All The Way From Lands End (starring Ian Munter & Mock Ronson)

NEV AND KELVS END TO END 6th JUNE 2009

Welcome to our blog. This is the story of our efforts to ride from Lands End to John O'Groats. Neville and myself, Kelvin, live on the outskirts of Brighton and have been mates for 25 years. Unlike most of our other ideas and plans, this one was not hatched at the bar. Last July, Nev had the idea to attempt this trip, after his brother Trevor completed the same journey on a motorbike. Not one to be left out, I volunteered to go along and keep Nev company. Our start date is Saturday 6th June 2009 This is when the realisation kicked in. New bike, all the clothing. Panniers, racks, tents. All the accessories. And I hadn't ridden a bike for about 2o years. Still, it had to be done The next thing to organise was the fundraising. We decided on The Martlets Hospice and the local Eye Hospital as the charities. Neville has suffered from an eye condition and has been receiving treatment at the Royal Sussex County Eye Hospital undergoing four operations. This hospital does great work but like all such institutions suffers from lack of funds. The other beneficiary, The Martlets Hospice, has special significance to us as we both have had family members who have received outstanding treatment there in their final days. Anyone wishing to donate can visit www.justgiving.com/nevandkelv. The route was going to be my baby. I spent hours trying to work out how to get us from one end of the country to the other. Twice having to start from scratch. I didn't put much thought into the first effort. I had us taking all the major 'A' roads which wasn't a very good idea if you valued your health. So now we are using 'B' roads, country lanes and cycle paths. The route can be found in its entirety at http://www.routeyou.com/. Search NEV n KELVS and the route will appear, divided into six sections


This is Kelvs bike ,fully loaded with all his worldly belongings. (parked outside the Anglers Rest).the bike is a Scott Sportster.24 gears. 700x37 wheel size. A nice comfortable bike to ride, especially now I've added a gel padded seat cover. The list of things to take includes... 3 T shirts, 1 Lightweight Jacket 1 pair tracky bottoms ,2 polo shirts 2 padded cycling shorts ,1 long cycling trousers 1 pair cycle shoes, 3 pair socks , 1 pair casual trainers, 1 light towel , 1 waterproof yellow jacket, 1 pair waterproof overshoes 1 pair waterproof gloves , 1 pair cycling mitts 1 cycle helmet , 1 baseball cap Medicines (aspirin, ibuleve, antiseptic spray, sudocrem, , first aid kit, suntan oil, insect repellant). 2 pair of glasses, one dark one amber Minimalist washbag (toothbrush, small toothpaste, shower gel) ,1 small camera + batteries 1 set of maps with route marked, 1 pump ,1 cycle lock ,1 cycle computer (wireless) 2 water bottles ,1 set essential tools (esp. for pedals and bars) + puncture repair outfit 1 spare inner tube, brake and gear cables. 1 small oil . Wet wipes , 1 mobile phone + charger End 2 End form for stamping. Debit card, credit card , Cash . Small notebook + pen . And one 2 man tent. I haven't the room for anything else and me bike weighs a ton.


Nevs machine for the ride is a Specialized Hardrock Sport, with disk brakes. I fitted some bar ends and mirror and swapped the platform pedals for some SPD'S but apart from that it's the standard model. I might replace the tyres for a slicker pair and also may get a gel saddle cover for extra comfort. It would have been nice to do the journey on a more suitable bike [ a nice Dawes Galaxy ] or similar but finances mean I will have to make do and struggle a bit more on my mountain bike. At least It's got the gears for those Devon hills. Fully loaded it's still quite responsive and locking the forks out helps to take away that cycling through treacle effect. The tent and panniers added a further 20lbs or so to the bike. As we are camping, there's only so much weight you can cut down on. Clothing was kept to the bare minimum and we will be mainly buying our food. I will however be taking a single gas burner and two plastic cups to make the odd cup of tea and a couple of mess tins for the occasional tin of pasta.


