Good Bye for Now and Thank you

Pat booked a night in the Forss House Hotel near Thurso to celebrate our safe arrival at John O Groats. It's absolutely lovely and not just because of the wi fi! And again we have eperienced such kindness. The dear manageress Anne, who has been here for many, many years, insisted on GIVING us champagne to celebrate and took the photograph. We are so pleased Pat is not on the road today as is very cold(10 degrees) and wet!

I have much enjoyed doing the blog apart from the difficulties with connection at times. Thank you to all our readers - in South Africa (Knysna, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and elsewhere) in Paris, in Edinburgh, in various parts of Surrey and London and elsewhere in the UK , not to mention the readers collected on the road! The blog was even read every morning at breakfast in a certain villa in Tuscany! We apprecate your support on our adventure and your comments via the blog and texts. Thank you too for your prayers. We were blessed with wonderful weather, freedom from any serious setbacks and lots of happy connections made on the way.



We are particularly thrilled by the generosity of so many as we think the total is over £6000 raised for the GRCT.(http://www.grct.org.uk/) Part of this has come through Just Giving - www.justgiving.com/patrickfleming I shall post up the final total in about 10 days time.



Before signing off I want to thank the P3s of East Linton Primary for their enthusiastic support. Unfortunately we will not be able to get to East Linton before you leave school on Friday as it is a very long way from Thurso



And now I shall give the triumphant cyclist THE LAST WORD!!



"It has been a great adventure! We have journeyed through all sorts of interesting places, learned much about this beautiful island and met many friendly people. My route took me along tiny county lanes. minor and major A roads and even (horror of horrors) the expressways of Runcorn! I became an expert at reading maps and fortunately didn't take too many wrong turns. We were blessed with good weather - only a day and a half of rain - and my bike was superb - no technical problems and the smooth touring tyres made it over 1,000 miles of varying surfaces without a puncture!



"Because the conditions were so favourable and because I got fitter as I progressed I was able to complete the ride in 14 days - slightly ahead of schedule. I thought that was pretty good but then I learned that an army relay team had arrived in John O'Groats the same day having done it in 46 hours!!!!!



"None of this would have been possible without a fantastic back-up. I can't thank Penny enough for her support in so many different ways - booking B and Bs, meeting me each day with a high carb picnic lunch and her amazing blogs, to name just a few. And of course there has been encouragement and support from many quarters and helpful advice on training and nutrition . I know that Penny has already thanked you but I would like to echo that wholeheartedly. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH."

And Those Met on the Way

As you may have realized, the wi fi has gone to my head and you are having all these photos posted. We are staying in a lovely hotel for tonight, in Thurso, to celebrate the end of the End to End journey. We plan to return to Surrey via Edinburgh at the week end.

The stories behind these photos are that I chatted to a young farmer,who was a civil engineer,and who now farms the rarest breeds iin the world for a Rare Breeds Survival trust.

Then I was fascinated by the Laidhay croft building which Nicola guided me around. It is in the middle of nowhere in Caithness and the reason I stopped was because there was a lonely tearoom above it and it was coffee time. The Laidhay dwelling house incorporates both a stable and a byre.

Then I saw a sign for Caithness Cheese and sheepskin and after following a single track and becoming convinced it was going to deliver me into the sea, I eventually arrived at a simple farm building full of cheeses where this man was at work. He proudly told me that Caithness cheeses were even exported to Australia. Needless to say I bought 2 cheeses. I was plied with so many tasting portions that I would have felt guilty not to!

Last but not least I met these amazing walkers who are being sponsored to walk from End to End for a Cystic Fibrosis charity. They plan to do it in 57 days.

The Final Day-Places Passed

Some of the long roads with little change of scenery on which Pat toiled covering 160 miles on 2 and 3 June. I did meet him at the side of the road at Laidlay with alarge, freshly baked fruit scone which he devoured! The pretty harbour is Brora where we spentMonday night.

Got There!

At 4.40pm the intrepid cyclist was met by a welcoming committee of his wife, his driver, his back up and his blogger (all one and the same Penny) at John O Groats!!!!!!!!!!! The 70 miles today had been very hard because of the chilly headwind which prevented any build up of speed and some final killer hills outside of Helmsdale and through the Berriedale Braes. Pat says he was counting every tenth of a mile during the last hour. John O Groats is quite bleak and windswept- a good setting for a mystery/thriller.

The coastal A9 passed through green fields full of lambs and sheep with quite dramatic sea views at times. We sheltered behind a grey drystone wall to have our lunch just past Lybster, and because there was only the one road kept very much in touch as I had frequent photo stops. I guess I also wanted to keep the cyclist in my sights because I found the long narrow ribbon of road with swaying heavy vehicles and speeding cars a little unnerving.

