Ferry Inn Thurso

Off to the next hostel, Sandra's in Thurso where I got a private room as there were no dorms left. At last a good nights sleep! Sandra's hostel was fairly small but I still managed to bump into a group of about 12 guys who stayed at Casrbisdale Castle the night ...

Started off at the castle this morning and went to see the leaping salmon at Shin Fall. There were not many salmon around but after hanging around for nearly two hours I managed to get a couple of
pictures of them leaping, boy are they quick! I popped into the coffee shop for a look around the gift shop selling Harrods goods???

Back into the car and off to John O'Groats via Wick. I drove up following the A9 and ...

... and I can't see what's wrong with it.

For some reason, I come over all emotional after Lybster, it must have been the sugar! Pulling myself together, I try to make it to Dunbeath but by a tiny place called Latheronwheel the siren's call of a B&B sign is too much and I stagger to their door.

Sandy and Betty are lovely and help me hang the tent up in their garage to fully dry out, then force feed ...

... John O'Groats - honest!

Duncansby Head, two miles to the east of J O'G, is actually the most extreme tip of the UK (and Dunnet Head is actually the most northerly point) and I head along the coastal path to the lighthouse there so that I can say I've "done" the whole journey! It's a wild spot with steep cliffs, screaming birds and swirling winds. For some reason I ignore my book ...

... Helmsdale scare me.

Worrying isn't going to help though and I'll just have to take each day as it comes - there aren't any shortcuts! Inspired by a friend who cycled across America and who talked about having specific milestones for every day (alarm going off, getting on the road etc), I decide that as well as milestones I'm going to focus on what makes me smile each day - anything from a silly placename ...

... the sun only having risen at 10. Kirkwall is on the 59 degrees north- same as St Petersburgh. This means they get midnight sun- til about 12:30am, it rises again at about 3am in the summer. The also get northern lights in the winter which i guess makes up a little for the lack of sun. Interestingly, despite the chilly air there is not much frost- most of the Oarkenys are too close to the coast and the gulf stream tends to carry any frost away.

... bit like the skies here- I guess we can blend in with those rather than the road now. It handles quite well and with the exception of the windscreen wipers and indicators being on the ewrong side, it's quite easy to drive. Navigating Edinburgh (and indeed the rest of the country- with the exception of a minor detour though the smaller streets of Perth) was actually not too bad with the help of our big colins Atlas.

Once you get out of ...

... quasi-polar bear territory.

As a newcomer to this cold-water surf scene the term ‘ice-cream headache’ never really entered my consciousness. The water would be heinously cold were you to swim barefoot - so you wear booties, which can feel like water balloons while you’re paddling out past the shore dump in water temps that literally wiped out the titanic passengers. Maybe in the future scientists will find a gene in seal DNA that prevents humans from ...

... ghost laid to rest! Maggie: "Loved the views, the lycra bums and the pitstops!" Steve: "Jog done"! Bill: "Herb - Get off My wheel - it's not working!" Debbie: "I'm proud of us all!" Herbie: "Great friends, great bends and too many hills- we did it together!" Hils: "Do you think this stop is OK for Mike?" One last word from Steve - "Wheel meet again!" Mileage 54miles. Total 916 miles (Another quote from Herb "Is that all we've done?")

... also known as Nessie. Did you know that the reward for proving that Nessie exists is 1.4 million pounds, also known as 2.8 million dollars!Grandma and I got a pretty convincing picture and we are just waiting for the right time to cash in. After Loch Ness, we drove up to Thurso and stayed the night.