We leave for Lands End on Friday 5th June. My daughter Sam and her fella Steve have kindly offered to drive Nev and me there and pay for us to stay overnight in a pub in Sennan, The old Success Inn. Cant wait. We start our ride the next morning leaving for our first destination, Perranporth. Its 50 miles on the back roads along the north coast. We're easing ourselves gently into this thing, taking notice of all the advice gleened from months of reading. Our first overnight stay is at Tollgate Farm, situated at the top of Budnik Hill. http://www.tollgatefarm.co.uk.My parents used to live in Peranporth so I know this is a bit of a climb to finish our first day. Thanks to Martin for our T-shirts www.linkstshirts.com. An epic tale of struggle, termoil, human sacrifice , Sudocrem and the now famouse 2 and 2.Thats 2 paracetomol and 2 Ibuprofen Staring Nev and Kelv.


Friday 5th June 2009. It's 10.25 in the morning and our two heroes [we aint done it yet ] load up the car and fit the bike rack and leave Kelv's house, driven by Steve with Sam in the passanger seat at 10.25 with high 'opes for a safe journey and even safer ride. After an uneventful drive we arrive at Eyeps at 1.45 for bacon sarnies all round [ the first of much bacon consumed on the ride]. Arrived at Sennen Cove 17.15. What a view! There's a platform just off the beach, used we think for the life boat and a small island just off the coast. The Old Success Inn where we are staying is warm and welcoming. Bags are soon despatched to our room and bikes are safley stowed away in the outhouse. After a couple o' pints we sat down to eat. Great steak and ale pie for me and Steve , fish pie for Kelv and Lasagne for Sam. After a couple more beers. Proper Job for me ,Tribute for Kelv,both St Austel brewery beers. We left Sam and Steve at the bar to the tune of Walking by my Self being played by the resident guitar player and went to bed at 10pm.It was a fitting end to our day.



Arrived safely at our first B&B in Sennen Cove, Cornwall Here we are having a pint before the big day. On your marks...






Lands End To John O'Groats Saturday the 6th The Off. Up at 6.30 after a couple of cups of tea Kelv and I had a walk to Mayon cliff just up the road from the pub where we were staying. Weather a bit overcast with a slight sea spray and a brisk wind. Made our way to the old coast guard station unused since 1940. Walked back the other way along a sandy beach the wind getting quite strong and NW in direction. This does not bode too well. Met Sam and Steve back at the pub and had breakfast at 8.30. Another party of cyclists were there but only one fellow spoke to us. I think there was a bit of anti mountain bike snobbery there. Left the pub around 10am to make our way to Lands End by car. Had our picture taken by the sign, after swearing we wouldn't because of the cost. What a cheek to charge you for standing by a sign! Logged our ride in at the Lands End Hotel and had a quick search around to fill up our water bottles. We set off about 10.20 from the start line, saw quite a few other cyclists there, setting off on their own journeys. Weather brightened a little and at 16.8 miles Kelv's chain came off on a hill. It was quickly put on and we set off again. The terrain was quite bleak at this point, rocky hills and empty fields with lots of old dry stone walls and derelict buildings. Encounterd our first massive climb at Portreath. I finally surcumbed and ate my first fly at 44 miles, blue bottle I think. Arrived at Perranporth about 5pm, and had to cycle up Budnic Hill to get to the camp site. Kevin the owner of Tollgate Farm campsite was a great bloke. He let us stay for free and even gave us a pint of milk and a couple of Mars bars. He said he always likes to help out fund raisers, what a top man. Kelv went into town with Sam and Steve to get a couple of beers and I put the kettle on for tea. Had a shower and washed some clothes and had a well earned beer. Total miles cycled 48.9. Max speed that day. Nev 37 Kelv 35. What shall we do tomorrow ?




End of day one, arrived at Perranporth after 50 miles. We camped the night at Tollgate Farm.






Land's End to John O'Groats Sunday 7th After the worst nights sleep we ever had, got on the bikes at 8am. It was raining lightly and the wind was slightly in our favour. Headed to Newquay through Cubert and Crantock. Oh those hills! And it didn't get any better. Portreath was a killer and Porthgown was worse. And then Watergate Bay left us for dead. And that was only the first ones. Got into Padstow at 11:45 and the London Inn didn't open 'til 12 so we had a pint in the Shipwrights Arms. Couldn't get to Rock because the tide was out so we rode the Camel Trail to Wadebridge, which was nice and flat. Changed our route slightly to save a few miles and stayed on the A39 for what seemed like days. After thinking we might have missed a turn in we finally found it four or five miles further on than we thought it was. We then had a cracking three or four miles on flat fast road with some downhill cycling through an old airfield only to find ourselves at the Rising Sun Inn. We got talking to a couple of locals who convinced us that we should camp there because there was no where else for another fifteen miles. One punter bought us our first beer, so we stayed. Showers cold, tents damp and cold, both knackered but we knew this was going to happen. Missing a few home comforts. What shall we do tomorrow? Total milage - 97 miles





