Congratulations Ron. What a magnificent feat!! Fantastic Blogs! All in all, an outstanding achievement.

What else can I say? I am blown away by your efforts!!

Brilliant!



Simon

Well done Ron! I met up with Alison S in London last night, and she mentioned that you would be in Durness by then - can't believe you've actually done that!

Sadly the ferry was off - full report later.

Ron - what a hero you are - I'm quite exhausted reading of your exploits!
I am so sorry I missed you in Bankfoot - you were literally only five minutes away from my house which is just behind the old road you rode along. I was off on my cruise and the weather was so awful, we could not get ashore at Kirkwall because of the high winds. I would have loved to meet you and give you your tea - next time!! Way to go Ron, you are a real inspiration - all the very best for the rest of your ride, we are all so very proud of you x

Brilliant achievement Ron you deserve a medal for all that you've be through the weather and all.
Also for having the energy to report it all back to us.
I know there's been a lot of highs and lows of your Fantastic journey but to have achieve such amazing feat we all salute you.

Well done - fantastic - amazing - i think that says it all !!

Thank you all. Your support has been inspirational.

Well, folks, an early bath today. I got to the ferry slipway for the 9.30 crossing (don't let this terminology mislead you as to the scale of the operation - think more motorboat than cross-Channel ferry!).

I have to admit that it was very blustery down there and the rushing tide a turmoil so it wasn't really a surprise when the ferryman turned up and said that, with 35 knot winds forecast, he would happily take us but at our own risk and on a one-way ticket basis. He would be unlikely to be able to pick us up at all today and certainly not before 5. Apart from which, there was black storm cloud hanging over the Cape.

It was so sad but patently a no-brainer and, given the weather I've experienced over the last few days, it had to be a possibility. Even getting bikes onto/off a small boat tossing about on the waves would have been in the 'interesting experience' category.

Then, as if to confirm the wisdom of the decision, a sudden gust of wind slammed my bike to the ground, snapping my aluminium bar bag support in two.

This left me with the prospect of having to strap my bar bag on top of my panniers with the effect of 1) putting all the weight on my back wheel, 2) making the bike more top heavy, and 3) rendering inaccessible the useful items I keep in the bag for handiness. Not exactly helpful when I still have 120 miles to ride over the next two days.

Then it struck me that small, remote communities like this tend to have people who can mend things, and here it turned out to be Martin who owns the boatyard at Balnakeil. Give him an hour, he said, and he would fashion a new one out of steel rod.

So I repaired to the local coffeeshop-cum-bookshop (the latter fatal for me - I now have another ton of books to either carry or post home) to while away the wait.

As it turned out, it took rather longer than an hour to get it to fit properly in the mount and I'm sure that what he charged me came nowhere near the value of his time. He even finished off the steel to delay the onset of rust!

After a further look round the village and a visit to the fabulous Smoo cave, I headed back to my B&B for a relaxing afternoon, while the rain pours down outside.

This evening I shall get an early meal at the pub next door, then I will probably give my legs a good massage to try and loosen them up a bit, before getting ready for a reasonable start tomorrow morning.

I did think about the idea of staying on another day to see if the weather improves (thanks again for that, Paul) but the forecast is for more wind, but this time from the southwest. And I'd rather like to take advantage of that to blow me across to Thurso. I'm not sure that my legs will take another day of cycling into the wind.

So there looks to be nothing for it but to do it all again next year in the hope of hitting better weather! So, if any of you want to get in training and join me...

Just outstanding. I am loving catching up with what's happening. I love the sheep incident, and the stag! So beautifully described, I was nearly there myself.

Ron
You are amazing all power to you. I think what you are doing is incredible.

Congratulations Ron on reaching Durness. So sorry the weather conspired against you so that couldn't get to Cape Wrath and the lighthouse, but you've achieved your main goal of Dover-Durness. As you say, you will just have to repeat it next year, but plan a route that takes you via Ab Fabbers so that we can offer you superb hospitality. And take an extra week, so you can fit in the holiday part and stop off to see some sights.

