JOG + 6 - The final blog

With long distance support walker award winner Graham at Carlisle.

Leading KBW award winner Adrian with his wife Heather (5 KBW's), Julie (6 KBW's) and Dame of the Walk Jean at the splendid property in Looe kindly provided by Dave Russell.

The Great Glen Way was a big disappointment to me . However it was wonderfully signposted and had interesting interpretation panels at frequent intervals.
Do you remember the Kessock Bridge just outside Inverness? My trepidation was not helped by reading the road signs as I approached it!
This is the hotel we stayed at in Wick - Mackays. It's claim to fame is that the bistro is on the shortest street in the world (its in the Guinness Book of Records). The end of the building is actually the length of the whole street ie about 10 feet.

It is difficult to know where to start in summarising the walk. It was a wonderful experience and I tried my hardest to follow the advice that I had received - to enjoy the experience as well as the challenge. I think I managed to achieve this and saw some magnificent scenery and met many lovely people. It was an endless source of amazement to me how wonderful the British countryside is, and how it changes as one moves from county to county - each county had its own distinctive feel. With only one small exception everyone that I met on the walk was interested in my challenge and were supportive. Many went out of their way to help - in particular Charles who arranged free transport for Jean and our luggage when the car broke down.

I am truly grateful for all of the help that I have received and without which I would not have been able to complete the walk. The support took lots of different forms; walking with me;support driving; medical advice;organising Welsh Male Voice choirs; messages on the blog,facebook,email,text and phone;organising publicity etc. It is difficult to single out individuals because the support from everyone was important to me. However Martin and Shayne, perhaps unwittingly (but I suspect not) walked with me when my shin problems were at their worst, and when the pain came close to making me give up my ambition. Without their efforts I may not have reached JOG. At the same time Norman was giving me excellent medical advice which led to me reducing the intensity of the walk and which allowed me to continue northwards.

As you will have seen from the above photos I have made Jean the Dame of the Walk - she was absolutely magnificent throughout the whole walk, knowing how much the achievement meant to me. She gave me a good talking to during the "shin period" and was a great help for the last few weeks when we were on our own. I am pleased to say that she enjoyed the trip and that she overcame her concerns about driving down single track roads in isolated areas - and by the end she was actually enjoying the challenge! She visited many heritage centres, so if you have any questions on Scottish history now is the time to ask!

On the way back south I deliberately chose to drive along some of the roads that I had walked on - bringing back lots of memories. It also seemed a very long way, even in a car! We saw several other potential endtoenders either nearly completing their journey or just setting out. It made me feel warm inside to see that so many people have the ambition to achieve something worthwhile and to which I can relate.

If any of you are crazy enough to want to walk LEJOG I would say go for it. It is essential to work hard on the preparations such as training, using the right footwear, planning the route etc but the effort of doing so is well worthwhile. I will never be able to watch the weather on the TV again without thinking that I have walked the whole length of the country.

I really enjoyed the West Highland Way (except for the awful few miles along Loch Lomond) and I think that the scenery along the Way will probably be the lasting memory of the walk. There was a mixture of beautiful loch's, mountains, remote moors and altogether a sense of isolation. The camaraderie and atmosphere at the hotels was also memorable. I am afraid that the same cannot be said about the Great Glen Way which I found to be largely boring along forest tracks with little views of the wider scenery. I think that the powers that be are aware of this problem and are trying to improve things - such as moving the walk to the east coast of Loch Ness, but until this happens I cannot recommend that you walk the GGW.

The journey through Scotland was enhanced by so many of the towns and villages holding Gala days or weeks when we were there. You will remember seeing the photos showing the bunting out for the galas.

As promised I have worked out the final stats for the walk:-

950 -Miles walked

0 - Miles still to walk (yippee!)