Into Devon Monday 8th. Up at 6:15, hungover. After a quick brekkie of pills and tea we got off to a good start. Mostly flat and downhill for a change. Made Launceston in good time. Then it all went pear shaped. We have never seen hills like it. One after the other in the middle of no where. 12%, 14% and 16% gradients. There was no way we could ride them. Kelvin was sick as a parrot after 16 miles, probably the 'beer'. This was the hardest day so far so it was decided we'd go the B&B route for tonight. We visited Oakhampton and Crediton and made our way into a small place called Thorveton at around 6pm. A very long day. The Thorveton Arms let us stay in their family room which seemed like heaven after the tents. Hot shower, real bed and good food. Went to bed at 9. Total milage - 152.


DEAD ON ME FEET IN THE THORVETON ARMS


Tuesday 9th Day 4 This turned out to be a great day all round. Woke up refreshed after a good kip and a great breakfast. And not much beer. On the road we were grateful for the lack of hills that tried to destroy us over the past three days. Got into Taunton in good time, lucky not to get lost. Cut out a few of the backroads, staying on the main A roads saving a few miles. The Somerset Levels were great to ride through. Saw the Glastonbury Tore in the distance. Made it to Cheddar clocking up 63 miles for the day. Found a great little campsite, the Cheddar Bridge Touring Park after talking to a couple in Budgons car park. Finished off the night with fish and chips and a cup of tea and in bed by 10. No beer today. Didn't get much sleep though, the bells, owls, foxes, geese and anything else you can think of saw to that. It was like trying to sleep in a zoo at feeding time. Bristol is only 17 miles away, or so we thought, so it's the Severn Bridge and Wales tomorrow. Total milage - 215





Wednesday 10th Day 5 Camping is bad for your health. Camping proving to be detrimental to our progress and health. Damp and cold conditions and adverse animal and church bell activity [ I'll kill that bl$%dy Quasimodo if I catch 'im ] made it imposible to get a decent nights sleep at Cheddar. The church bells rang every 15 mins all through the night !!! Eventually managed to leave Cheddar after breakfast and waiting for shops to open for gas supplies. Started out on one of the best cycle paths we had been on , the old Cheddar Valley Railway and the Strawberry Line. Made our way to Avonmouth after finally working out the cycle route. Then the heavens opened and we got soaked. We then had trouble finding another cycle route that would eventually take us over the old Severn Bridge. Inadequate signs mostly to blame. Found the old bridge after much mucking about in the pouring rain and finally made it across. Met another cyclist from Bristol who was doing LEJOG on his own and had a discusion about variouse routes. Then on we went up into Chepstow, we decided to change our route and follow the Wye Valley. This turned out to be a great move. We had to climb a bit before we had what I said to Kelv was the best decent I have ever had on a bike. It went on for about a mile and a half where we were greeted by the magnificent sight of Tintern Abbey. We took some photo's, then had a beer at the Anchor Inn "WHILST DRINKING IN THE HISTORICAL SIGHT THAT LOOMED BEFORE US" to quote Kelv, who is never short of a dramatic description, especially after a rum, or three. We decided not to camp again, not a hard choice . The barman at the Anchor recommended the Wye Valley hotel just at the end of town. What a fabulouse place, the landlady Sue was very friendly as were all the local punters. Great food and good beer. Bed at 11 pm. What shall we do tomorrow ?




A Definate highlight of the ride.


