LEJOG 2012 – Part 3

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Reaching Edinburgh was really significant for us both – we both felt it was as much an achievement as getting to John O Groats, probably because it was Karon’s home town. Before riding out to Karon’s cousin’s house we rode into the city centre and found a place for some lunch and a celebratory drink. The view of the castle perched above Princes Street Gardens reinforced that sense of achievement. Another rest day wouldn’t have gone amiss, but we were on a schedule to reach the Altnaharra Inn some days later. It was another essential overnight booking far from any other places to stay, so the next morning we rode out to cross the Queensferry Bridge.

Queensferry Bridge left and the old Forth rail bridge centre.
Sugar stop on the way to Kinross. To avoid the built-up areas to the east of the M90, we’d followed the marked cycle route (NCR1) through Dunfirmline then crossed the Cleish Hills, but this was a pretty stiff climb and as often happens, Karon’s blood sugar levels dropped, which meant a brief stop while she checks with a blood test then takes on some glucose or carbs to bring it back up.

Our room in Kinross was the tightest fit we had all trip. I even thought about going elsewhere but there was a music festival on nearby and so many of the B&Bs and hotels were full. Our landlady was friendly enough and recommended somewhere to eat that evening but I thought the room steep at £80 for the night.

Smallest room of the trip in Kinross.

From Kinross we followed NCR 775 through Bridge of Earn, where we stopped for coffee, and on to Perth and another stop in the High Street before pushing on to the pub B&B in Bankfoot. In the evening we sat next to an American lady and her two youngsters. Got chatting and swapped details. We are still in touch through Facebook and her daughter loved Scotland so much on that trip, it inspired her to come back later for studies at Aberdeen University.

Shortly after leaving Bankfoot we joined the River Tay valley and followed it and the A9 through Dunkeld and on the Pitlochry and our next overnight stop. Fortunately we could stay off the A9 on a side road and some cycle tracks.

On our way to Dunkeld after leaving Bankfoot, looking towards the Obney Hills.

After a short stop at Blair Athol we continued towards the Drumochter Pass and Glen Garry. With the weather we’d been ‘enjoying’ we were both a bit apprehensive about the next stretch where there would be no coffee stops and little in the way of shelter.

Ample warning!
Taking a break along the Drumochter Pass. One of the better days of our LEJOG.

Our fears were unfounded. The weather cleared, the cycle track was perfect for much of the way – in most parts the old A9 single road before the new one was built. At about the half-way point a Burger van was parked up in a layby off the A9 and the cycle track ran right past it at that point, so we stopped for a hot cuppa and burger. Our next B&B was in Newtonmore and we’d made such good time getting through Glen Garry that the temptation of a guided tour of the nearby Dalwhinnie Distillery was too good to pass by.

After a night in Newtonmore, the next waypoint was Avimore. Fortunately no snow – it being July but it was just damp and rather miserable instead.
From Avimore we followed a cycle track that threaded its way among the trees alongside the Speyside railway to Boat of Garten.
Our overnight stop was at Caarbridge in what looked like an old vicarage. The Pino was parked up in a disused chapel. Next morning we crossed the River Dulnain which was in spate after all the rain.
Slochd Summit at about 1300 feet. No change in the weather but at least it was downhill to Inverness. As we neared the town the cycle route deviated to take us past some large stone cairns and the Culloden Battle site.
Bike parking at The Royal Highland Hotel, Inverness. The walk-in cupboard for bikes was already occupied and too small anyway, so the receptionist let us lock the bike to a radiator in the entrance. If Carling did bike sheds….
After Inverness and crossing the Kessock Bridge we headed over the Black Isle for Dingwall, then ran alongside the Cromarty Firth for Tain. As well as an excellent B&B there was also the Glenmoranje Distillery where we enjoyed another guided tour.