55 - Walking days

7 - Rest days

17.3 - Average miles per walking day

1 - blister (honest!) and that wasn't painful

1 - lost toe nail

35 - Beds slept in

20 - Counties visited

104 - Bird species seen

14 - Wild mammal species seen

16 - Men in kilts (only 2 of which were wearing them other than as some sort of uniform)

1,672,000 - Estimated steps taken

118,750 - Estimated calories burnt by walking

3 - pounds weight that I put on during the walk

5 - different single malts sampled

19 - Support walkers (qualification at least 5 miles) plus 2 dogs

12 - Support drivers (plus 1 train, 1 taxi and 1 bus)

3,343 - miles on our 2 support cars (plus countless others in the other support cars)

0 - Kingfishers, loch ness monster, midges (almost!),red deer, eagles,ptarmigan

4 - most pints of beer on one days walk (with Neil, Phil,Andy and Karen - some of whom had more!)

66- Most miles walked by a support walker (Graham)

7 - Most KBW's awarded to one person -Adrian. Four others were awarded 6 - Graham, Sue S, Julie B and Martin.

60 - Different recipients of KBW's (plus 2 dogs). Thanks to all of you.

125 - KBW's awarded.

1,000 - my lifetime bird list after spotting merlin on Dartmoor

4340 -Hits on blog (counter put on on 19 May)

42 - Ordnance Survey Explorer maps used (plus 1 I wish I had used!) plus guide books for the WHW and GGW

8,000+ - Pounds raised for British Heart Foundation (money still coming in!)

1 - new gear box

Thanks very much for reading the blog throughout the last two months and I hope that you have enjoyed it. I have certainly enjoyed writing it and it has given me a sense of focus when walking as I was always looking out for things to write about. It will also give me a record of my walk which I will be able to look back on with fond memories.

Now that I have fulfilled a long held ambition a lot of you have asked me "what is next" - I honestly have no idea but I would not be surprised If I find another challenge that will intrigue me - watch this space!

The final thought is one that I have used before but I think that it is fitting.

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

Cheers

Keith, Endtoender

JOG + 1 - The journey back home

The view from south of JOG showing the island of Stroma and in the distance the Old Man of Hoy. John O'Groats - on the last lap!

Warth Hill about 2 miles from JOG which was the last hill to climb on the walk. It doesn't compare with many of the hills that I encountered over the 950 miles but it was difficult because of the strong gusting winds as I reached the top of the hill.

Walker and main support driver enjoy reaching the end of the long road.

No caption needed!

Just to prove that the sun did shine on the last day. Overall the weather during the 9 weeks was fantastic and was much better than could have been expected.

I am holding a miniature of Clan Lindsay whisky and an engraved Clan Lindsay glass. The two were soon put together and I enjoyed a celebratory dram (or two!).

As promised I have included more photos of yesterday's wonderful events. I was in an end of term mood all day. I had to remind myself on a couple of occasions that it was still important to concentrate on the traffic, as my mind kept recounting incidents from the previous 9 weeks. The final day was a fulfilment of years of planning as well as all of the efforts of the previous 9 weeks and 950 miles and this made the final few miles very special. I started to get emotional over the last couple of miles as the scale of the achievement hit home - I started to sing "You will never walk alone" which was what the Welsh Male Voice Choir had sung when I visited the care home in Wrexham (it seems ages ago!). But the real emotion came from the realisation that I had received absolutely magnificent support from so many of you, without which I would not have been able to fulfil my crazy ambition, and that "I didn't walk alone". Thanks again to everyone who has helped in so many ways - whether walking, support driving, providing accommodation, donations to BHF and encouragement and emotional support.

Yesterday afternoon and evening were wonderful as we received so many messages of congratulation by phone, text, the blog and email as well as donations on justgiving. It was lovely to be able to share the good news with so many of you.

The atmosphere at JOG was full of camaraderie as as well as the lone walker there were a succession of cyclists finishing their personal challenges. We all swapped experiences of our journeys and celebrated together. In fact the last few days has been like this as from Helmsdale onwards nearly all endtoenders use the A9/A99 to reach JOG so that I have met many walkers and cyclists, and there is a splendid sense of fellowship in sharing a common goal with them. A major topic of conversation at JOG was Alan the "barefoot walker" - no one could belief what he was attempting to do. We passed him on the road this morning after he had walked about 20 miles and both of his feet were bandaged - not a good sign with over 900 miles and some much rougher tracks to be faced. If you want to follow his progress his website is www.thenaturalmindproject.org

Reaching JOG itself is a little confusing as I discovered that there is no start/finish line (as there is at LE) so I did not know when the target had been reached! This therefore spoiled my expectation of crossing the line and celebrating. However a wee dram soon removed this small problem as I queued to have the photo session at the "sign".