Thursday 11th Day 6 We are going to be Eaten Alive By Badgers ! After a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we were waved off by Sue the landlady. She had been a great host and had really looked after us. If all the other people we were to meet on our journey were to be like her we would be very happy. The 10 miles to Monmouth flew by. Bought very few supplies from the most miserable shop keeper yet. Crossed the English/ Welsh boarder a few times as we followed the River Wye but not a lot happend. Time was getting on and we were finding it hard to find a place to stop the night. Found a pub called the Bells Inn run by a couple from Burmondsey. They offered us their beer garden to pitch our tents "Then you can stay here and get Pi$%ed with me " to quote the landlord. We thought about it but turned him down. god knows what state we might have been in the next morning. Back on the bikes and made our way to Pembridge. We hoped to stay at the New Inn but they did not do B&B. Kelv phoned his daughter Sam to search the internet and she found a campsite just down the road [ "Boo" from Kelv ]. It was now 9pm, when we finally got there the girl who checked us in let us have the pitch half price and also gave us some sausages and bacon, we had not eaten for ages and were both starving. Cooked up the bacon and sausages by torch light and ate as best we could. Another cold and wet night . Kelv was by now scared of the wild animals loitering outside our tents, I assured him he was "Not going to be eaten alive by Badgers". We had to leave the site by 8am, so we got to sleep as best we could. We had another hard day ahead. Awoke in the morning to find the ducks had emptied our rubbish bags all over the place. Total milage 332.





Friday 12th Day 7 Half a day up on our milage ! And "It went through me like a Porche" ! Left Pembridge at 8am, again with no breakfast , then after 3 hours of riding , sometimes up hills as bad as Devon, we found a little grocery shop run by an old bloke who looked 90 but had "The most perfect set of Hampsteads this side of Greenland" to quote Kelv again, the teeth of a 18 year old! I bet he wants them back. Anyway, they must have cost the bloke a fortune as he was charging us a fortune for a few choc bars, bananas and the most dangerouse rum fruit cake we had ever eaten. It went through Kelv "like a Porche". Another Kelv quote. The old geezer came out for a ciggy while we were stuffing our faces and was stunned to see us devour 2lb of fruit cake each ! We was hungry though.





Had lunch at Bishops Castle, meet a nice couple who were thinking of doing LEJOG in the future.On the way to Shrewsbury, we rode through the rather small village of Worthen, down memory lane, where the memory was shot full of holes! We saw Ian Hunter from Mott the Hoople play the village hall there a few years ago but time and memory play tricks on you and we didn't recognise the pub we went into years ago. Being in the location it was just didn't register with what we remembered. Then we had the same problem as before, finding some where to stay. This was always going to be a problem as we decided to wing it with the accomodation. Taking a chance as to finding B&B or a campsite. We didn't want to be held down by a time table, being in a certain place at a certain time. Then, as luck would have it, again, nearing Shrewsbury, we came upon a nice little campsite. They had just had a cancellation and we landed on our feet again. This place was full of friendly people. The lady who ran the campsite was very helpful and lent us a few camping books as she said campsites were few and far between around this area. Not much damp in the air tonight and it's not cold, so should get a decent nights sleep on the hard ground ! Although it was early and there were a few children playing, it didn't take us long to get to sleep.In the morning another lady in a caravan next to us made us a cuppa and her husband helped us with our route as he had been in the transport business for years. another example of how friendly and helpful people have been to us.


Saturday 13 June 2009 - DAY 8 "ITS ALL GONE QUIET" After breakfast of tea and more tea we set off for Shrewsbury at about 9.30. Found a bike shop to replace my shoe cleats and found a McDonalds and had a couple of sausage and egg Mcmuffins each. I finally found a cheap pair of sunglasses at the next town of Whitchurch after having broken two pairs. Crossed into Cheshire and rode on to Nantwich, everywhere was quiet on the roads and we stopped at a lake and had two 99 icecreams each. Then rode like mad to Hartford and stayed at the Coachman Inn and got a great deal thanks to Mike the owner, £30. He didn't do food at his pub but arranged for us to be driven by taxi down the road to Hartford Hall pub to have a meal. Dave the taxi driver picked us up at 9 and and took us back to the Coachman Inn. We had one more pint then went to bed at 9.30 knackered. Total mileage 452.



