Day 13

Today was the big day. Our only rest day in the entire 16 days of cycling. We woke up nice and late (8am) and enjoyed a continental breakfast. I depleted the store of cornflakes, and remained in the dining room for a good hour regaining carbs.

We then decided to go down to the village, which was about 2 miles away. We had to cycle, but we didn't have to lug around panniers so it was really easy going. Luck was with us and we enjoyed amazing warm, sunny weather (so hot I had to remove my raincoat).

From LEJOG Day 13

The village was really nice, and we spent a lot of time in a cafe, which sold tourist bits and pieces. Lunch there was delicious, and we all had chocolate milkshakes and cake. Outside we chilled by the loch, and just wandered around, doing what teenagers do.

At about 3 we met up with a bike repair man who worked in his shed, who agreed to look over all our bikes. Sam's was worst off, in the end requiring a whole new back wheel. The rest of us just got a clean down and new brake pads, to ensure we'd get to John o' Groats problem free. The price was very reasonable, and we all felt better knowing our bikes should be ok.

After we'd seen all there was to see, we bought tea at the local shop and headed back. It was strange to return to the same hostel twice, but we enjoyed a game of scrabble and a weird game called Absolute Balderdash, which proved to be a lot of fun.

Today our total distance was about 4 miles... much more sensible.

Day 12

The prospect of a rest day was enough to get us out of bed nice and early, and on the road away from civilisation. We realised we'd been cycling every day for 12 days, and couldn't wait to have a lie in and a day lazing about.

The scenery went from great to stunning. We were following allongside rivers and lochs, loch Lubnaig gave us some really picturesque views, the kind you'd see in a magazine or something. We were just east of Loch Lomond, but we sang the song anyway, because it's a fairly Scottish sounding tune.

From LEJOG Day 12

The weather was good, and the roads flat, so we went really fast and at the same time enjoyed the scenery. Navigation was no problem as we followed "main" roads, and only went through a few different places. Even so, there were still opportunities to buy lunch and snacks, which we enjoyed by the side of the road somewhere.

The day was going brilliantly, so something bad had to happen. At about halfway I discovered Sam's wheel was wobbling. I told him, and he found 3 spokes had come off, meaning others were disintegrating and the wheel was buckling. Mountain bike rims are fairly strong, so we hoped we could get to Glencoe at least, where Nick's parents had found details of a repair man.

Our speed had been so good that we were still making good time. Just before Glencoe the clouds become really dark and menacing, but Sam's wheel was still rolling. As we climbed up to the pass of Glencoe, we faced very heavy, icy rain. As we went into the pass, for some reason the rain stopped, and we experienced the best road in the entire trip. The scenery can't be described in words, and it was good downhill which we could freewheel at 30mph. It went on for miles and miles.

From LEJOG Day 12

We arrived at the youth hostel soaked but happy, and we went to a pub practically next to the hostel to have a great dinner. That evening we had some interesting characters in our dormitory, but nothing could stop us getting a good night's sleep.

We cycled at total of 81.4 miles. Here is our route.

Day 11

After a few longer days, we were really looking forward to this day. Of the entire CTC route, this was the shortest planned day. However, the weather was still miserable and looked like it would stay that way for some time.

We enjoyed the nicest breakfast of the entire journey, and got on our way. Despite being a shorter day, we were using fairly hilly roads. Also, there was a constant 20mph side wind, making it really hard to stay in a straight line. At some points, when we were unsheltered by trees, we couldn't stop laughing because the wind was so ridiculous. Lunch was interesting, but we managed to find shelter under a hill in a golf club.

Side wind was barely manageable, but when it was head wind, it got really annoying. Downhill should never require effort, but we really had to pedal to keep moving. Fortunately, as the day progressed, and after we had covered about 30 miles, the wind died down.

This was the point where we encountered another of the major climbs. Tak-ma-doon road was steep and endless, and took us up ridiculously high (263m). When we reached the top, there was a viewpoint where we could see Edinburgh and the sea, which at least gave us a bit of satisfaction. Also, the downhill was plentiful and great fun, our only complaint was a ford running across the road at one point.

