And TuesdayTwirl
Dear friends. Altnaharra, in the northern corner of Scotland, is a tiny hamlet we passed through on our 3 week cycling adventure from Land's End in Cornwall to John O'Groats. The region is simply breath-taking and I definitely plan to go back!
This is part 2 of my journal on our trip. Read the first part.
I'm picking up the story deep in the north of England. For me, the last few days in England and the week in Scotland were the most spectacular cycling in the holiday. The highly populated cities and towns give way to hundreds of miles of unspoilt countryside.
Weds 22 July
Kirkby Lonsdale to Hallbankgate, Cumbria, 61 miles (88km)
A later start today: breakfast at 8.30. We're making good time getting to our destinations, but at some we won't get access until 3pm so it makes sense to try to leave later. Had granola and poached eggs on toast. Sunny.
Today's ascent, and there was lots of it, was front loaded. Our morning break was at Orton, a gorgeous village with a chocolate shop and two cafes. There was a library inside a former bus shelter. Bought a card for Uncle Brian, who's 92 on Saturday. The post office was closed but I knew I'd get a stamp in another place.
After the break the cycling was mostly benign. Nice country lanes. Lunch was on the green at the village of Langwathby, our 3rd time there. I bought my stamp in the village shop. It was a decent cycle after lunch, particularly a fast 10 miles to our accommodation, the Belted Will, about 5 miles from Brampton. Had a jolly dinner. I had sausages, a jacket potato and peas.
Thurs 23 July
Hallbankgate, Cumbria, to Peebles, Scotland, 78 miles (125km)
Ready for the longest day, 78 miles to Peebles, followed by a rest day. It was ideal that we had cooler weather in the morning. We soon reached the Scottish border sign (20 miles), where we had a brew stop. Everyone was very excited to get to this milestone. The sign looks a bit shabby but up close you can see it's covered in stickers.
I was feeling energetic and going up the hills on eco. We had lunch at a wonderful community hub in Eskdalemuir. Soup and a panini. They even have ebike chargers. Rather incongruously, there is a Tibetan temple nearby. It was very peaceful.
It was a long haul to the afternoon break. I can't tell you how desolate this area of Scotland is. Just jaw dropping hills and scenery. We passed through Langholm, a pretty town, and after that, there were hardly any houses. A couple of men in a work office beside the road gave us chilled water. It was hot by now. After the break we set off on the last 20 miles. I coasted on turbo for the last 10 miles. Finally we arrived in Peebles and the Tontine Hotel.
We had a group dinner (mac cheese, described incredulously as children's food by one of the party, but I love it anyway), followed by a LEJOG quiz. My team was robbed. We'd answered "England" to the question "which country in the UK has the most castles?" We were told the answer was Wales, but Google later told me England is #1 for castles and Wales is 3rd. I'm not particularly competitive so I didn't force a steward's enquiry.
Fri 24 July
Official Rest Day in Peebles
Comfortable bed and a good sleep score. My watch said I needed a rest day. Fortunately this is a rest day. I'd booked a deep tissue massage at a golf hotel three miles from town. Several people on the trip were making sorties there at various times of the day. The massage was excellent and did wonders for my aching legs.
J came over and we had a coffee, watched the foot golf (the Scottish championships!), and wandered back to Peebles via a country lane walk.
I bought a pair of chinos in a charity shop. Popped into the church. I also had a look at the Cenotaph.
It was a free night. We booked dinner at our hotel. Had smoked salmon roulade and fishcakes with poached eggs.
Sat 25 July
Peebles to Kinross, 54 miles (86km)
Poor sleep according to the watch but I thought it was ok. 54 miles from Peebles to Kinross. First six miles mostly on cycle paths. A little drizzle. Windy. Main roads were busy. At the break I opted to ride in the van to avoid the Forth Bridge. Lunch at Railway Bridge cafe which has spectacular views of the two bridges, one for rail, one for cars. Foolishly forgot to order Cullen skink. In fact I went the whole holiday without having it!
Got to Kinross just before 3. We're in the family run Kirklands Hotel. Kinross is a very classy town, lots of floral displays and interesting shops. We struck gold with a huge suite!
Dinner was garlic prawns, linguine with asparagus and courgettes, and chocolate cremeux.
Sun 26 July
Kinross to Bridge of Cally, 40 miles (64km)
Cloudy and cooler. Leggings on. A shorter ride today with a later start, 10am. Pleasant cycling, not too demanding, lovely scenery.
We stopped at Scone Palace with group to take photo outside. I knew I'd regret not paying to go inside, but very few did. The original Stone of Destiny is not at the palace, although there is a replica.
We then passed the world's largest beech hedge.
We carried on to Blairgowrie where we were having a cafe lunch. We arrived shortly after 2pm and there didn't seem to be many options but we found a takeaway and had a cheese panini in the park.