The Coachman Inn




Sunday 14 June 2009 - day 9 Left the Coachman Inn pub at 8.40 with the idea of going through Northwich. We were advised by more than one local to avoid it like the plague and followed the advice of landlord Mike to join the A49 and head for Preston. Kelv had been dreading the trip between Liverpool and Manchester for months, but it was a Sunday morning and the roads were very quiet. Got to a petrol station and got something to eat. Next stop Wigan and cheeseburgers all round. Then off towards Preston. Stopped at Sainsburys for water and bananas. A lady came up to us after seeing our Tshirts and told us that her and her husband did Lejog two years ago. She said how much she enjoyed it and how she didn't want it to end once they reached John O'Groats. We'll see. Got through Preston and made for Lancaster, which was a busy city and we didn't want to spend too much time looking around as it usually means that we get lost. Decided we didn't want to hang around and rushed on another couple of miles. Found a cracking pub in a village called Slyne and booked a smashing room with a wall mounted flat screen tv. Had a good dinner and a few beers. Bed by 8.30, knackered after 70 miles. Tomorrow Kendal and the Lakes. Total mileage 520.





Lake Windermere Monday 15 June 2009 - Day 10 "Kelv wants to go home" It's been a bad day, Kelv wants to go home and he thinks that I am in denial. We rode 40 miles from just outside Lancaster to Windemere. Rode to Ambleside took one look at The Struggle and decided to take a breather and bed down for the night. As we rested under a tree at the bottom of The Struggle we met another biker who chatted to us for a while and advised us to start again in the morning as the weather was closing in. Cycled to the YHA and got a room there much to Kelv's dismay as it was very basic and £24 each plus £4.50 for breakfast each. Went for a stroll to the town and had fish and chips for dinner. Had a couple of pints of Thirst Ascent and Thirst Oak which was a dark beer but was very quaffable. Went back to YHA whereupon Kelv realised they had a bar there and bought two double rums which cost him £12!!!!! Not a happy man. Had a chat with a couple of blokes and then off to bed. Kelv had the bottom bunk and I decided to take the top bunk on the opposite set of beds much to Kelv's amusement. We were originally put in room 107 but when we got there it was occupied so we were put in room 219, a double bunk room. Got to bed with the determination to get up The Struggle and up into Scotland tomorrow. Total mileage 560.





Tuesday 16 June 2009 - Day 11 "The Tears have started" Woke to a beautiful view and a gorgeous sunny morning with a stunning view of Lake Windermere. Kelv and I couldn't help but notice there were Japanese people everywhere. We were told by a local that they loved Beatrix Potter and come to Ambleside in their droves. We even saw some Japanese people taking photographs of their breakfast in the YHA. We hit the road at about 8.30 and headed for The Struggle. 1500 feet of sheer hell but the rewards were ten fold at the end with great views of the Lake District. I made a cup of tea at the top of The Struggle while waiting for Kelv. It was the best cup of tea I ever had. A few people in the car park opposite the pub made some donations to our charities. We had a fantastic descent along the Kirkstone Pass down into Patterdale where we stopped for some water and chocolate bars. The lady in the shop gave us £5 for charity. We followed Ullswater Lake for about 7 miles then headed into Penrith. Heading north along the A6 towards Carlisle where we stopped at a burger van and had a burger and tea. This road was unbelievably quiet and we made up a lot of time and miles. Set off once more heading into Scotland and on to Gretna. Gretna is a one horse town so we rode to Annan which was the same. Found a camp site in Powfoot overlooking Solway Firth and we can see the Lake District in the distance. Hopefully a big day tomorrow with a long ride to get the Ferry, weather permitting. Off to bed at 7.30. Total mileage 627. Wednesday 17 June 2009 - Day 12 "The day of the Storm" It started raining about 5am and then the wind got up and by 6am it was as bad as it could get. Tents nearly taking off. Rain pouring in the tents. I made a barrier in my tent out of bin liners to catch the rain. Kelv used newspaper to mop up the water in his. This was Kelvs lowest moment. He had had enough. He wanted out. He text his daughter Sam that this was the case and she reacted by telling him he had to go on. There was no way you should stop now. You've gone so far. He even videoed his dispare. Silly sod. We were both locked up in solitary confinement until 2.30pm when it finally stopped raining. We managed to dry our sleeping bags off in the laundry room tumble drier. Dinner consisted of spam, beans, chicken soup and a cheese roll. We went for a walk about 6pm and asked a couple of locals if there was a pub. We were directed to the Golf Hotel and had two pints there and watched Emmerdale, which was the highlight of our day. Off to bed at 8pm. Hope for a good start tomorrow to make up time in the morning, we hope to make it to Largs. Mileage that day zero. Gutted. Total mileage still 627.








