Day 15. John o' Groats - the end or the beginning? (Jony)

For once, let's not bother with the stuff about how far or how hard; we got there. End of story. Rolled into JoG about 3.15 with a big smile on our bottoms and a fairly substantial sense of relief. Had it been all about that moment, it would have been a bit of an anticlimax since there were no scottish pipers, no cheering crowds, just the same much photographed signpost that we'd seen in Lands End a couple of weeks earlier.

A wee dram of the local firewater was called for.
I did not resist.
(Is that man behind me weeing on the signpost?)

But the end of all our journeys is to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time, n'est pas Holmes? I can't speak for Jan (who is off visiting Orkney's archeological sites while I nurse a sore throat in assorted coffee shops) but I have certainly learnt a bit of stuff in the course of our travels. Learnt? Well, we'll see. 'Experienced' certainly.

I've pushed myself physically way beyond what I thought was possible. And survived. I've found some new fabulous bits of the country that I want to explore further and not on my own (especially Shropshire, the Lakes and the Scottish west coast - you can get a rover ticket on CalMac for £70...even less when you're a pensioner!).

Says it all...

I've really enjoyed cycling with someone else and Jan has been a perfect companion for this journey (which, if truth be told, I would not have completed on my own). But I have a notion that travelling at a different speed might be worth trying.

Which is why I'm about to set off to Germany with Charlie and Patrick on a motorbike tour! A whole new set of issues awaits the unwary reader and biker alike which will undoubtedly change my understanding of the past two weeks!

Thanks for sticking with us gentle reader but this is not the end of the road. Stand by for further exciting adventures which will, I hope, be found by clicking here.