From Tain we headed for Bonar Bridge. Arriving at lunchtime we stopped at a pub there. I thought a ploughman’s would do me fine. For the price I wasn’t expecting a feast but maybe the chef felt sorry for us because three pork pies, a stack of cheeses, salad and chips were more than I could manage!

Lunch at Bonar Bridge. Our next B&B was at Lairg, overlooking Loch Shin. The nearby hotel was a short walk for some evening food but I was still pretty stuffed after lunch.

From Lairg it was some 45 miles to the coast at Farr, near Bettyhill which was too far in one hit for us we thought, so to break the section in two, I had prebooked the Altnaharra Hotel. It proved to be the most expensive night of the entire trip, but we did enjoy our stay with some lovely food and then a few whiskeys in the highland bar after. On the way to Altnaharra we would pass by the Crask Inn, out in the middle of no-where it’s one of the obligatory stops for many LEJOGers.

At the Crask Inn we stopped for a drink and crisps, joining three Brit LEJOGers on solos and a bearded Frenchman on an antique motorcycle. He’d stuffed it into the back of his car and driven from France to the borders, then left the car to explore Scotland on the bike. It took some TLC and cajoling to get it started and it seemed to positively groan under the weight of him and his luggage, but he seemed to be happy enough on his adventure.
At the Altnaharra Inn we took a publicity shot and sent in a report to our contact at Arthritis Research UK. Deer and Loch Naver in the background completed the picture.
Loch Naver on our way to Bettyhill on the coast. Like much of Sutherland the glen or rather strath was the subject of clearances, initially in 1813 and again in 1819 when the dwellings were set fire to to destroy the roofs and timbers. 1819 became known as the year of the burnings in these parts.
Our first glimpse of the sea and the north coast of Scotland.
Our B&B was near Bettyhill, overlooking Farr Bay. With no nearby places to eat, our landlady laid on an evening meal for us and after we sat in the lounge and spent the rest of the evening chatting and enjoying a bottle of red with her.

Now we had hit the coast, we were only a couple of days away from John O Groats. It was a stiff climb first thing to get back up to the road from our B&B, and then we had a series of headlands to cross, where the road climbed away from being beside a beach, to crossing the hills above cliffs, then descending to the next bay. It was a pretty physical morning and while we didn’t need waterproofs for the climbs, they were necessary to keep the wind off on the descents. It was at the top of one climb that we suffered our only puncture. Of course, it had to be the rear wheel, so everything had to be unloaded before I could put in a new tube.

Our next and final night before JOG was Thurso. Not a particularly attractive place but big enough to have pubs and places to eat. Next morning we set off with two goals ahead of us. First to get out to Dunnet Head… the mainland’s most northerly point, then second, on to John O Groats and the end of our ride.

As we rode along the coast from Farr Bay the weather improved and for once in a long time, there was no need for waterproofs.
Looking back at the way we had come. The singletrack road runs above the far side of the small lock (Long Loch). We were riding out to the Head and a car pulled alongside, they wound down the passenger window and started asking what we were up to!
Dunnet Head. Some 40-odd days after visiting the Lizzard at the other end of the country. In the car park, we met a chap who six months earlier had been made redundant, so with some of his redundancy money he had bought a bike and was cycling the entire coastline of the mainland… as you do.
After our overnight stop at Thurso, we called in to Castle Mey, which the late Queen Mother bought in 1952 and renovated. We spent a while exploring the gardens and sketching before heading for JOG.

It was only about six miles from the Castle Mey to John O Groats. We were booked in to the Seaview Hotel, where they keep the book for LEJOGers and JOGLErs to sign. Without the necessity to get back to work, we would happily have ridden home again for despite the all-to-often foul weather and the trials and tribulations of finding places to eat and stay, we had enjoyed ourselves enormously and were sad that it was over. Though there were no cheering crowds to welcome us in, once again, the folk at The Stream had arranged us a treat in our room in the form of some bubbly! There was also a video with them forming an arch with a walk-through and congrats from each.

The perfect finish!

A trip to the Orkneys >