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Days 22 & 23
The Orkneys and home

Wednesday 26th June John o'Groats to Kirkwall

It was a beautiful morning with a clear blue sky.  We sailed downhill to the quayside and as promised were shown to the front of the queue.  The manoeuvre was slightly tricky as we entered on the top deck but had to negotiate some steep steps onto the bottom deck from which point the bikes would be unloaded later.  The sea was calm and it looked as though the weather would hold for the whole day.  The crossing took about 50mins to Burwick on South Ronaldsay at the south west tip of the Orkneys, but by the time we had got there the cloud had descended and it felt really cold.  Our first port of call was to be the Tomb of the Eagles - about 3 miles to the east - a Stone Age tomb.  There is also a Bronze Age site close by.  We followed the signposts and arrived at a museum where we were given a lengthy lecture of about 45mins.  TW with his archaeology background was obviously losing interest so at an opportune moment we aborted the tomb presentation and entered the room for the Bronze Age - and another presentation!  We managed to persuade the chap that we only had a short time so he gave us the 10min version.  The Bronze age site was half a mile away and the tomb was still further out on the cliffs.  Fortunately the track was rideable so after looking at the first site we continued to the cliffs and took photos.  We hadn't yet reached the tomb but that would have to wait for another day.  "I've lost my camera case" says TW.  We searched everywhere we could think of - pockets, panniers, clifftop, Bronze Age site - with no joy.  In the end Tony left his address at the museum.  Lunchtime was approaching and as yet we didn't have any supplies.  'On yer bike' as they say to the nearest sizeable town of St Margaret Hope about 10 miles away.  En route, we were just about to pass a farm house, when I spotted a farm dog hiding in the grass.  I could sense that he was waiting for us and as soon as we passed he sprang out and started to go for our ankles.  The situation could have been a lot worse had it not been for a car passing in the opposite direction (which the dog decided to go for next) and a tour coach coming up behind us who saw our plight and started blowing his horn.  Fortunately we were able to escape.  At St Margarets Hope we found a shop for sandwiches and sticky cake, a cafe and would you believe it TW's camera case (in his pocket!).  We sat on the quayside and rested and ate lunch. 

Next we moved on northwards to the Italian Chapel crossing some of the Churchill Barriers which were built in the war to keep the German u-boats at bay.  Along the way there are still wrecks of vessels from WW2 which today are of great interest to divers.  Finally we made our way over the last barrier to the main island and on to Kirkwall which we reached in late afternoon.  St Magnus Cathedral was closed for a funeral when we arrived so we went for a cup of tea and a wander round the town.  We were still in our cycling gear and at some point we needed to change and sort clothes for the ride home the following day.  The loos near the quay seemed like a good place and TW disappeared to change while I monitored the bikes.  The lady cleaner next appeared but as she was unable to clean the gents due to TW, she agreed to open the disabled toilet for me and keep on eye on the bikes.  I think I had better deal!  We were then suitably attired to visit the Cathedral which has many similarities with Durham Cathedral as both probably used the same masons.  A quartet of musicians were practising inside for the evening's performance and we sat and listened for a while.  It was going to be a long evening.  The ferry didn't leave until 11.45pm, so after some more wandering round, bumping into the ladies we had met at Balsporran Cottages and sending a postcard to Ann in Truro we ended up at the Albert Hotel for a very leisurely evening meal.  Fortunately it wasn't busy so the barmaid was quite happy for us to sit and wait for as long as we wanted.  She advised that we would probably be able to get on the ferry soon after it had docked at about 11.15 so come 10.30 we made our way to the docks on the outskirts of the town.  "Have you booked your bikes on the ferry?" was one of the first questions we were asked.  It appeared that they were booked on the internet under cars - how were we to know!  The ferry staff were extremely helpful - obviously detected two doddery old men who were loosing their marbles.  "Have you booked with the concessionary fare?"  The answers to both these questions was negative but everything was sorted and we came away £6 richer.  All the other foot passengers disappeared onto the boat at 11.15 leaving us pondering our fate.  Just after 11.30 we were called and then spent a shivering 15 mins on the quayside waiting for the last of the cars and lorries to be loaded.  By midnight we were tucked up in our bunks and the next 6 hours passed in bliss. 

The stats for the day were 27.6 miles : 8.8mph : 1607ft climbed

Thursday 27th June Kirkwall to Home

We were awoken at 6am by the Tannoy.  Breakfast was being served but passengers could if they wish take their cars/bikes off the boat and reboard once the boat had docked at 7 in Aberdeen.  We did this.  Afterwards we made our way to the train station to catch the East Coast main line train to Newcastle.  The staff as always on this line could not be faulted - when we arrived on the platform they seemed to know already who we were and where we were going.  Disembarking at Newcastle went without a hitch and the next train was already waiting in the platform with 20 mins still to go before departure.  Again they knew that we were going to Peterborough.  At Peterborough platform staff had been organised to unload our bikes.  Thank you East Coast Main Line.  We had just missed a connection to Nuneaton so we had to wait for nearly an hour for the next and then arrived at Nuneaton just after 7pm.  Carole and Christine were waiting for us.  The perfect end to a great trip.  Thank you TW for being such a great pal on the road. 

We are indebted to so many people who made this trip possible and who helped us along the way.  Thank you also to all those who have donated to Inter Care - the fund now stands at about £2150.