Day 4 - The UK’s Northern Extremities

I woke up in the middle of the night and went out in my socks (not just my socks) for a wee. I never learn. I returned with saturated feet again. I going to wear my boots to bed tonight.

I was awoken by squawking seagulls just after 5am, I lay in bed listening to them until my bladder got the better of me. It was on this occasion that I noticed that the empty pitch next to me had an electric hook-up. No one was up so I plugged my devices in and lay them on top of my motorcycle jacket. I had just got back into bed when Sod’s Law it started to rain. I had to rush out and wrap them inside my jacket, until the rain got too heavy and I panicked they would get damaged.

I read my book and fell back asleep until 8.50am. I showered then made myself a breakfast of rice pudding after I had doused my head in Jungle Formula to keep the swarming midges at bay. Apparently they rarely come out - only on a still day and after the rain. Luckily me.

Around 10am I headed out for the day. My first stop was AMS motorcycles in Coach Road, Wick to get some engine oil. The elderly lady in reception proudly informed me that they had celebrated their 24th anniversary the previous day. She then went off to ask her son what oil I needed. As I was paying for my litre of oil (bargain at £14.99) she started to run through a list of places I needed to visit on my trip. Eventually I managed to get out of the workshop and attempted to fill my engine with oil. I failed at the first hurdle, when I couldn’t open my oil cap!!!

I had to return to the workshop and the son came out and managed to open it with ease. He obviously decided that I was a complete half-wit, because he ended up pouring the oil in and checking that it was the correct level. Apparently it was really low. The son was a nice chap who then spent the next 10 minutes or so telling me where I should visit, but in more detail than his mum.

I thanked him and boarded my bike, when I was then accosted by a little old lady in her 80’s, who told me to be careful how I ride. She then went on to tell me that a local lad had crashed his motorcycle and died in Wick the previous day. I promised her I would ride very carefully!!

I headed north up the A99 towards John O’Groats. I passed through Keiss, then just before reaching John O’Groats, I turned right to Duncansby Head. I parked up at the lighthouse car park and limped the 500 or so metres through a sheep paddock to the geological marvel that is Duncansby Stacks. They are 3 sandstone pyramids (or monoliths if you prefer) reaching out of the sea to over 60 metres. The tallest is called the Great Stack and is taller than the mainland. It was an impressive sight with the added bonus of swooping and nesting seagulls around the cliffs.

I continued on to John O’Groats and its famous sign installed in 1964. It is named after a Dutchman, Jan de Groot who ran a ferry to the Orkney Islands for 2p. The coin of this denomination became known as a ‘Groat’. The 300 residents of John O’Groats are known as ’Groaters’. It is 603 miles to Land’s End as the crow flies, but the shortest distance by road is 837 miles. It is NOT the most northerly point on mainland Britain.

I took the obligatory photos of the sign and it’s not unexpectedly very commercialised centre. There were gift shops, cafes, a brewery, a distillery and even a John O’Groats Christmas Shop. There were just 2 cyclists, that appeared to be a mother and son. The irritating son was shouting into his phone about his achievement for everyone to hear. I was glad to leave.

I then headed west along the northern coast on the A836. I turned off down the very impressive long entrance to Castle of Mey hoping to get a photo, but the castle and gardens were surrounded by a huge wall.

A short while later I turned off again following a minor road for about 5 miles to Dunnet Head, which IS the most northerly spot on mainland Britain. Dunnet Head had a lighthouse and several derelict brick buildings that were used by the British Army during World War II, because it looked out over Scapa Flow, where there was a naval base. There were an assortment of seabirds that reside there including puffins and gannets, but I didn’t spot any, just the regular seagulls.

A fantastic panoramic view was promised by following a path to a mound back from the lighthouse. I obviously limped up it, where it afforded a decent view of the Orkney Islands even on this cloudy day. I also learnt that the body of water between the Orkney Islands and this part of the mainland is called the Pentland Firth and is frequented by Killer Whales. I didn’t see any of them either.

I continued my journey to Dunnet Bay, a gorgeous looking beach that I had recently seen on tv featuring a young couple that ran a surf school there. The surf school seemed to have just finish for the day and the youngsters were all filing out of the water shivering.
They must have been mad.

Next stop was the main town of the region, Thurso. I had a cruise round, then headed down the A882 back to camp. I arrived back shortly after 3pm, the sun was out and everything was good. I put my devices on charge and rang Jackie who informed with the great news that I had received a letter telling me that my PSA score for prostate cancer had gone down and I didn’t need another PSA test until the end of the year.

Before we had finished the call, it started to rain and I had to abort the call to sort out my electrics. I took shelter in my tent and booked a hostel for the following evening. The forecast is for wind and I will hopefully be able to watch the football on my iPad!!!

When it stopped raining I took a mooch into Wick town centre, which used to be the busiest herring, (known as ‘Silver Darlings’) fishing port in Europe until WW1. I fancied a Chinese, but there wasn’t one, then I thought curry, but the only decent one was closed. I eventually decided on Bistro No 1, which was in the Mackays Hotel and was rated the best restaurant in Wick on TripAdvisor.

Before I entered the hotel, I took a photo of Ebenezer Place, recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest street in the world at just 2.06 metres long. It is at the thin end of the Mackays Hotel. I entered the hotel and was shown to the table at the thinnest end of the hotel for ‘Billy No Mates’ with my back to the shortest street in the world. It was just wide enough for me. The waiter offered me the Early Birds Menu of 2 courses for £25 (or 3 for £30, but I’m not greedy, despite only having had a tin of rice pudding all day!). I chose the ham hock and pea terrine with piccalilli and oat cakes. For my 2nd course, I had the Mackays Single beef burger with crispy bacon, caramelised red onion, cheddar cheese, secret burger sauce served with red cabbage slaw and hand cut chips. It was washed down with a pint of golden ale from the John O’Groats brewery.

It was all very nice and I returned to camp with a full belly. I returned to the picnic area, where I surreptitiously charged my devices and wrote my blog whilst finishing my bladder of wine.

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