Stirling was a nice city, fairly small and not too busy. There was a man playing the bagpipes, making us feel like we were truly in Scotland. The Stirling youth hostel was the first Scottish youth hostel we'd stayed in, and it seemed better than most of the English ones we'd stayed in - better equipped and in a more interesting building. That evening we trialled cooking pizzas, and it was definitely a success.

From LEJOG Day 11

We had covered 47.8 miles, which should have been easy, but thanks to the wind it took us ages and a large amount of effort. Our route is here.

Day 10

The day we had been waiting for was now upon us - the day we'd cross into Scotland. We knew this would be a landmark moment in the trip, and we'd cross the border in Gretna, in about 10 miles.

From LEJOG Day 10

After a nice bit of cereal and toast, we got on our way. As expected, it wasn't long before we'd reached the sign, taking lots of pictures and feeling excited about how far we'd come. Today the navigation was as simple as it comes - just one road for the entire day. This road had a cycle path as well, which was unusual on such a deserted road, but still appreciated.

The weather was miserable all day, and we got really wet. The clouds were very low for the first bit of the day, so the visibility was really poor and we couldn't see any views. In fact, we couldn't even tell if we were cycling up a hill or not.

Scotland, we thank you for building your roads correctly. Cornwall, Devon, listen up. Build your roads between the hills, not over them.

Towards the end Sam got the only puncture of the entire trip. However, we're pro at replacing inner tubes after the stupid amount of punctures on our practise rides, and it didn't slow us down considerably. In fact, because the roads were so flat, we were going at a really nice speed.

Never trust Scottish cows. There was one standing in the road, about 10 miles from Lanark. It led us down the wrong path for a few miles, and up a hill. The cow then left us on our own and we realised we were lost.

Lanark was a nice town, but was at the top of a giant hill. We knew we deserved one after being spared for so long. We were staying in a B&B (last of the trip), which turned out to be really nice and looked after by a friendly woman. Charles rejoined the group and his dad took us for a curry.

The total distance was 83.3 miles. Our route is here.

Day 9

It was great starting the day knowing we had eliminated 30 miles, transforming the spare rest day into 2 nice shorter days.

From LEJOG Day 9

Getting out of Sedburgh was hilly on windy country roads (again). We realised how difficult this day would have been in one go - as it was we could enjoy the hills and the views. The navigation remained easy, although we managed to get lost when instructions were a bit vague (CTC -1 point). However, no real damage was done and we soon approached our next stop - Carlisle.

Carlisle is about as far north as you can go in England, the last major town before Scotland. The weather was pretty grim, and we enjoyed riding in the busy city center. Somehow through random guesses we navigated almost right up to the hostel (without realising). A helpful man showed me to tourist information, who told me that we were practically there (just had to go across a bridge).

The youth hostel was actually university accommodation, but in the summer it was opened up to the hostelers. This meant we all had our own rooms, which was strange and maybe not so useful for the sleepy among us (we could all hear Sam's alarm, he didn't). We enjoyed a night out, and actually went to the cinema and watched "Take Him to the Greek". It won't win any oscars, but it was light entertainment.

We covered 52.8 miles, and the route for Day 8 and Day 9 can be found here.

Day 8

Here was the first major change in our route plan. Initially, we planned to have a rest day in Slaidburn on day 8, so we were ready for another long day. However, we realised if we just stopped, we might get out of the routine, and our muscles might become very tight and sore. Also, Slaidburn was a village with nothing of any interest, apart from a small pub (that gave us a delicious breakfast).

So, instead we booked into a B&B in Sedburgh, about halfway between Slaidburn and Carlisle. This cut down our day significantly, and was definitely the right decision. The navigation was nice and simple, but there was an enourmous climb up to about 400m, which was the highest point of the whole trip. Strangely, because we were so relaxed and knew we had all the time in the world, we really enjoyed it. The top offered us some great views, and obviously the downhill was brilliant. Sheep on the road did however slow us down on a few occassions.

