After doing a nightshift Thursday night / Friday morning, managed to grab about 3 hours sleep, then got the bike ready to go, and met up with Neil and Clive Friday morning at 9a.m., and we set off to the Cotswolds Airfield to have a lookm at an aircraft scrapyard.
view of some more scrapped aircraft in the distance
We stopped in the cafe, AV8, clever name, which was nice, then headed into Wales, had a brief stop at the Usk museum Cafe for cakes, then off to our pub lodgings for the night, The Lamb and Flag,
Abergavenney, and ended the day with a few beers. Me and Neil had the full english breakfast (English chain of pubs or it would have been full Welsh) Next morning, , Clive opted for a continental breakfast, he ordered porridge with golden syrup and a croissant, what he got was .....
a thing that looked very dissapointing, some hot water, and a plain croissant with no butter.
We then set off to find the "Gospel Pass" North of Abergavenny, it starts off as a narrow road in a rough state, with lots of potholes, gravel and mud on the road, Clive was worried that we would be dissapointed ..
But after a few miles it opened up into a very picturesque road
Then after zig zagging around North Wales, we stopped at a reservoir
Then we eventually ended up at Premier Inn, Porthmadog for the evening, and a few more beers
Next morning, Llanberis Pass was the first call
then a ride into Caernarfon for a snack
Then it was back to the "Lamb and Flag", Abergavenney for our final evening. Next morning, the bikes had frost on them, so it was off to McDonalds for a double sausage and egg mc muffin until the roads warmed up a bit, then we got a bit split up due to road closured on the A40, but managed to meet up again near Clarkson's pub. Then it was time to head for home, Nice relaxing trip, thanks to Wing Commander Richardson for organising, and Neil for general Neilishness.
Due to me not checking my diary properly, I managed to book myself two trips at once, I booked a Longbow making course for a Thursday and Friday, and a bike trip Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I went off to Thetford for the longbow course with overnight camping, the day was very interesting, the tent set up was very difficult as it had been very hot for a few days, and the ground was like concrete
The next morning, I had completed my bow, and it was arrow making time, I started on the arrows, but as I have already made loads in the past, I decided to finish early and head off to Yorkshire to meet Neil and Clive, we met at South Yorkshire3 aircraft Museum, which was interesting, then headed to our hotel for the night, then next morning we went to Pickering station which is a steam railway, so Neil could get his steam train fix
Next, we went to Thornton le Dale where Bangers and Cash is filmed
We rode through some very nice scenery on the back roads
we found a large rock that Neil had a go at eroding, without much success!
Eventually, we came to our hotel for the night, The Lounge, Penrith.
We were a bit disturbed as there was a hen party there, and it got very loud when we were having dinner, so we went outside to the patio area, and they followed us, then asked for a group photo, then Neil asked if we could have a photo with them...
The next morning, we went for a ride through the Lake district,
and I wanted to do the Hardknot Pass and the Wrynose pass, which I was expecting to be tricky, as the bike was loaded up with all my camping gear and cooking gear
The Pass was harder than expected, the hairpin bends were almost full lock on the motorbike, and you had to lean the wrong way, as the bends are also on a 30% slope and very uneven, no wonder so many people drop their bikes on this road, and as soon as you have done one very tight turn, there is another one a very short distance away, its worth checking out other peoples video's on youtube. I then headed off to the Lakeland Motor Museum, which has a lot of Donald Campbell cars and boats, very interesting.
Our hotel for the night was Travelodge Kendal, which was fine, then next morning we set off for home, Excellent fun trip, thanks chaps, and I now have a new bow!
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.
My flight from Gatwick was uneventfull, but the transfer from Oslo to a different plane for Alesund was a bit of a worry, as I wasn't sure if my luggage would make the transfer. As it happened, my luggage had no problem, but one of the three guides on this trip lost his stuff.
I went to the taxi rank outside of the airport in Alesund, and asked for a taxi to Hotel 1904, and the young couple getting into the taxi ahead of me said they were going to the same hotel, so we shared. They were there for a kayaking trip.
When I got to my room, I found a welcome pack with a map and a t-shirt, which was nice. I watsapped Laura and Holly (my cat), then went downstairs to meet the others.