The A9 is virtually the only road to the far north. It is a very sparsely inhabited area. Phil Horsley the author of the book about the ride writes "scatterings of Spartan windblasted houses"and "a wild section spattered with stark homes among the derelict cottages." Very different from Brora with its trees and pretty harbour and scenic golf course. The trees became bright yellow gorse and then finally scrubby grassland with not a tree in sight.Pat did 70 miles today bringing his grand total up to 1022 miles in 14 days. You will hear from the man himself tomorrow when we sign off the blog.

I am really fighting with the computer tonight as I sit on the Band B bedroom floor in Wick. Therefore I shall continue blogging tomorrow evening when we are staying in a nice hotel in Thurso to celebrate our arrival at John O Groats at the end of this great journey and adventure. I guess it will have wi fi.

950 Miles Done!

Last blog today! Just to say that Pat has cycled 950 miles to date. He has only one or two days to go. We shall let you know when we arrive at John O Groats. The photos show him taking on necessary sustenance at lunchtime and after THAT hill.

Scenery en route

I am getting a bit carried away with this unlimited access to the B and B wi fi and am making the most of it! These are some pictures I took en route showing the different kinds of landscape.

Lovat Arms in Fort Augustus

The reception staff in this hotel were so gracious and generous , that I said to them that I would mention the hotel on my blog. They allowed me to spend well over an hour in their lounge using my computer and their wi fi. It seems to be an hotel where the service is neither faulty nor "Fawlty."

A Heavy 90 Miler!

The day was heavy NOT the rider. If anything he is probably lighter but he is eating huge amounts voluntarily without coercion. The photo at Golspie was taken half an hour ago when I picked him up at the end of 91.3 miles. In the morning he rode from Invergarry to Beauly and I happened to pass him as he toiled up to the summit of one of the worst hills yet; hence the action shot! Pat says it was such beautiful scenery as he rode alongside Loch Ness though the headwind made riding conditions less pleasant. I stopped a few times to take photos but the loch was slightly shrouded in mist and the water quite choppy. We met at Beauly for our lunch and then Pat had a long hard ride. The landscape changed dramatically - more windswept and flat and sometimes quite bleak alongside the Cromarty Firth. The A9 was extremely busy with several huge vehicles. Not a great drive particularly if you are anxious about the cyclist following in your wake. I kept praying for his protection.

We are now both in Brora and about to go for a meal.

P3s I heard Alan Bennett reading Winnie the Pooh meets a Heffalump when I was driving and thought that you might like to ask Miss Fleming to read it to you. I wonder if her Piglet voice will be as good as his?

If I have time later I shall do some more blogging.

The Commando Memorial and Ben Nevis

Pat cycled past this lovely view and this very dramatic memorial yesterday. I am typing this in an absolutely superb B and B (so much nicer than some others!) in Brora and about to fetch Patrick as this is literally a bridge too far for him today! So glad they have Wi Fi!! It is 6.15pm on Tuesday 6 June. Will fill you in on the cyclist's progress later.

The Cottage and Loch Garry

Thank you to Karen for the cottage . We enjoyed being there and I cooked Scottish Oats for breakfast.

Even Hotter

1.06.09

It was even hotter today. Pat's temperature guage on the bike reached 93 degrees!So he was very tired at the end of the 71 miles he did today. From Oban to Fort William the road wound round the edge of Loch Linnhe and between tree clad hills profuse with purple rhodedendrons in full bloom.The scenery is stunningly beautiful. After Fort William he cycled on a minor road above the Caledonian Canalwith several hard hills. Then passing the memorial to the Commandos which overlooks Ben Nevis, he got back onto the busy A82. I met him at Fort William for our picnic having visited Morrisons supermarket to buy provisions.Then again he had some steep climbs before arriving at Invergarry.

From there we drove to this lovely little cottage where we were to stay. It is on the shores of Loch Garry in a very quiet and remote place with marvellous views and where the only sound is the bleating of sheep. The use of this cottage came as a gift. After I had spoken to a St Andrews womens' group in Oxshott about the GRCT and had mentioned Pat's impending cycle ride, the owner of this cottage approached me. She felt it was a God-instance and not a coincidence that she could offer it to us for 1 June! So good to have a place to oneself to do washing and to generally catch up with things (we were totally incommunicado there so I wrote this in note form and am now typing it in the Lovat Arms in Fort William where the reception- both staff and wireless- have been most welcoming- I have bought a coffee!).

We had a meal in avery quaint and isolated wee hotel, Tomdoun. It was the original Coaching Inn on the road to Skye. Afterwards we walked down to the loch below the cottage, where even at 9.30pm the light and the view was amazing. Pat has 150-200 miles to go depending on which route he takes. The body is holding up well!!