Day 34 - Thurso to John o’Groats and Duncansby Head
Quick facts
Weather: Sunny with cloudy periods. H18 L 14C Humidity 92% at 5 am POP of precipitation in the afternoon is 9%
Departure: Weigh Inn, Thurso
Destination: John o’Groats and Duncansby Head lighthouse and return to Weigh Inn, Thurso
Planned distance: 72 km
Planned ascent: 176 m 577 ft
Planned descent:
Route: (in reverse)
Photo from Ride With GPS
For actual metrics pls see Ralph’s Strava report https://www.cycling4charity.org.uk
Good morning/ good day.
Breakfast was taken in a glass lined dining room with full view of the Atlantic Ocean from every table.
The sun was shining on the water as we headed east into Thurso along the coast a km or two from the Weigh Inn.
First stop The Bike Shop at 45 High Street where Sam sold me tire levers and a pump! My personal security blanket. Ralph had his super, super light carbon fibre pump and his special style tire levers but sometimes it just feels better to have your own tools. At this point I had no concerns about the weight in my panniers. Besides… I had lost the pounds I put on in May eating desserts smothered in double clotted cream as I walked 300 km of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Trail in N England. I digress. Sam leant us his pump…. Air in all our tires and off we went. Thank you “The Bike Shop”
The town has made part of downtown a pedestrian walk which certainly encourages me as a shopper.
I have NO idea what the signs on the bookstore read but they sound cool.
This one is less subtle:
And the pub …. Answering the question in your head:
Crossing the Thurso River with the sun shining and clouds being blown around.
We headed out of town into a headwind and stopped to chat with a local about some of the buildings we were passing. It seems they were
WWII shooting targets. They were near the location of the RAF Castletown airfield.
Spitfires patrolled the fleet floating in the Orkneys. George Campbell was the gentleman I talked to in his farmyard near Castletown . His family farms the land now. The countryside has so many stories that may be lost when his generation stops telling them.
Another target seen from George’s barnyard.
Further down the road, by itself on top of a hill we came to this large memorial.
When I passed this memorial on the hill far away from town I pondered why it was located there. Now I realize that there was an intersection just beyond. By placing the memorial at this location the farm families and the families from both communities close by going to Thurso from either road would pass it as they quietly came and went about their daily business. It was very sobering as we passed through little towns to see how many Scottish soldiers fought in faraway places like the fields in Europe or the battle of Little Big Horn on the American prairies.
Around a corner and we came to an optimistic entrepreneur who was offering minimum infrastructure but a fabulous view…
Luxury pods available for pampered campers…
Or upscale holiday lodges for those who prefer a solid roof over their heads.
We passed the turnoff to Dunnet Head which is the most northerly point of the British Isle…. but this trip is about the “Corners” and, well, there was a pretty stiff headwind today. We didn’t bike to The Lizard, the most southerly point of the British Isle either so we are being consistent.
We arrived at John O’Groats (Caithness) which is certainly a commercial tourist spot but not at all on the scale of Land’s End. The signpost for instance, is free standing… literally. You don’t have to pay anyone to have your pictures taken around it. Ralph and I took full advantage.
We are now part of the End to Enders club having completed Land’s end to John O’Groats - LEJOG so we had shots taken at that sign too!
It was September 3rd. We left Land’s End about 3 weeks previously. It all worked out fine with that spread of days. Of course it would have been nice to have no timetable and no future commitments but my life was filling up with commitments at home at this point so it was best to pedal on.
You can see in the background of the picture above, a sloped sculpture with a rock on it. It is a depiction of the movement of the very large 1.5 tonne Nomadic Boulders on the sea bed off this coast. The highest beam is 5m which is the height of waves seen in this area. The artists are Daziel and Scullion.
The waters here are treacherous as the North Sea mixes with the Atlantic. You could see the water dancing and boiling and we were enjoying a lovely day.
The Pentland Firth is the stretch of water between John O’Groats and the Orkneys and records some of the fastest tidal waters in the world. The Bore of Duncansby is at one end, The Merry Men of Mey at the other and one treacherous spot in the middle, a whirlpool is called Swelkie.
Apparently the warning to mariners hasn’t changed since 1875 when written in the North Sea Pilot’s sailing directions:
(From the tourist sign post at John O’Groats)
There has been talk over the years of harnessing this power but the huge underwater boulders smashing your infrastructure has been a deterrent to date. The survey of the ocean bed did inspire the sculpture though.
As you can see on the map below, John O’Groats is not actually the NE corner of Scotland so off we went a few more miles east to the Duncansby Head Lighthouse.
As expected, there was a lighthouse on the Head that has been warning sailors since it was built in 1924. It was automated in 1997, but was a lonely home for the lighthouse keepers and their families for generations.
A delightful, windy spot for a picnic and a destination point for 3 TVR’s who were with a group of 30 Dutch TVR owners who make an annual tour to Scotland. I met an uncharitable car enthusiast later who commented that 60 TVR’s probably set out to get 30 this far! It seems they had a reputation with reliability issues but they made up for that by just being fun.
Trevor from Blackbull made the first TVR’s. These are 1990, 1997 and 2004 models.
Looking out across the Firth towards the Orkneys over the Bores of Duncansby. This is an ocean river rich in marine life.
Sand dunes to the west as we pedalled back to Thurso.
Shore near Castletown:
I am always surprised to learn about large industries and busy towns that used to occupy sleepy ruins we pass by. This was the case at Castlhill where a heritage centre tells the story of a flagstone factory that supported a whole community. Flagstone was used everywhere in the surroundings but also shipped worldwide.
We passed the Castle of Mey with its gardens without going in. I misread the sign and thought it was a long way off the paved road…. When actually it was only 800 m. My loss. It was a favorite holiday spot of the Queen Mother. She had purchased it in 1952 after the death of her husband George VI. Gardens in general are a favorite spot of mine.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Mey
The day ended as I crossed the Thurso River and headed out of town to the hotel. This photo literally bookends the one at the beginning of this blog.
LEJOG and the second “Corner” of our Corner to Corner ride completed! I certainly recommend this iconic route to anyone who wants to see a cross section of the British Isle in three weeks or so!
My blogs for just the LEJOG cycle route start on August 9 (conveniently day 9) and end today September 3rd - Day 34 and can be found on cycling4charity.org.uk if you are not reading this on that site.
Safe travels wherever you are heading.
Lorraine