Shortly before arriving in the town, on a busy main road, my handlebar stem became loose. I couldn't control it and was panicking. J was able to fix it temporarily and Nick had a permanent fix in the van.
Got to Bridge of Cally by 3.30, with what Nick and Ezhil called a "cheeky climb" just before the hotel. Had to charge the bikes in the van as the hotel doesn't allow ebike charging. This is becoming a bit of a recurring theme. Insurance companies are reacting to the fires caused by illegal ebikes.
Dinner was haddock Mornay and a huge cranachan Sundae. I'd recommended these to everyone as you don't often see the Scottish speciality cranachan on menus these days (it's oats, raspberries, cream and whisky). Fortunately they all liked it.
Monday 27 July
Bridge of Cally to Tomintoul, 59 miles (94km)
It's the big one today, 59 miles from BOC to Tomintoul via two ski centres. Glenshee and The Lecht. Total ascent: 5,110ft (1.556m).
Glenshee was fairly benign. It has a long and gradual approach and then it's a steep and fairly fast up and down. Top pic shows J and I at the foot of Glenshee (pic by Ezhil).
I arrived first at the van. No-one can compete with my ebike on hills.
The weather was fantastic. After the brew stop, near the chair lift, we set off to Braemar. It was now mostly downhill so I rode with the power off, as I'd already consumed quite a lot. On long rides, managing the battery is key. People often assume you're letting the bike do all the work. If that was the case, riding on turbo would give you about 17 miles. Nowhere near 59 miles with a lot of ascent. So you have to learn to switch the power off, and ride many hills on eco, the lowest form of power. That's why ebikes still give a good workout on this type of holiday.
We stopped for coffee at The Bothy in Braemar. J sneaked into the next door outdoor shop and bought a fleece as he lost one en route somewhere.
It was a long flat ride to the picnic stop. Couldn't boost battery as the van's power had run out. Last night's hotel had also refused to let the van charge its power bank. However I managed to eke it out.
I wasn't looking forward to the Lecht, having done it before. The guides don't set any expectations, quite rightly, as it might make people anxious. I didn't spill the beans either. There were three "cheeky hills" before we approached it.
Just before the Lecht climb begins, there's a strange white castle on the left, Corgarff Castle, which has a tragic past I won't recount here.
The Lecht was even worse than I remembered. It seemed to go on forever. I deployed turbo and was left with 14% battery.
We arrived first at the ski centre but it was closed. It was very windy as we started the descent. A bit terrifying as it felt like I'd be blown off the bike.
Got to Tomintoul, the highest town in the Highlands. Could smell the smoke from forest fires in the Cairngorms. Took bikes to a different place for charging. Had a cake and hot choc in a cafe that is part of a very good gift shop, filled with people who'd arrived on a coach.
Our B&B, Argyle Guest House, was lovely. We had a huge big soft bed. Dinner was at the Clockhouse restaurant. I had a Bannockburn (Scotch egg with haggis) and Speyside salmon, then chocolate cheesecake. Fell asleep quickly, very tired after today.
Below: Glenshee Pass. The striped poles measure snowfall in the winter, when police often close the roads.
Tuesday 28 July
Tomintoul to Inverness, 52 miles (83km)
Woke to rain, although it didn't last. Had eggs Benedict and home made soda bread. Today's route included Clava Cairns, about 4,000 years old and built to house the dead, and and picturesque Dulsie Bridge, below, where we had our picnic. Kristin and Geoff went swimming.
Later we saw a stunning viaduct.
We didn't look round the Cairns, having been there last time, but did go to Culloden to see the windswept battlefield.
We were switched to a different b&b in Inverness as the first one didn't allow ebikes. We were at Drumdale where we stayed 2 years ago. I think we lucked out - nice place.
It was a free night. Had dinner in Encore just the 2 of us. I had tried booking for 9 at a seafood place but it was fully booked. Had beef burger with blue cheese, v nice.
Weds 29 July
Inverness to Lairg, 56 miles (90km)
The Drumdale's breakfast was amazing, a delicious fruit salad with a quality selection of berries with yoghurt followed by smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
Went over the Kessock bridge in the van. Poor Ezhil had to carry my bike down very steep steps to get me on the route. I then met up with J and Meg.
The first 6 miles were along the estuary. Mostly flat. Then a main road followed by climbing. Coffee and cake at a lovely farm shop. The stretch to lunch was over a wide expense of exposed open countryside. Eventually arrived at a viewpoint for the picnic. We were way ahead. We laid a blanket behind the wall which shielded us from the wind. Then off to Lairg, 15 miles, via the Falls of Shin. J thought the Falls, with their leaping salmon, were better than watching TV.
Arrived at the Highland Hotel, Lairg, at 3.30. Our brave wild swimming duo had another dip in the loch. For dinner had lasagne and Baileys cheesecake, both good choices. A fun dinner.
Thurs 30 July
Lairg to Bettyhill 44 miles (70km)
Now for the last 2 days, both of which I absolutely loved. The weather forecast was predicting rain but I was confident we would dodge it. And indeed, we did mostly out cycle the rain.