Thursday 18th
Day 13.

Eventually left Stalag 13 at 9am, heading towards Dumfries. There was a very strong side wind. The whole day was a complete struggle. Went onto the Dumfries by-pass , then joined the A76 to Kilmarnock. What a terrible road, 65 miles of sheer hell. Boring scenery apart from a small stretch of River Nith. The road was a nightmare with the most uneven and rough surface we had ever seen. We stuck it out for 72 miles. We found a Travel Lodge on the outskirts of Kilmarnock and that was us for the night. Dinner, again was cold from the petrol station shop but at least we could have a cuppa and watch a bit of tv. A day of and troughs with definately no peaks, a day to forget.

Friday 19th
Day 14
The Vaseline and Codine comes out.


Left Kilmarnock after a good nights "sleep of the dead".
Another tough ride into heavey wind and rain. Long A roads, McDonalds for breakfast again. Arrived at Largs 1pm , another boring bit of road before we got to the ferry at Gourock. A 15 minute ride across the Firth of Clyde into Dunoon was a great ditraction and the sun was out .After getting advice from the Tourist Info we headed out on the A815 towards Inverary. This was 40 miles away and we wouldn't make it that day, but headed in that direction. 6 or seven miles from Dunoon we stopped at the Coylet Inn, what a great place! Great people, food and beer. This pub is situated on the banks of Loch Eck. Fantastic views, talked to some locals who were extremely friendly. "Big Willy" who pronounced it "Bug Wully " and his wife Margot donated to our cause and we also met Craig and his wife Hilary. Willy told us his wife doesn't know John O'Groats but knows Johnny Walker !

Had a great dinner and Kelv tried Haggis for the first time. A bit of a late night, the beer and Big Willy just would not let us go, but it was well worth it for the local knowledge and the laugh we had with Willy. Bed at 11.30. Kelv recons he heard "loads of strange noises coming from outside the bedroom door. The pub was obviously haunted.

Total milage 751



LOCK ECH


Saturday 20th
Day 15.



Woke to a wonderful view of Loch Eck, the weather was damp and overcast and our room was full of midges, most of which had been feasting on Nev all night. Breakfast at 8am then ready for the off again. Spotted another cyclist passing our window, we would cach up with him later. As we left it started to rain and we were soaked in 20 mins, we dried pretty quickly though. Not to much in the way of scenery, just loads of massive hills, none of which we had to cycle up, and loads of water. Moved around Loch Fyne to Inverary and saw a great castle on the road out of town. We spotted an eagle in the woods and a few miles down the road we saw another soaring high above us. Onwards to Loch Awe and we caught up with the cyclist who passed our pub that morning. His name was Julian and he joined us to our destination at Connel. It was a hard day with roads winding around Lochs and not making any linear progress on the map.
We passed the 800 mile mark and stayed at the Falls of Lora Hotel. It was a nice place, old and traditional with loads of dead animal heads on the walls. We only got a small room but it had a shower and a tv and was only £21 each with breakfast. It was perfect.
Very friendly staff all except the old trout behind the bar ! Again, another early night at 9pm.
Total milage 813.



FALLS OF LORA

Sunday 21st
Day 16

After a very nice breakfast at the Falls of Lora hotel in Connel we headed for Fort William accompanied by Julian the "stray cyclist" whose story of woe would unfold to us over the next couple of days. We saw some great scenery including and old castle ruin on Loch Creren, Casle Stalker. We claimed it as ours and will be starting renovations once we moved it to a bigger island in the loch. It was a good run without many hills. The roads were good and we clocked up plenty of miles. Crossed Loch Leven on the Ballachulist Bridge giving fantastic views right the way to Glencoe. Passed Loch Linnie towards Fort William (Apache). The weather was good with the wind at our backs for a change. Met an irish fella called Rory a couple of times on the route whose bike was falling to pieces. He had had six punctures in two days he said. Got to Fort William (no indians or John Wayne) and stopped for something to eat. Wasn't overwhelmed by Fort William but did manage to get a glimpse of Ben Nevis. We pushed on to Fort Augustus. What a place, right at the start of Loch Ness. Found some hostel style accommodation. Lovely little town with good pubs. The irish fella turned up again. This was the fourth time we saw him. His bike had a service at Fort William and he was off to Inverness. Met the world's most boring cyclist. He had taken eight days to get where we were. His mum drove her car as his support vehicle. We thought this was a bit odd. Fish n Chips for dinner and 72 miles today, about 155 to go. Nev is being eaten alive again. He just won't shut up about it like its some kind of achievement.