One aspect that I hadn't expected was that when I came over Warth Hill 2 miles from JOG I could see the Orkneys ahead of me. I hadn't realised that they were so close to the mainland. It may be silly but the fact that I had almost walked to the Orkneys made my achievement seem even more impressive. In any event the sight of the islands with the sun on them was lovely, and I could make out the waves lapping on the shores.

After the Lindsay whisky at JOG we had a bottle of bubbly back at the hotel. I also managed some Old Poultney single malt (which is distilled in Wick) after our meal. After so many weeks I didn't have to worry about how I would feel the next morning!

The adventure is now just about over - we will be back home on Thursday after picking up our repaired car tomorrow from the garage in Perth, where we are stopping tonight. But I am sure that I will always remember the fantastic experiences that I have had over the last few weeks.

As mentioned yesterday I will do a blog over the weekend including the final stats for the walk and giving my overall summary of KBW. The one stat that you can change is by making a donation to the BHF either via justgiving or by sending me a cheque made payable to the British Heart Foundation. I know that many of you have already made generous donations but I also know that many people have waited to see if I finish the walk- If you are in the latter group, please do not forget to make your donation.

"I'm glad I did it, partly because it was worth it, but mostly because I shall never have to do it again" - Mark Twain

Cheers

Keith, Endtoender

Day 62 - Mission Accomplished!!!!!

The target is reached! Exactly 2 months after leaving Lands End I arrive at John O'Groats. The Orkneys can be seen in the background.

Andrew promised me a generous donation to the BHF if I walked the last mile. Good try Andrew, but I did make it and here is the evidence.

Not the smartest of signs but it is probably one of the most photographed.

This is Alan whose tee shirt says "Barefoot Challenge" and he really intends to walk JOGLE in bare feet. Having just done it in boots all I could do was to wish him luck - I think that he will need it!

I arrived at John O'Groats at 2.20 this afternoon - in good health and very good spirits. After 62 days on the road there really was a sense of achievement in reaching my goal. Thanks to all of you for your support - both practical and emotional, and I have been very touched by all of the messages of encouragement that I have received over the last few days.

Although the walk has finished this is not the end of the blog. I will fill in the details of today's events in a blog tomorrow when I will also include more photos of today's walk and reaching the end of the road. In a week or so I will also do a summary of the walk including all of the stats and my more considered reflections of my experiences over the last 9 weeks.

I must go now - there is more bubbly to drink!

Cheers

Keith

Day 61 - Almost there!

A storm cloud over Wick as I approach at the end of the day.

What seems to be a typical Caithness scene. Relatively flat land with a mixture of new and derelict farmhouses.

The flags are out for me in Lybster - but they were not too enthusiastic, only managing 2 strings of flags!

How the well dressed walker combats rain and strong winds - self portrait. This season's style is to wear a floppy cricket cap under the hood of a waterproof - remember where you heard it first!

The walk today was almost abandoned. The weather forecast of heavy rain and gale force winds was reasonably accurate this morning. When I got out of the car at my start point (Dunbeath) the wind was so strong that I almost got back into the car. However I decided to give it a few miles to see how it went - agreeing to meet Jean down the road in case I decided to call it a day. The wind was only really bad in unprotected areas near the clifftops- fortunately there were only a few of these. I therefore decided to carry on with my plan to reach Wick which was a total walk of 21 miles today.

The weather in fact relented shortly before lunch with the wind dying away and the rain turning to intermittent showers. There were some heavy showers around - some of them thundery (see the photo above) but my luck was in and they all missed me, but it did encourage me to hurry along to ensure that I stayed dry. The weather has made me realise that the rosy view that I had of Sutherland and Caithness was based on the fact that the weather has been excellent. Now that I have seen bad weather in July and how it changed the feel of the place, I can only wonder what it would be like to live here in the winter.