We were given a welcome briefing by Stefan, Nico, and Trummy, and shown a nice hand drawn map
then we were split into 2 groups, and went down to the basement to meet our trusty steeds.
mine was the smallest of the bikes there, a Suzuki v-strom 650, which was probably the best size bike for this trip. At this point, I would like to say thankyou to other members of this tour for the sharing of photo's. I decided to call my bike "The Wasp" 'cos I like wasps. There were many different bikes there, 2 Yamaha Tracers (750 and 900), lots of BMW's from 900 to 1250cc, 2 Harley 2 litre (horrible things), a Ducati and a KTM 1290 Adventure.
Most of us had trouble opening and closing top boxes and panniers, not sure why. we then went back into the hotel for the evening meal, where I had a Norwegian cheese starter, then some meat and spuds for the main course, very nice.
Sunday morning we had a late breakfast, as the kitchen didn't open untill 8am, then down to the bikes to load up with essentials, (our luggage was taken by van), Nico and Trummy did the daily briefing, then we set off for our first stop of the day at Gudbundsjuvet, when we got out of town, the roads were fairly quiet and great scenery. The stop was by a waterfall in the Valldalen valley
Next, we took the road to the Trollstigen, we approached it from a different direction than I did on the GS500 three years ago, we did a sticker shop raid, then a photo shoot, then we went down the Trollstigen. Last time I went up and down, which is more fun!
There were quite a few camper vans, cycles etc, and as I was videoing Ed, we saw a vw camper almost tip over on one of the hairpin bends (one wheel about a foot off the ground!). Next, we stopped at the statue of a Troll on a motorcycle for some more photo's;
We next stopped at the Trollveggen which is Europes tallest overhanging rock face, and very impressive.The weather was hot, and the riding along the fjords was very nice and we eventually got to our Sunndalsora hotel, where "The Beatles", "The Who" and "The Stones" stayed, and had a very nice meal at the Italian restaurant next door.
Monday, set off at 08:40 after our briefing, and after about 15 minutes we stopped for some photo's, then Ed realised he had lost his phone, so me and Ed and his wife went back to the hotel, where the phone had been handed in by the cleaning staff! We were soon back with the rest of the group at Sunndalen Valley.
We then stopped at a very inefficient restaurant for lunch, but as it was taking 50 minutes to get served, I decided to leave the group and go to Hell for some photo's, but as the road was diverted, I couldn't get the photo I wanted, so I did the best I could...
I also met another motorcyclist on the road to Hell, who had a roughly 80 litre bag on his rack, 2x 80 litre panniers, with 2x 30 litre bags either side on top, and 2x 20 litre bags slung underneath, I've never seen a bike so overloaded, he could have got an elephant in there if he chopped it up the right way! I next headed to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Trondheim to meet up with the rest of the group, I thought they would have beaten me by ages, but after my 50 km detour, I still arrived at the same time! Definately time better spent than waiting for a meal at the restaurant.
I went for a walk around Trondheim, and went to the Cathedral, but didn't go in due to the usual problem of the holy water in the font starting to boil, and the Gargoyles getting upset. Next morning, we only had a short ride to the ferry, the girl taking the payment couldn't be bothered with us, so she didn' take any payment, which was a result. The rain had started,so the roads were wet, but we went through some lovely coastal scenery and alongside various fjords.
The next ferry was from Flakk to Rorvik, we stopped for lunch, and eventually got to our old wooden hotel in Overhalla. Next day, the roads were dry, and it was sunny, and I was behind Trummy, the guide, who is also a bike racer, and as the roads were twisty and dry we started to go for it
the v strom handles very well, and we soon left the group behind. We had 3 ferries and some fantastic scenery, then stopped at an artists museum, but as I dont have any taste, it didn't do anything for me. On the way to the hotel, one of the group backed his bike into a 4x4 in a petrol station, amid a lot of shouting. !0 minutes later, he went to park his bike but forgot to put the side stand down, and dropped his bike onto one of the other bikes...
We then got to our hotel, the Scandic Syr Sostre. Next morning, we set off at half eight, stopped off at a couple of places, then headed off to the Arctic Circle. The scenery there is like a moonscape, we had lunch there, lots of photo's, sent some postcards and got some more stickers.
We set off again, towards Bodo, but before we got there we stopped off at the Saltstraumen, the biggest whirlpool in the world, which has been on my list for ages
It doesnt look too impressive in the photo, but check it out on youtube. Then, off to our hotel , The Clarion Collection, Bodo. The meal that evening was a three course affair, which was vegetable soup (yuk) then salad (yuk) then pork stew. I missed the first 2 courses, so I had the stew 4 times and 2 beers.