Glorious cycling today, fantastic scenery, not many hills. After 15 miles of desolate countryside and no houses, but lots of wind turbines, we arrived to a warm welcome and home made scones at the Crask Inn, a former temperance house. It's now run by a lovely family from Alabama.
Below: one of the group, Ian from New Zealand, finds a guitar.
Duly refreshed, we cycled on to the tin church at Strathnaver (33 miles) for a brew stop.
Inside the church I looked at an Order of Service from June, a commemoration of the Sutherland clearances. I didn't know about these. We didn't do any Scottish (or Irish) history at school.
The Sutherland Clearances were the brutal forced evictions of about 15,000 Gaelic-speaking tenants from the Scottish Highlands between 1809 and 1821. The reason was that the landowners, the Sutherland Estate, wanted to commercially farm sheep.
It had been expected that the tenants would move to coastal areas in Scotland and become fishermen, but that didn't materialise. Many of them emigrated to the US.
The original church was demolished because there was no longer the people to use it. But several decades later, the tin church was erected as the Parish Church of Syre. The population size in this area has never recovered. The population of the Sutherland district is 13,100 to 13,500 people, and this includes all the towns, villages and hamlets, including Thurso, Wick, Lairg, Brora, Bettyhill, Altnaharra, Strathnaver, John O'Groats.
It rained just a little as we got to Bettyhill on the North coast. We had a cafe booking for lunch but went to the wrong one, so by the time we'd arrived the others were ordering. There then ensued a rather amusing moment with a pair of tourists. They had unwittingly got caught up in our group order, which took a long time to prepare. They took our soup and toasties, I think by mistake. She had bitten a corner off the panini but was told to hand them back - albeit with the bitten edge sliced off! (Poor J ended up with that one.....).
Relaxed all afternoon with "tablet time" and reading. Dinner was fun, sat next to Kristin. Had scallops with black pudding, chicken curry and creme Brulee.
Fri July 31
Bettyhill to John O'Groats, 50 miles
The last day of this epic bike ride. Had eggs Royale for the last time on the trip. Sunny start, but chilly.
Quite a hilly stretch for several miles out of Bettyhill. Had a race with another ebiker. I thought he was Meg. I won. Yup, I know I say I'm not competitive. I loathe group sports, but as an individual I like beating others.
For lunch we stopped at the Jamieson bakery in Thurso for soup and a panini. Most of the group stopped there too and we sat outside. We chatted to a couple from Wales who were completing the course by tandem. They were going to donate the bike to a charity at the end, because it would be more expensive to ship it home than it originally cost.
We were extremely lucky to have a tail wind. After lunch we had 22 miles to go. J and I decided not to go off course to Dunnet Head because we did it last time. Dunnet Head is the most northerly point of mainland UK, which is why a lot of Lejoggers head there. However, they don't always go to Lizard Point, which is the most southerly point of the UK, beyond Land's End.
After the final brew stop we were going very fast for the first 6 miles. I wasn't sure if I could keep up that pace until the end. The Castle of Mey, former residence of the Queen Mother, was closed and the sign blacked out. There was a police car in the entrance. I guessed (rightly) the King was there for the Mey Highland Games. As we approached John O'Groats there was slight drizzle, which increased for the later arrivals. Below: the first few of us to arrive.
We went to the iconic sign and took some photos, then waited for the rest. It was quite cold by now and I had a hot chocolate in the cafe. When everyone had arrived we took group pictures and had a celebratory cup of prosecco.
People always ask if arriving at John O'Groats is an anti-climax. It is, to some extent, because after three weeks of cycling, and the frantic pace caused by excitement on the last day, it is a lot about nothing. There isn't much there except a gift shop, cafe, distillery and views of Orkney. I think it's better than Land's End, however, which has become very commercialised. I wish the gift shop had more commemorative fleeces in different colours and smaller sizes. Plus the ones they had featured a lower mileage. We insist on our 1000 miles!
I had saved a fresh item of clothing for the last dinner, an apricot cardigan with a lime/apricot scarf. The temperature was cooler but I still felt a bit too warm as the evening went on. There were a few speeches before dinner and we made a presentation to our lovely Saddle Skedaddle guides. I had garlic mushrooms and chicken Balmoral.
The evening ended with a spectacular sunset. The marquees are being set up for the Mey Highland Games tomorrow. King Charles, as Chieftain of the games, will be there. We're leaving early so won't see any of it.
A memorable 3 weeks! The weather was mostly perfect, there weren't many midges (to be fair they never seem to bite me), and it was a great group. The international visitors went off on further adventures, Orkney, a trip to France to see a New Zealand war grave, and a stay in London. For us it was an early start the next day with a few of the others. We were taken to Inverness train station or airport by minibus.
Have I Learned Anything from my Experience?
LET'S GET TWIRLING!
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