The day started well with a phone call from Phil informing me that Captain's day at the golf club had raised over £800 for the BHF. Don't forget that donations can still be made to the justgiving page or by sending me a cheque.

As thought yesterday I am starting to see more endtoenders. There is a smug feeling of oneupmanship when meeting people going south, in all their innocence, when I have almost finished the walk. However when talking to two girls on their second walking day I did feel a little bit of envy of what enjoyment and challenges they have to look forward to over the next couple of months.

Tomorrow I have about 17 miles from Wick to reach John O'Groats (I have checked and the JOG council use a capital O) and I hope to reach the end of my odyssey at about 3.00pm. The champagne will be served at about 3.05pm! As mentioned I also plan to walk to Duncansby Head which I regard as a bit of gilding of the lily - but I may as well go there whilst in the area!

Thanks to all of you who have sent me messages of support in the last few days - in particular Martin, Phil, Sue, Julie and Lisa - KBW's to you all!

"Happy is the man who has acquired the love of walking for its own sake." - WJ Holland

Cheers

Keith

Day 60 - Along the coast

A view of the Caithness coastline south of Dunbeath.

The splendid view from the grounds of our hotel for yesterday and today - the Navidale house Hotel at Helmsdale - offering plenty of opportunities for bird watching or just relaxing.

Entering Caithness also marked the 900 mile marker. You may recall that the 300 miles was achieved at Norton Lindsey; the 600 miles was at Lindsay Tower; so I expected that the 900 mile marker would have some Lindsay connection. However the best that I can do is that the daughter of the Countess of Caithness married the 14th Earl of Crawford, George Lindsay, in 1621 - OK it is a bit tenuous! I understand that tickets are still available for the Royal National Mod (whatever that is!)

The 20 mile target to Dunbeath was achieved without any great incident. This leaves 38 miles to go to JOG but I have now decided to carry on to Duncansby Head, the extreme tip of Britain, which is a further 2 miles. I still hope to finish on Monday afternoon although I have just heard the weather forecast for tomorrow which is for heavy rain and gales. As I still have about 8 miles along the coast, before heading in land, it may not make for easy walking.

All of today's route was along the A9 and most was along the coast. This led to having to walk up and down several steep hills as the road dipped down to the villages along the coast. I am however told that there are now no more major hills left to encounter. The traffic was light so never became an irritant although the lack of cycle lanes etc meant that it was essential to concentrate the whole day to avoid tangling with the vehicles. A particular problem was that several times a car was about to pull out to give me space when the unobservant driver behind decided to overtake into a narrowing lane, making the first car veer back into "my" space. A similar problem occurred several times when cars going in the same direction as me decided to overtake which meant that they came very close to me, which was a surprise as I had no idea what was happening behind my back.

From what I have seen of Caithness so far it is more like I expected the far north of Scotland to be. There are isolated farms and cottages in bleak countryside and the land doesn't look to be very fertile. This contrasts with Sutherland which is both attractive as well as productive.

Lisa posted a comment yesterday asking what was in the Lindsay & Co showroom that was pictured in the blog yesterday. My shopping consultant informs me that the showroom is for the nearby hardware store and it displays such items as lawnmowers and other gardening equipment. Lindsay & Co also had a gift and card shop on the other side of the road.

Now that I am nearing the end of the journey I have mixed feelings - I want to finish the task and to achieve something that I have planned for years, but I think that I will miss the new routine that I have grown used to. I guess that I will have to wait a few weeks to come to terms with the events of the last two months. What I will not be doing is taking up Phil's suggestion that I turn around and walk back to Lands End!

I met a couple today who have just set off on their way to LE. They are doing it the long way with their route covering 1300 miles compared t0 my 950. They are doing the Pennine Way and also the South West Coath Path, both of which I decided were too long when walked as part of LEJOG. They expect t0 take 13 weeks to complete the walk. These are the first walkers that I have met who are going south - I have seen only I other going north (Benno - who I am sure is enjoying watching Holland in the World Cup!). the couple did however tell me that they had met a chap about an hour ahead of me who was going north - they said that they "didn't respect him" because he was doing the walk in stages over a period rather than doing it all in one go. They did however think that my schedule was acceptable! I have seen several end to end cyclists today and I expect to see more walkers and cyclists as I approach JOG - there are numerous routes used by endtoenders but they all converge at JOG!

"Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird." - Jules Renard

Cheers

Keith

Day 59 - By Loch and Sea (or Firth)

A view over Loch Fleet, near Golspie, which is a National Nature Reserve. I walked for 2 miles along its shores to start today's walk - seeing dozens of seals and lots of birds. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a photo of the seals on a sand bank until I was too far past - and it is a rule of long distance walking that you do not go back!

Dunrobin Castle just outside Golspie. We had lunch there today and Jean did a tour this afternoon which also included a falconry display.

Golspie seems to be run by Lindsay and Co with at least 3 shops owned by them. I am currently exploring whether I have any legal redress for them using the name of my firm! If you look to the left of the window you will see the photographer taking the picture - note the shorts which made their first appearance since before the West Highland Way.

Today's hotel does have a functioning wifi (so far) so hopefully I will be able to do a full blog tonight. The hotel is at Helmsdale (it used to be the Duke of Sutherland's hunting lodge)and has marvellous views over the sea from its cliff top vantage point. After my walk today I spent half an hour sitting outside the hotel bird watching in the lovely afternoon sunshine - idyllic.

I managed another 20 miles again today - reaching 5 miles short of Helmsdale. The first 2 miles were along the shores of Loch Fleet. After a few miles along the A9 with no pavement/cycle lane etc (luckily it wasn't too busy) I then took the coastal path for about 9 miles from Golspie to about 3 miles past Brora - this used the links which included walking through Brora golf course. I thought that I was walking beside the North Sea, and in reality I was, but I have been told that it is in fact the Cromarty Firth. On the links I got too close to a nesting ground for Arctic Tern which I didn't realise until about a dozen of them started dive bombing me to scare me away - it certainly worked and I left the area as soon as possible.

Tomorrow I plan to walk another 20 miles to Dunbeath - which unfortunately is all along the A9, hopefully as it is a Saturday it will not be too busy, as it becomes frustrating having to step onto the verge to allow vehicles to pass. In any event it is not very enjoyable as it is necessary to keep concentrating on the traffic at all times - at least this makes me walk faster in an attempt to complete the miles as quickly as possible!

My health and fitness are both excellent - with hopefully only 3 more days to go. This afternoon I had a strange thought that in recent weeks it has been a little too easy. It feels almost like cheating if I don't have to crawl over the finishing line suffering from various aches and pains - it is supposed to be difficult! I will however try to fight such nonsense and to keep fit until the end.

We are currently in Sutherland which is a wonderful place. I had no pre-conceived ideas about what to expect north of Inverness but it really has been a very pleasant surprise - the countryside is attractive and the towns and villages are pleasant and tourist friendly.

"I represent what's left of a vanishing race, and that is the pedestrian... That I am still able to be here, I owe to a keen eye and a nimble pair of legs. but I know they will get me someday." - Will Rogers

Cheers

Keith

Day 58 - The Far north

The Dornoch Bridge over the Dornoch Firth - not as scary as the Kessock Bridge over the Beauly Firth!

The quiet road that I walked for 7 miles into Tain this morning. A pity that it rained all morning

A view from the Dornoch Bridge looking over the Dornoch Firth.

The first road sign that I have seen which shows the destination! I will have to check on the use of the small "o" as I have been using a capital letter.

A short blog today as the dongle is only working intermittently and the hotel doesn't have wifi. Hopefully normal service will be resumed tomorrow. The title for today's blog comes from my LEJOG guide book which describes the walk north of Inverness as "The Far North" - it certainly seems a long way north, but it is a beautiful area.

Another good day with 20 miles walked. I finished at the Loch Fleet nature reserve, and so have a pleasant start tomorrow as I will walk 2 miles along the shore doing a bit of bird and seal watching as I go.

Cheers

Keith