Friday, we left the hotel at 09:30, as the ferry to the Lofoten Islands wasn't due to depart until11am, and it was only a short distance away. The Ferry takes three and a half hours, and when we got to Lofoten, we went to the town with the shortest name, "A" (there is a small circle above the A, but haven't got that key on my laptop.We had a look at a traditional fishing villiage, where all the houses are red. We next went to Reine, which is the most stunning villiage I have ever seen
The ride across the island to Svolvaer and our hotel the Anker Brygge was fantastic, it was a group of houses that we shared. The evening meal was dried fish and mustard as the main course, bit like old trainer and mustard and potatoes. The potatoes were nice.
Next morning, Saturday 22nd, we set off to a ferry from Fiskenbol to Melba, we went to a viking museum, and we also had some rain. Next, it was a night at the Thon hotel in Harstad. In the evening, me, Stefan and Ed went to see if we could visit the Adolf gun on a military base. It was closed, but we tried to blag a visit, but 2 soldiers with guns saind NO!, so thats a no, then, I could only get a picture of a picture
the only way to get some idea of the scale of the thing, is the steps in the left bottom corner.
Sunday, we set off for Sweden and stopped off at the Narvik war museum then crossed into Sweden
The roads were empty and after a spot of rain, we got to Camp Ripan which had a lovely restaurant with a very nice menu, I had Arctic shark starter, reindeer steak main and a very nice green pudding. Next morning, we headed North again, there were lots of speed cameras, the roads were straight and tree lined, with the odd reindeer to spot. We stopped at a service station for lunch, where it was a 40 minute wait for a burger, so I had chicken curry and rice, which may have been past its use-by date, Stefan was the only other person to try it, and was sick shortly after, but I was fine.
We eventually got to the border with Finland, got stuck in a reindeer traffic jam. Next, it was a Sami silver jewellery shop, but to me, it looked just like someone had beeen careless with a soldering iron. The temperature was a bit more pleasant at 9 degrees c, as it has been hovering around 18 degrees for the last week. The roads in Finland were quite bumpy, then I saw a sign for "uneven road surface" they weren't fucking joking, I had to keep going back to pick up my eyeballs!
We soon got to our hotel, the Jussan Tupo Oy, which seemed quite nice, although the meal was disappointing.
Tuesday, we crossed back into Norway, went to an overpriced restaurant then rode for a bit until we got to our hotel in Lakselv, Nordkapp tomorrow.
We set off for the North Cape, and as we were quite a way North, there were no more mosquito's to bother us, so the Reindeer took over the job of trying to splat themselves against our visors. We were coming across swarms of reindeer every 5 minutes, and they had as much road sense as the average teenager. The trees got smaller and smaller, until it was just rocks and lichen, the scenery was fantastic, as I love barren landscapes, and we made it to Nordkapp. We had been warned that some geezer would try to stop us at the entrance to charge us, but this is illegal, so we rode past him.
They also try to charge you to go in the restaurant, but this can be avoided by using the rear doors, bit like Lands End for rip off merchants
Nico, Stefan and Trummy, our guides. After a few photo's we left Nordkapp and headed South (where else) for our hotel in Alta, the Thon Hotel. at the petrol station, one of our group dropped his bike, but didn't seem bothered. Next morning , I told the guides I wanted to do a solo detour to have a look at the fjord where the british mini subs (X Craft) sank the Tirpitz,
as it happened, the rider behind me also went for a look, There was a Tirpitz museum but it was closed, but I was more interested in the fjord. They re-floated the Tirpitz after 6 months, but it was then sunk by british aircraft using "Tall Boy" bombs shortly after. We then headed to our next hotel, in Tromso (where the Tirpitz was finally sunk) along the E6 road, which is the same road that had the 3 days worth of road works last time I used it (still got road works even now) We had a very nice farewell dinner with the 3 guides and the 16 other riders (Canadians and Americans), next morning, I got a coach to Tromso airport, for my flight to Oslo then Gatwick. It was a brilliant trip, met some lovely people, made new friends, and I would like to say thankyou to the guides as well, as they were fantastic.
When I got home, I had a lovely welcome from my 2 favourite girls,