From LEJOG Day 8

The rest of the day was good, with generally nice weather and a straightforward route. We stopped by a bridge and ate our first and only 99 with flake of the journey. Sedburgh was a fair sized town, and the hotel was one of the nicest we stayed at. We are eternally grateful to Sean (I think) who washed and dried some of our clothes for us. The resteraunt down the road was doing a Thai evening so we all enjoyed curry / noodles, and Mock the Week made us happy before we went to sleep.

The distance was a very reasonable 32.9 miles. The route we followed will be combined with Day 9, so check above for it.

Day 7

After more encouragement from the manager of the hotel, and a breakfast that wasn't porridge (ceral and toast), we made our way out of Chester. Although the roads were pretty major, there was no traffic because we'd set off before the rush hour.

This was the day we'd been dreading from the start, because it was the longest and was fairly hilly as well. It was good to realise that if we got going quickly, miles could be covered and it wasn't going to be as bad as we thought.

The first 30 miles went well, we managed to cover them quickly as the hills were limited. However, we got tangled up in the industrial north around Manchester, which was one of the worst moments of the trip. The roads were now busy and the views uninspiring, and we still had a long way to go.

From LEJOG Day 7

Leigh was a nasty city, probably the most miserable place we went through. We had lunch near the centre. It was now properly raining, and shortly after setting off again we got fairly lost. The misery of the city made getting lost much, much worse. However, the city was partially redeemed by a white van man who magically guessed we were end to enders, and actually pointed us in the right direction, saying he'd done the same route a few years ago. It's a small world I guess.

We then covered 20 miles or so before we got lost, although this time in the middle of nowhere. However, again, we recieved some help from a passing cyclist and we were on our way again. Towards the last 10 miles we were fairly tired (apart from Sam who seemed to have endless energy), and we were faced with a huge climb. Halfway through the climb we met a group of slightly less helpful cyclists, who said we "definitely" had a few hours left of cycling. Thanks but no thanks, our cycling computers say otherwise.

The climb was hard, but we finished the day on a downhill, reaching almost 40mph on a steep bit of hill. Slaidburn was in the middle of nowhere, and the youth hostel was volunteer run, so they were really friendly. One thing we will never forget is the meal we ate that evening. I wouldn't be surprised if on dark gloomy nights, when the moon is full, the people at Slaidburn YH talk in hushed voices about it (see picture).

From LEJOG Day 7

Day 7 was the longest day, standing at 90.1 miles. Take a look if you dare at our route.

Day 6

On waking up we still had the entire dormitory to ourselves. We had a cooked breakfast in a tiny shop, and got cycling again.

The start was slow, but fortunately we had loads of downhill. The road was winding and our brake pads were definitely worn down by the time we had reached Cheshire. Progress was quick as the county was flat and the weather wasn't too bad.

In a small town called Pontsebury we somehow met up with the same group of cyclists we met on the train. The quick reunion definitely made our day. A small shop also gave us free sandwiches after realising what we were doing, and the sandwiches were delicious. I will disclose that by now we were eating a couple of packets of biscuits and a large packet of doritoes as a snack, in between lunch (which was usually 3 rolls). We knew if we ate enough we would always have energy, even if we had sore muscles or felt miserable because of the rain.

The end of the day dragged on for longer than we expected (CTC lied to us consistently on distances), and as a result on arrival into Chester we were tired and grumpy. However, we were staying at a B&B, which would have a TV to watch footie on, and Chester had plenty to offer. In the town centre I managed to spot a pizza express, so we enjoyed a proper 3-course meal that wasn't pasta.

From LEJOG Day 6

In total we covered 72.1 miles, following this route.

Day 5

After another round of porridge and backtracking up the bridleway and across the bridge, we were back on the road and heading for Clun.

Although the day was a shorter distance, the first half was on minor country roads and as a result was very hilly. The scenery probably compensated, although it's harder to appreciate when your exhausted.

Not much of interest happened on day 5, our muscles were sore but coping, the weather stayed reasonable all day. Towards the end there were some large hills, and a head wind made it even tougher. However, we weren't too tired, and reached Clun with a little energy to spare. The youth hostel was volunteer run, and we had a few friendly conversations with the people looking after the hostel, and some people who were camping outside. There was also a large shop in the village for some reason, where we stocked up on dinner and snacks. For tea we had a massive bowl of pasta each with some spicy sause. Nick failed to finish his.