CASTLE STALKER.


Monday 22nd - Day 17


We left the hostel/lodge at 8.30 without Julian as he decided he wanted to take a different route. As we said our goodbyes he presented us with a cycling medal each. We were both blown away. Headed off along the banks of Loch Ness. The road wasn't as busy as we were told it might be and made good time into Inverness. We saw another eagle at Lochend. We think we may have made a wrong decision in heading for Beaulie but it was only a few miles added on. Stopped for lunch in Beaulie for 45 minutes. Kelv got speaking to a lady who gave us £5 towards our fundraising. We then made our way to meet the A9. Not a lot of scenery to talk about. The rain came and went as we tried to pile on the miles so as to make John O'Groats the next day. As time went by the weather became more inclement and we were soaked. Again we needed to find somewhere to sleep but along the east coast there was hardly anywhere. After we clocked up a massive 86 miles we came upon a small hotel/pub. At first the landlord said he had nothing then had a change of heart after Nev started crying and found a room that wasn't quite ready but said we could use it. A nice meal and a couple of pints then bed at 9pm. Totally knackered. Tomorrow John O'Groats.


DAVE THE WALKER


Tuesday 23rd - Day 18


We left the Trentham Hotel at 8.30am with conflicting estimates of the mileage to John O'Groats ranging from 60ish up to 83. It turned out to be the hardest 79 miles ever. Thinking it would be flat we were horrified to find that we were back in Devon, or so it seemed. The hills were horrendous. Gradual climb after gradual climb then came the Berridale Braese. A series of three or four villages in the bottom of very steep valleys. One outstanding feature was what looked to be a house with 42 sets of antlers hung on the outside. Some parts were so steep we had to get off and push. The fact we did 86 miles the day before meant that our fitness had taken a beating. We thought we maybe should have stretched the two days into three but the call of home was too strong and we had to battle on, like the HEROES THAT WE ARE What a couple of berks. 12.30pm and we still had 50 miles to go. A very low period ensued and neither of us thought we could reach John O'Groats. Found a small grocery shop in Lybster to get some food, Again, bugger all on the shelves except cakes and biscuits. The lady in the shop told us that the rest of the way was relatively flat. That was good enough for me but Nev wasn't having it. After a 20 minute sit down we pushed on and on and on. Two or three miles outside Wick Nev needed to take, for the first time, a 5 minute break. After realising the town ahead of us was Wick we felt a bit better and carried on. We decided to visit Wick station to book ourselves and our bikes on the train to Inverness the next morning. This was made even sweeter when we got our tickets for free. Then outside we met Rory again for the fifth time. He had just come back from JO'G telling us it was 17 miles away, not the 10 miles we were led to believe. We reached our final destination of JOG at 5.30 pm to the cheers of crowds of people and a brass band. Everyone wanted to shake our hands but all we wanted was to call our wives. After the photograph and celebratory tot of rum it all seemed an anti-climax. The crowds had gone, the band had put their instruments away so we looked for a B&B but ended up camping on our last night. We found a hotel for a pint and dinner and found a camera. Kelv handed it in at the bar. 20 minutes later the owner came in to find it. It turned out that he and his sister had walked LEJOG (1200 miles). He was the second walker we had met today, the first one being Dave. This guy was really pleased to have his camera back as it had all his end to end photos on. Didn't buy us a pint for finding it though. We made our way back to the campsite for yet another early night as we had to pack up and leave by 6am so as to get to Wick for the 8.12 train. I had never seen midnight sun and it felt strange that it never got dark. The sky was orange and the sea was completely flat but 2 hours later the mist rolled in and the wind got up and thats how it stayed until we got on the train the next morning. Total mileage 1,049.



If anyone requires any further info about our End to End or you fancy having a go yourself, dont hesitate to contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

kelvinhealey@aol.com

neville.peacock@ntlworld.com