Start mileage 17552, End mileage 19557, 2007 miles.
I was planning on getting up at 02:15, however, Holly had other idea's so she woke me at 1a.m., so got up, fed her then decided to make a move. Finally got going at 2a.m., the sky was like a disco, lightning flashing every few seconds. It was pissing it down all the way to Oxford, where the rain finally stopped.
Got as far as Birmingham before I needed to stop for fuel, had a sausage roll and a can of ginger beer, this was to be the only stop, apart from fuel (4 times) on the way to John O Groats. Got there 13 hours and 40 minutes later, and as the Bandit 1250 is so comfortable, I didn;t even have a numb bum!
The weather was nice and sunny, and I got the usual photo of the sign
Next, I turned West along the coast road and got to Ferry View campsite, which is really nice, and they had food on site. The camping spot they gave me had a roped off section for my bike, right next to a large roped off area for my tent, the most space I have had on a campsite! Today was 740 miles. No sign of Jeremy, who had set off the day before, so I phoned him, turned out he had got lost. I eventually met him at the campsite a few hours later so after a short chat, he went off to an air b and b.
I had to be up at 5a.m. the next morning to catch a ferry to Orkney, the ferry I chose was a few miles away, as the one next to the campsite would have missed out on the view of "The Old Man of Hoy, an impressive sea stack. On the way to the ferry, I took a detour to the most Northerly point of mainland Britain, at Dunnet Head
then it was off to the Scrabster-Stromness ferry and met Jeremy, and also met a chap called John on a BMW R1200GS who joined us for breakfast on the ferry. We went past the Old Man of Hoy, and I got chatting to a couple of American lads who were planning on climbing it!
Jeremy, with the Old Man in the background.
We soon arrived at Stromness, and John told us he was booked in at a campsite at Point of Ness, which is just outside Stromness, so we went to have a look, as we hadn't booked anything. It was a council run site, and the lady in charge was lovely, and let me and Jeremy share 1 space so it was a lot cheaper. The tents were soon up
and we had some lovely views. We then went for a tour of the island, we first went to Skara Brae prehistoric villiage
which was interesting, then we went to Twatt, to get a photo of the sign, but it was gone, so then off to Kirkwall so I could buy Laura a ring, then got chatting to an ex copper about bikes in the town center, then it was off to have a look at the Churchill Barriers, which are very impressive, they were built to stop u-boats sneaking through the islands.
Next, we went back to Kirkwall then up Wideford Hill where you can see the whole island from the viewpoint, then back to the campsite for tea. John and Jeremy cooked a curry, while I had 8 Tunnocks snowballs, 6 Tunnocks tea cakes and 2 packets of crisps. Lovely.
Next morning we went through Stromness on the way to the Italian Chapel
Stromness is a very unusual town, it feels like you should not be riding through it as it seems pedestrianised. We soon got to the Italian Chapel, which was a Nissen hut modified by Italian prisoners of war
Then we went to the Ring of Brodgar, the Dukes Palace ruin, where we had some lasagne, then off to look at a causeway out to another island
We then went back to the campsite with John, and the lady who ran the site gave us some Twatt stickers for our bikes as she knew we were disappointed not to get a photo of the sign
We said goodbye to John at the ferry terminal, as he was getting a later boat to Shetland, and we were heading back to the mainland, I had a curry on the boat, and Jeremy fish and chips. On the boat, Jeremy booked us a campsite at Halladale North Coast Touring Park, which was very posh with a pub attatched.After a couple of beers, back to the tents.
Next morning we had a lovely breakfast of bacon, square sausage, haggis, black pudding, tomatoes, beans, toast, stovies and scrambled eggs. very nice. Then off to the ferry for Cape Wrath, we waited 2 hours for the ferryman, who was sitting in his car, then when he went and got the ferry, he told us the minibus wasnt running, but he would take us in his 4x4 to the lighthouse for £20 each way, but he would only take us one way on the ferry and bring us back 24 hours later, but we had already paid for a campsite elsewhere, and didn't want to leave the bikes in the middle of nowhere for 24 hours, so didn't go. (He could have told us this 2 hours previously, but he was a bit of an arse).
We headed back the way we had come to Kyle of Toungue campsite for some beers and a pleasant evening, the roads were great.We set off next morning, it was very misty, and as we were at cloud level, it was very damp. As it was Bank Holiday Monday we had about 10 minutes of proper rain, not serious enough for the Scott Waterproofs.
We went back to Durness to have a look at a boat wreck that Jeremy's father in law used to fish from 70 years ago, when it was washed up onto the beach in a storm. Next, we headed along the North Coast 500, through lots of twisties which took a while. We eventually got to Torridon campsite where we were to meet Rob Davis. As I pulled up, he phoned me to find out how we were doing, turned out ,we had arrived within a minute of each other. We were soon set up at the campsite
Rob went to investigate the local shop for some beers, but it was closed. We had some beers with us, and some Spam, so all ok.
Next morning, it was off to Applecross, and the famous pass
Jeremy was starting to worry about fuel, but me and Rob were carrying a spare 3 litres each, so wasn't a problem.The pass was much easier than the last time I did it with Clive. When we got to the top, Rob set off his drone to get some video's, but I don't know how to do a link. We found an un-attended petrol station in Applecross, so all was sorted. There is also a bacon sarnie van there, which was expensive, but very nice.
Next, round the rest of the Applecross peninsula, then off to Skye bridge, which is now free. We got to a campsite at the bottom of the Cullin Hills which was nice. It was almost empty when we arrived, but after a visit to the pub, a lot of Belgian motorcyclists and camper vans turned up. One of the Belgians had a cough that sounded like he had the plague, which kept Jeremy and Rob awake all night.
Next Morning, we set off back to the mainland, then Rob headed North to do the rest of the NC500, while me and Jeremy headed South. Me and Jeremy stopped for fuel 150 miles later, then Jeremy's bike wouldnt start, so we bump started it, I told him ton ride with the lights off to charge the battery quicker, next fuel stop another 150 miles later his bike was still having "problems" that I wont go into, so I abandoned him, as there was nothing I could do, and it took him until 16:30 the next afternoon to get home! Note to self...get green flag breakdown cover as the RAC are plop. I just carried on and got home at 23:30, Holly was waiting for me, Laura was busy pushing out Zeds. Excellent trip with great company.
