John O'Groats to Helmsdale - 87k - Fri 13 July

It was a cool and overcast day when we finally said goodbye to John O'Groats, the original ferry service set up by Jan de Groot several hundred years earlier, by authority of the King of Scotland in order to get a formal connection to the Orkneys, and claim greater ownership from Norway of the 63 or so islands that make up the group. The long but gentle hiil out went on for several kilometers, giving occasional glimpses back over the basically flat dairy countryside.



The wind was blowing now from the south, so we faced it all day. I guess when you have been in a country as long as we have, you should expect to get the wind from all directions. We have had a good share. The sceneray was lovely nevertheless. We were on the A99 heading for the town of Wick about 26k away. It wasn't long before we picked up the outline of the great Noss Head sticking out into the North Sea, and then the faint outlines of the two castles, Girnigo and Sinclair.



We soon arrived at Wick, but because we had our sights set on the village of Latheron for lunch, another 26k, we just cycled straight through and out the other side, climbing up a reasonable hill to the top on the bottom side. We stopped for a 'breather', then put our heads down and kept going. It was hard work into the head wind. There were numerous long inclines that kept us working hard into the wind. We had the ocean to our left, and mostly visible, and lovely rural scenes passing to our right, with loads of evidence of generations of old and the disused stones houses and buildings that stand these days more as stone memorials to the past. We were in Caithness after all.



We could see the dreaded signs of rain in the distance, so we pulled over just in time to cover up and put coats on. Then the heavens opened on us, yet again! The coastline was occasionally dramatic, with cliffs and beautiful steep fields leading to the edges, all the time we were going up and down, the longer inclines making it serious going for us. The rain made things miserable enough for us to just want to be in our rooms at Helmsdale, but we still had a while to go.



Latheron came at last, but was more a hamlet of scattered houses with lovely coastal views, so we had lunch in the standing position looking out over fields of sheep, the ocean and the network of lovely ancient stone walled paddacks, having our banana and apples sandwiches.



We had 32k to go to Helmsdale. There were two towns in between, each seemed to be in a deep cravass, which probably meant steep descents and then steep ascents. Dunbeath wasn't so bad. It was a long descending open road with a corresponding long sweeping rise again to the top, over the Dunbeath Water. It was a great view, but a slow long pull out the other side.



Berridale was next. It started with the warning sign - 14% descent - and the road really dropped suddenly, with tight curves dropping all the way to the bottom. I stopped for photos from the top, but Julie just dived down. I was still taking photos when I saw her lonely figure so small in the distance having started the ginormously steep ascent out of the valley on the other side. Then I followed. I measrued 2k from bottom to top, and it was a killer. Julie chose the walk from about half way, to enjoy the staggering view better. It made the sweat drip down the face. It was a very tough long climb, which after 2k kept climbing for nseveral more but at a much lesser rate.



On the final approach to Helmsdale, we passed the very beautiful Dunrobin Castle, and popped in. We also passed a 2,000yr old 'cairn', the remains of a stone fort, just at the side of the road. The final descent into Helmsdale started from about 5k out, and spiralled around the dramatic coastline, dropping in to the village like a glider. We were doing 50kph on our descent, the view just glorious. When we finally came to a stop at the bottom on the edge of the little village with its own dock, set against incrediblly steep and stunning hills to the back, we looked for our Hoetl - the Belgrave Arms. They had lost our reservation, but had a room anyway, and we were glad to be inside, out of the weather. We had worked very hard today, and glad to have a television and a jog to make 'bottomless' coffee.

Tomorrow we get back to Evanton, from where we started our final assault on the northern coasts of Scotland, before heading to Fort William, Kilchoan and then finally to Stirling in a week's time to bring our great cycling adventure to an end.

We are grateful for your continuing thoughts and prayers. Until then.....K&J