Hope the SW wind appears tomorrow to propel you towards Dunnets Head.

You'll need more than an extra week if you're going to see all of us - it'll be a real zig zag!

I really have enjoyed reading all your posts - what incredible stamina you have, I just could not have done what you have done, particularly all those hills (with the stag at the end).

Keep us posted.

Wow! what an amazing journey you are having Ron. It must be fantastic up in the Highlands.

I feel a strategy developing.I've been hearing of so many experiences of the ferry not running, it suggests that a bird in the hand and all that... After all, I could return next year and have the same problem. Then I can do something different next year.

Met the ferryman tonight outside the coastguard station next door. He insists that tomorrow should be fine, though his wife seemed to berate him for his over-optimism.

So, plan A stays in place - ride to Thurso as planned tomorrow. I may not be able to do SE to NW but I can do SE to NE. However, plan A will only get activated if the ferry isn't running.

Plan B involves leaving my 'overnight' luggage ready to pack at B&B in case Plan A needs to be activated, and going to the slipway with only 'day' luggage. if the ferry isn't running, return post haste to the B&B, pack, and depart asap for Thurso. If ferry is running, ring Thurso B&B to cancel, and head for Cape Wrath. Stay in Durness tomorrow night and catch planned train on Friday eve but from Lairg, further down the line (ie later) and only 56 miles away.

Does anyone think that this last-minute change of plan might catch the weather gods off-guard? I'm determined to outwit their frightful schemes to deprive me of success.

Well one of your plans should come off - good luck with either Ron

Off to see a man about a boat!

Off to see a man about a boat!

...which wasn't running! to be honest, I wasn't surprised, I had a real struggle to get down to the slipway in the wind which, if anything, was stronger than yesterday. On the way back up from the slipway it was blowing me uphill at one point.

The wind also puts paid to Plan A which was to head on to Thurso today as originally intended. The cross-winds are just to strong and I'm having trouble stopping myself being blown off the road.

So to Plan C, which is to return to the ferry at 1pm. The rain has stopped now, hopefully the wind will ease as well.

If not, there's Plan D, which is to dig out my swimming costume!

Wont the sea be a bit cold and rough though Ron

Really well done Ron what you have done is simply inspirational.
I would love to do the ride with you next year but I wouldn't have the stamina or the knees.
Love the incident with the sheep, and the stag.
Keep posting!

Ron I'm dying to know whichb plan came to fruition!!!

A fairly brief report tonight about a disappointing day.

I got to the ferry for 9.30 with not a lot of optimism given the effort it took to get there through the wind. Sure enough, it was far too windy, and it was agreed that we should try again at 1pm. So I headed off first to the coffeeshop-cum-bookshop at Balnakeil (again - and bought even more books) and then back to the B&B before returning to the pier.

However, when I did so, I found the wind even stronger, so it was no surprise when a motorist flagged me down to tell me that the ferry definitively wouldn't run that day. On the way back into the village the wind, once again, blew me uphill.

So, with an afternoon to spare, I decided to walk the 5-mile round trip across the sand dunes to Fharaid Head, the furthest north west I could get and from which the tip of Cape Wrath is (or I'd like to thnk it is) just visible.

Tomorrow (Friday) I set off across the hills for 56 miles to Lairg to get my train home, just as the wind is easing and the ferry is almost certain to be running.

So, what next? Well, I've done Dover to Durness, which was my original plan. I didn't get to the Cape but I've had the chance to spend a few days in the company of one of the nicest, friendliest communities I have ever experienced. And it has made me determined to do it again in the form of the Two Capes (Britain only has two) - Cape Cornwall to Cape Wrath, and I will leave myself plenty of time to stay here until I can complete it.

So, off to Lairg and the final day of my journey...

The journey's over. The final day was 63 miles to Lairg, from where I picked up the train to Inverness.

