Land’s End to John O’Groats
When I decided to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats I wanted to follow a route that was a bit different to most, and the idea of visiting the four sides of the country on the way from one end to the other appealed. Not that I intended to cycle 1,400 miles on my own. The original idea was to have a support vehicle to carry the luggage and arrive at each night's destination in plenty of time to book accommodation. Sadly, I couldn't find anyone to drive 1,400 miles, let alone cycle it, so on my own it was!
For the full diary of my trip click here or pick the day below.
The first part of my route hugged the south coast of Cornwall, crossing the rivers at Helford, Falmouth, and Fowey by ferries of varying shapes and sizes. I hadn't bargained for the fact that this was one of the hilliest routes through Cornwall!
From Fowey I began to head inland,
through Liskeard, Tavistock, and Okehampton, skirting the
edge of Dartmoor, a route I picked because I particularly wanted to cycle over the
magnificent viaduct at Meldon,
now restored by
The Meldon Viaduct Company, a charitable body.
From Okehampton, where the station has been magnificently restored and is used by the Dartmoor Railway, I went on through Crediton, Tiverton,and Taunton, with the countryside
becoming gentler the further I progressed.
Whereas most End-to-Enders head north from Taunton to Bristol, my route continued east through Glastonbury and Wells and into the Mendips – thirsty climbing on a day when the temperature soared into the high 90s! From Westbury the going was a lot easier as I headed through the delightful Vale of Pewsey and on to Newbury, from where I began to make my way north-east along the line of the Icknield Way in order to bypass London.
After skirting Dunstable and Luton, I began to make my way into East Anglia on a very pleasant and not too busy route through Saffron Walden and the delightful and historic town of Lavenham. A following wind had me speeding towards the coast, where I arrived at Lowestoft in the early evening sun. Ness Point, the easternmost point of England was none too easy to find, being hidden behind an industrial estate, but I got there in the end!
Heading west now, I crossed Norfolk and headed out onto the Fens. Unfortunately, I got there just as the rain began and, with the wind building up, it was soon blowing horizontally across the flat, exposed landscape. Although the wet weather only lasted a day, the wind remained strong and was to blow in my face for the rest of the journey. It turned what should have been a fast run through Wisbech, Spalding, and Lincoln into hard work.
From Lincoln, with its aptly-named Steep Hill, I headed north through quiet lanes
towards the Humber, which I crossed at Goole. I had planned a route through York, but
to catch up some lost time I opted instead for the more direct route through Selby and
Tadcaster to Knaresborough.
To cross the Pennines I had chosen a route through Pateley Bridge and Grassington, leading
to a 2000ft summit
at Fleet Moss, with an exhilarating run down into Hawes on the far side.
From there I headed down the beautiful Eden Valley to Carlisle and on to the Scottish
border at Gretna. By this time I had already covered nearly 900 miles, a greater distance
than many End to End routes!
I'd not been sure which route to take through southern Scotland, but I found that the old
A74, the direct route to Glasgow, has now been superceded by a motorway and is now a
virtually empty B-road. In one place, one side of a former stretch of dual carriageway has
even been turned into a National Cycle Network cycle track. Sadly, this excellent state of affairs ends
at the outskirts of Glasgow, and I soon became lost trying to find the way to the Erskine
bridge. Instead I crossed the Clyde by the tunnel and made my to Dumbarton and then on
the cycleway to Loch Lomond.
My route into the Highlands was along the A82, busy at first but more pleasant later, through Crianlarich and Tyndrum. This led to the climb to the top of Rannoch Moor, 1141 feet above sea level, which was followed by the long, fast descent through Glen Coe. It was then only a short distance to Corran, where I took the ferry across to the Ardnamurchan peninsula.
Of Ardnamurchan all I can say is that it is one of the most magical places I have ever visited, and a bike is probably the best way of seeing it. The ride out to Kilchoan and on to the lighthouse which marks the westernmost point of the British mainland is quite demanding but worth every bit of the effort. After returning to Corran I continued on the A82 to Fort William and into the Great Glen. Loch Ness was beautiful but the strong headwind made the going tough.
Inverness, capital of the Highlands, marked the start of the
final leg of my journey.
With the trip running very late, I followed the direct A9 coastal road northwards.
It was hard work. By now the wind was blowing straight in my face at over 20mph, and it
was none too warm. The scenery was magnificent but climbing out of Helmsdale, and even
more so at Berriedale, was very hard work. I was mighty glad, finally, to arrive in
Wick for the last night of the trip.
Next morning, it was an incredible feeling to reach the top of Warth Hill and see the extreme north of Scotland spread out below. It was even more of an incredible feeling to roll over the Finish line outside the John O'Groats Hotel. But after signing the book, having my photo taken, and downing a celebratory pint, I had one more goal to achieve. I set off across the desolate Caithness moorland to lonely Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of Scotland and the last of the four sides of Britain. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a couple of tears as I reached the end of my amazing journey.
You can click on most of the photographs to see them in a larger size.
Click to download the full route details of this journey. You can also download an excerpt from my planned book describing my journeys. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access either of these files. You can download this for free from Adobe's website.
For the full diary of my trip click here. To read an account of another group who followed most of this route in 2004 click here.
To find out more about my other End to End routes, click on one of the buttons below.
