staring at us inquisitively as we passed.
Sometimes, however, the placidity was rudely interrupted by old chaps zooming past in supercars (yes, it was quite bizarre).
Soon enough JOG town appeared as a sprinkling of residences across the fields, & we met the junction where we turned left to meet the sea front.
Through the closed souvenir shop & cafès we could see the sea, & the famous post!
After some obligatory photographs, we found our respective B&Bs, where my lovely hosts (very enthusiastic about hosting & meeting people on their 'journeys' to JOG) kindly drove me to our dinner location. Veggie burgers & chips for £7.50 each, get in! & Greg spoiled us with some vegan dark chocolate strawberry fondants for dessert.
1013 miles
18000 metres of climbing
14 eventful days
That's it, finished!
I've seen so much of what the UK has to offer aesthetically (a hell of a lot), been warmed by its people south to north, & gained a new solid friendship.
Thanks for being interested in what I've been doing, I appreciate it.
Now for a wind down in the Orkney Islands!
Congrats Alaina!! I'm so impressed, it sounded pretty tough. You must be so proud of yourself. Enjoy a rest now. Tqm xxx
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