The day started out with a little drizzle, which soon cleared, and a steady wind from the SW - if only I'd had that a few days ago, rather than now when I was heading into it!

I left Durness with not a little sadness and in no great hurry. As you will probably guess, as I rode over the hill that looks down over the Kyle of Durness, I could see the little ferry chugging across.

I'd met John, the ferryman, in the pub last night and he was quite upset that he'd not been able to get me across. I reassured him that us cyclists understood problems with the weather all too well.

There is a long but steady climb into the hills from Durness, and by long I mean over 10 miles. That's as long as my ride to work, but my commute doesn't have anything like this scenery!

Around the summit at 600 feet I ran into low-flying clouds (you can tell the difference from rain because clouds don't make splashes in puddles) and the wind fell right away.

Soon after Rhiconich, a tiny settlement - it consists of only a hotel, a police station, a couple of houses, and some public toilets - where the road returns to sea level, I spotted a cyclist heading the other way. As she sped past I recognised her as one of the girls with whom I crossed the Forth Road Bridge.

Her friend was following so I waved to her and she came to a sudden stop as she recognised me. They'd been following a similar route to me but with more sensibly-spaced overnight stops. We swapped stories about our travels, photographed each other, and exchanged email addresses, before we all realised that we were getting pretty cold and needed to be going on our ways. They had been cycling through the hills in the ferocious winds of the previous day. Hats off to them!

It was a delight to see them again and to share, briefly, the camaraderie that exists only between those who have undergone similar experiences..

Shortly after our meeting I came to Laxford Bridge and left my outward route to take the road to Lairg. I was extremely pleased to find that after an initial climb to 500 feet, the road ran pretty well dead level through the Reay Forest and beside a succession of lochs.

Eventually the hills began to fade away into the distance and the landscape became more pastoral as the road began its descent into Lairg beside Loch Shin.

Arriving a couple of hours before my train was due and unsure about the certainty of food on the sleeper, I decided to get an early meal, wisely as it turned out - the train was very full.

Less than two hours later I was in Inverness and on board the sleeper, waiting to head back to London where I arrived at 8am this morning.

So, some thoughts on the trip, first the hard facts: 941 miles in 14 days, an average of 67 miles a day, including the two 'quiet' days in Durness. Excluding those days I averaged 76 miles a day - even I'm impressed by that, considering the terrain. I'm not convinced it was entirely sensible though, especially with the weather conditions.

My legs were pretty tired by the time I got to Durness, despite my efforts at self-massage. Those couple of easy days were a vital restorative - so much so that by the time I got to Lairg I really felt that I had many more miles in me. And, without wanting to boast, I didn't really notice the final 500 feet climb on the road to Lairg (I thought it was flat), so I must be getting pretty fit.

Was it worth it? Oh yes, despite all the difficulties - they were far outweighed by the joys and the exhilaration. I can say that even now, so soon after the event and, no doubt, the good impressions will mature and the discomfort will be forgotten as time passes.

I saw some beautiful places that I've long wanted to explore and to see them from a bike is to be part of them, not just a passer-by. When you struggle up a hill on a bike your toil, your efforts become part of the memory of that place. They become part of you and you part of them.

I've also met some lovely and very kind people on the way, of whom lots have gone out of their way to help me. Thank you all. I've also had unbelievable support and encouragement from so many people, support that helped to drive me on through the more arduous of conditions.

Then there are the personal experiences. There is something very satisfying in pushing yourself well beyond your usual limits and finding out that you can withstand a great deal more than you imagined. It gives you an amazing sense of both self-sufficiency and self-worth. I will probably become quite insufferable for a while!

And now, to fill the washing machine, get ready for tomorrow's Guildford Bikeathon, and then down to planning next year's Cape to Cape!

Excellent account of your travels Ron! One of my colleagues is very interested in how you planned your route. He wants to do something similar next summer avoiding main roads etc. When is the book being published?