From LEJOG Day 5

The total distance was a hilly 62.8 miles. Here is our route.

Day 4

We started day 4 early as usual, so we couldn't make use of the breakfast at the B&B. Instead, they wrapped up some delicious sandwiches and we ate half before we left, and the rest along the way, before lunch.

Charles was suffering from huge blisters from silver D of E and seemed to be more exhausted than the rest of us, and unfortunately missed the next 7 days of cycling. The rest of us were still coping well. Charles fortunately rejoined us later, so he cycled the majority of the trip. Cycling 675 miles over 9 days is still an amazing achievement in itself.

As a warm up we cycled up Cheddar gorge. The weather was good so views were great, and there was hardly any traffic (a few other cyclists coming the other way). The gorge started very steep but eased off, although it did seem to last forever. Later we were told we were mad to have gone that way, we just looked smug and said it wasn't that bad.

From LEJOG Day 4

After the gorge we had some good downhill, and stuck to really nice country roads that weren't too much of a pain to navigate. The sign posting in this region of Britain was really helpful, as it was thorough and meant we just had to know the weird name of the next little village.

We were all looking forward to the Severn bridge as a landmark in the trip. However, as we approached Bristol we got one of our top views from the Clifton suspension bridge. The area of Bristol we cycled through was really nice, and CTC helped navigate through to some oddly placed villages, so we could join the cycle path to the Severn bridge.

Crossing the bridge was really hard work as the side winds were extreme. Also, on arrival into Wales, it began to rain. We now took "the high road" following the Welsh border, which involved a lot of hills.

To finish off, the youth hostel was across an old, shaky bridge (which had steps either side), and spent half an hour wondering where in the woods the hostel was. After phoning them, we used their directions and arrived at a reasonable time. In the evening we ate a large amount of pasta and watched Top Gear.

Our total distance was 63.4 miles. Our route can be found here. The second half isn't entirely accurate, as we changed our mind to take a different option on the CTC pack we were following.

Day 3

By day 3 the porridge was getting a little tedious, we now dreamt of crunchy nut and coco pops. Nick made a particularly dodgy porridge, which looked like it might crawl away.

We got on the road quickly and got out of Exeter without much fuss. We followed an amazing road that followed alongside the M5, and for that reason there was no traffic. The weather was stunning and the scenery great.

However, Taunton was a nasty bit of work. Our navigation failed and we ended on an unplanned section of dual carriageway. Tension was high and we just wanted a sign telling us we were going in the right direction. Fortunately, things worked out and we met back up with our route, without adding much onto the total milage. The main problem with getting lost was it wore us down mentally (especially those at the front navigating).

However, after Taunton the riding was the same as before. The final 10 miles before Cheddar were really nice, and spirits were high. We were all looking forward to a night of luxury, at the Bath Arms B&B.

From LEJOG Day 3

On arrival we realised how tired we were, but we lazed around and watched T.V, ate great food and had a good night's sleep in comfy beds.

Here is the route. Total distance was 67.1 miles.

Day 2

Fortunately when we woke up on Day 2, we were greeted with amazing weather and a beautiful view of the sea. Unfortunately, our clothes and shoes were still wet, despite being in the drying room. We can comfirm putting wet shoes on over nice dry socks is one of the worst feelings in the world.

However, we got on our way to Exeter, a nice city according to Nick. The hills were still relentless (check out the beastly elevation statistics on our route below). The climb out of Boscastle was one of the toughies, although the weather was really uplifting.

From LEJOG Day 2

Navigation was nice and straightforward all day, following a couple of scenic main roads. However, on arrival to Exeter, we got fairly lost and had to use some local knowledge to find the youth hostel. We still arrived there at a good time, considering we'd covered 79.9 miles.

Exeter was as expected and Charles' uncle and aunt who lived close were hugely generous and picked us up from the hostel, treating us to a delicious meal full of carbohydrates, and entertainment in the form of World Cup footie and an excitable cocker spaniel. We slept very well on return!

