Bike back home

It was John Vickers first trip to Scotland, so he decided to add to the experience by cycling back home to Southampton.

He began his journey a few days ago from Inverness. The weather has been wonderful so there have been no problems so far.

His favourite part of the journey so far has been the Caingorms. The mountains were hard work but very beautiful.

Bristol to Edinburgh

Peter is cycling from Bristol to Edinburgh to see his daughter, his arrival should coincide with his grandsons birthday.

He arrived yesterday with his wife, Linda, who has been travelling by car for the past few days.
The highlights of Peters journey has been  to meet with his wife on the third day, after travelling alone and sleeping in a tent for the first two days. He also enjoyed the downhill journey from the top of Shap.

Today the pair went their separate ways, Linda back to Bristol and Peter onward toward Edinburgh.

Howards Way

Howard and Tom are cycling from Lands End to John O Groats.

Howard, a keen runner, says his favourite part of the journey so far was having photos taken at Lands End on a misty day. Toms favourite part has been the Cheddar Gorge.

The worst parts of the journey have been - riding through Dartmoor in the pouring rain, and, a nine hour journey through the winding roads and steep hills of Cornwall, the 50 mile journey took them 9 hours to complete.

Andrew and Ben

Father and son team Andrew and Ben are cycling from John O Groats to Lands End hoping to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

The pair usually ride the London to Brighton night ride, but this year Andrew fancied a change and decided to achieve his ambition of cycling the country from end to end. He volunteered his son for the task also.

The pair will be taking the scenic route today through the Lake District.

Early One Morning

Brendan (on the left) is cycling today from Gretna Green to Hornsey in East Yorkshire, a distance of around 165 miles.

His father is tagging along as support driver.
Brendan was a bit too early for breakfast, as his journey began at 4.30 in the morning.

His father however had breakfast at 7.30 so he took Brendan a couple of bacon rolls.

Thumbs up for Clive.

Clive and Diane are holidaying in the Orkney Islands.

Diane is travelling by car and doing a bit of sightseeing on the way and Clive is cycling from their home in Shropshire.

Yesterdays journey took him from Kendal to Gretna Green in glorious sunshine.

If all goes to plan Clive and Diane will sail to the Orkneys on Saturday.

I think my thumb may have got in the way of the picture.

Picture perfect

Swee and Gail, from Australia, are travelling from John O Groats to Lands End by foot, cycle and boat.

Most of the journey will be on foot, but the last two days have been spent cycling.

The pair are treating the trek as a holiday and so are averaging only around 16 miles a day.

The west highland way has been their highlight of the jorney so far.

Swee is a keen photographer and pictures of their adventure can be found on Picasa.

And Lucy came too.

Susan Thorne is cycling further than any of our previous guests.

She started her journey 4 months ago from Meridian in the Heart of England and is cycling the coast of Britain, approximately 7,000 miles.

Accompanied by her trusty mascot Lucy, their adventures can be found on Susan's blog.

Her favourite part of the journey so far has been the Welsh coast where the roads were well signed and traffic free.

Susan is also supporting Birmingham St Marys Hospice with donations collected en route.

Fern and Sarah bite back.

Fern and Sarah are cycling from John O Groats to Lands End, along with support driver Tristan, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Yesterdays journey took them from the village of Carsphairn to here in Gretna Green.

The highlight of the journey so far has been to conquer a large hill near Inverary, spurred on by Ferns optimism.

The lowpoint has been the discovery of midges (A small fly, common in Scotland, with a taste for human blood).

At leisure.

Christine from Glasgow was last nights visitor.
She is cycling from Lands End to John O Groats, just for fun, at a fairly leisurely pace,  having started her journey 10 days ago.

Her journey yesterday took her from Tebay to Gretna Green. She hopes to be in her home city of Glasgow in the next two days.

The lowpoint of her journey so far has been an excursion into the Pennines, where the hill were very steep.

Cross country cousins.

Cousins, Carl Dundas and James Pooley are cycling from Lands End to John O Groats, raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Carl and James are doing this mammoth task in only 9 days (averaging over 100 miles a day). Yesterdays trek saw them cycle all the way from Blackburn, and today they hope to reach Paisley.

Their worst day so far was the first day when they had to tackle the hills of Dartmoor (James has been cyling with an injured knee), but they are still on target to achieve their task.

Walking the Wall.

Saturday saw the arrival of 3 generations of the Mahoney family. Daughter Harley, Mother Fiona and Grandad Simon. Along with Robert (who I think was the support driver).

The trio have just walked the entire length of Hadrians wall in order to raise money for Joels Wish  (a charity to assist young adults with a life limiting cancer diagnosis).

The 84 mile walk took 5 days to complete, averaging around 17 miles a day.

Details of their adventures can be found on facebook  and their charity page can be found here.

Taking each day as it comes.

Dan and Neil from Bristol became our first "John O Groats to Lands End" visitors of the year.

Neil is cyling on behalf of Prostrate Cancer , while Dan is cycling on bealf of Parkinsons Disease .

The pair are taking each day as it comes and so have not prebooked any accommodation.

The highlights of the journey so fay have been the Cairngorms where they enjoyed both good views and good roads.

The downside has been the wind and hail they had to endure on the first day.

Carry on camping

Nicky and Rachel are cycling from Lands End to John O Groats, taking their tent along too. Last night , however, they decided to treat themselves to a night in our bed and breakfast.

They will be taking the scenic route across to the Isle of Arran. So todays journey will take them in the general direction of Ardrossan for another camping stop (depending on the weather).

The highlights of their journey has been meeting new people and surveying the ever changing countryside. The worst part has been the rain, especially around the Forest of Bowland.

Enjoying the scenery.

Our first cyclist of 2015 was Nick Hart from Leighton Buzzard.

Nick is cycling solo from Lands End to John O Groats taking a longer, more scenic route. He has cycle quite a lot of the Devon and Cornwall coasts, through the centre of the Lake District and is now heading towards the Isle of Arran.

His favourite part of the route so far has been the Lake District and the only downside has been the wind and rain.