Ron, that's one of the most beautiful reflections I have ever read. All goosbumpily and it brought a tear to my eye!

One amazing journey, by an amazing man. Thank you so so much for sharing your experiences.

Hope the re-entry isn't too underwhelming by contrast.

Fantastic to read your posts each night, I sincerely hope you will put them into a book. You were quoted in B&S again today, so well done! Hope the Bikeathon goes well tomorrow! No rest then?

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us, Ron. I going to re-read
your reports with a map in front of me so that I better understand them route-wise. Should help my geography too.

Have so enjoyed reading your exploits Ron and again, am so sorry that I missed you in Bankfoot. My husband used to cycle with the Perth Veterans Club and would have loved to have 'chewed the fat' with you too!
Sent my donation to-day and see that your total is creeping upwards - really well done. You have been a fantastic inspiration to all of us, thank you so much x

Absolutely! Thanks so much for posting details of your journey, and I know how disappointed you must be at not making it to Cape Wrath. And yet so close - Faraid Head is less than 10 miles away. But one thing the Scottish Highlands excels at is weather.

An alternative challenge for next year would be to cycle around the coast of Scotland - from Gretna Green to Sharper's Head (just north of Berwick upon Tweed). That would be a fantastic journey and probably as long (or longer) than Cornish Cape to Cape Wrath.

I basically draw a straight line on the map linking the two points of my journey, then look for a route that follows the line as closely as I can, sticking to B-roads or lower wherever possible. Today I use an electronic version of the Ordnance Survey maps but in the past I have always used the OS regional 1:250,000 road maps. A good feeling for maps helps, though.





I'm going to work on it over the next few weeks. I have already written up an account of my first two Land's End-John O'Groats rides but never got round to doing the third. (That one I did with a girlfriend who was no longer such by the time I came to write it up, and I didn't quite know how to approach it.) Once it's written all I need is a publisher. Anyone at B&S have a contact in HarperCollins?



Thanks, Julia, I'm glad you liked it. Without wanting to upset anyone's religious sensibilities, I very much believe in the idea, shared by our Romano-Celtic ancestors, that places have souls or spirits and they absorb the things that go on in their vicinity. I was fascinated to hear, when I talked to someone about one of the places I'd passed through, it described as "a bad place".

Experiences like this have a profound effect on you, which is not only difficult to describe, but is also intensely personal. But it is something that needs to be part of any account of the journey. Interestingly, at Land's End, in the midst of all the tourist tat that has invaded that beautiful spot, there is a special room set aside for those who have just completed the journey from John O'Groats. It is quiet, private, and dimly lit, almost like a chapel, and provides such a wonderful chance to reflect.



I'd completely forgotten about the Bikeathon until my PDA bleeped up a reminder yesterday morning. I think it's important to support this type of thing, not least because it raises money for good causes but also it encourages people to get cycling. I'd been planning something of a ride today as a sort of "cool-down" but in the event I did a bit more (63 miles) which coincidentally pushed my total mileage since I was last in work to over the 1,000-mile mark as well as giving me another 100km ride to add to my score this year.



That had crossed my mind but one day I want to do the trip round the entire coast of Britain! I just need a bit of time in which to be able to do it.

I have enjoyed watching the programme 'Coast'. They interviewed a young man you had gone round Britain's coast in a canoe! He's got a lot of guts. A cruise ship for me maybe... We had 'The World' anchor in Swansea Bay a few years ago and everyone was so excited, going out on the front with their binoculars!! I must admit, I was one of them!!

You'd definitely come to Swansea then if you did a coastal trip and there are some other AbFabbers on the coast!!

I came through Swansea on my second End to End ride in 2001, when I travelled through Ireland then across from Rosslare to Fishguard and so through West and South Wales. I only saw the seafront, but it was delightful.

I was quite keen to get one of these (and it would certainly have been handy for getting over to Cape Wrath) but there was a certain amount of dissension in the ranks to the idea!