Here is the route we followed, elevation statistics are also on there.

Day 1

The early start was horrendous. 6am is no time to be awake, but we had to make sure we set off early as the milage was bad and the hills would slow us down. We tried to enjoy porridge without milk and sugar, got on our bikes and cycles down to Land's End. After a little while searching, we found the signpost.

From LEJOG Day 1

We had to put Sam's camera on timer as there wasn't anyone around at that time. As we left Land's End we met a few other groups of cyclists, the support gave us the boost we needed to get on our way.

By then the rain had begun, and the rain would continue for the rest of the day, persistently. The hills were never ending, we were constantly climbing and freewheeling, although it always felt like we cycled more uphill than downhill! By half-way we arrived at a large Tescos were we lay exhausted under the shelter of the store. We then bought our largest ever lunch and ate all of it - I managed 3 rolls easily.

After the much needed energy we were back on the road. We were completely soaked and our feet had been wet for so long they were going numb. Another interesting feature was the loss of feeling in our fingers, and my thumb which wanted to twitch for some reason.

By the final 10 miles we were pretty tired and fed up, and just wanted to get to the youth hostel. The rain was still heavy and it was getting near to 8pm. The road up to Tintagel was steep, and the bridleway to the hostel was rocky and treacherous.

When we got into the youth hostel we had no idea what to do, we were dripping, shivering, and exhausted. Fortunately, Tintagel was one of the most warm and welcoming of the hostels on the trip - it was volunteer run and full of End 2 Enders (hiking and finishing at Land's End). After a hot chocolate and a large bowl of pasta, we felt much better and ready to consider another day of cycling!

The milage from Land's End was 77.6 miles, although Land's End YH to Land's End was another 5 miles. Here is the route we followed.

Day 0

After over 6 months planning, the anticipation was massive. Although we'd packed the panniers and checked with each other we had everything, as I cycled away from my house to the station I was praying nothing had been forgotten.

At the station we were waved off as the train left for Reading. Once the train left the station it hit us how alone we now were, and we had almost no idea of what lay ahead. Time for reflection was short, as we had to change at Reading to the train going to Penzance. We may have accidentally delayed the train putting our bikes on, but we think it was a joint effort between us and some other End 2 Enders that we met on the train.

We didn't really see much of Penzance, except for Iceland (extremely poor choice of supermarket) and a great fish and chips shop. After grabbing some dinner, we completed our first major stretch of cycling - 10 miles to the youth hostel at Land's End. The 10 miles were hilly but the views were great, we were expecting the worst after hearing accounts from other cyclists.

From LEJOG Day 0

None of us had really stayed at a youth hostel before, we found it had everything we needed - a bed, things to cook with and even a TV. Even so, the first night was tough knowing what we would have to face up to. Charles also had monstrous blisters from Silver D of E.

For the link of the journey from Penzance station to Land's End YH, click here.

We've made it!

Finally, we have not only made it to John O' Groats, but also arrived home safely with our bikes in one piece! It has definitely been the journey of a lifetime and one we will remember for the rest of our lives. So many things have happened since we arrived at Penzance on June 30th - I will definitely be following up with a day by day account.

Thanks so much to everyone who has sponsored us. Everyone's donations will make a big difference, and the support that you have given has really helped us through difficult times. If you didn't already know, http://www.justgiving.com/gabbot4 is our online donations page.

A brief update

Well, it's been a while since we've put anything up. Lots has happened since we left the train from Guildford on the 30th of June.

We're now well underway and over half-way of our total milage (about 700 miles now)is completed. Since then there have been rubbish moments, great moments and long stretches of endless cycling. We've had amazing views and aweful weather, kind gestures from strangers and have met many other end 2 enders.

We're all now coping with the new lifestyle, but can't wait for some home comforts (clean clothes, days of rest). We've only had one puncture so far (Sam), and our bikes have coped well with day after day of hills and bumpy country roads.

When we return the blog will be updated with a much more detailed account of the journey, with distances, pictures, maps, and stuff that happened for every day. Until then, thanks to all those who have donated, this trip has already been life changing.