Route Miles: 41.6 (inc. 20 miles to Thurso)
Total Miles: 991.1
Another lovely B&B which at £23, appealed to my thrifty nature. Never overfussed on comfort (because it comes at a price), I'll be happy as long as there's a bed and running water.
Walked into Wick the previous evening and had a reasonable curry in Weatherspoons before dictating Days 12 and 13 over the phone to Lynn so that she could update this blog.
Departed Wick at 08.45 for the last stretch to John O'Groats and the land was quite exposed with strong cross winds. Before the end there was a small hill which afforded wonderful views to the Island of Stroma and the Orkney's and I freewheeled down this to the finishing point. Before going to the signpost though, I diverted off and cycled 2 miles up to Duncansby Head and the lighthouse on the edge of a cliff which is the most north easterly point of mainland Britain and has to be the real End. John O'Groats is just the nearest village, so in my detailed world you can't complete the End to End without visiting Duncansby Head!
Anyway, I got back to John O'Groats and met a couple of fellow finishers who also declined to have their photo taken next to the 'official' signpost for a princely sum of £7.50 (I didn't ask if a Cornish pirate had also robbed them at Lands End), so we just took photos on behalf of each other at a John O'Groats sign on the dock wall. Disappointed to see that JOG was quite touristy. From previous photos I'd seen, I imagined a derelict hotel, the last house and the signpost. In fact there's also a shopping arcade, Costa coffee outlet and a foot ferry going to Orkney.
Didn't have any sense of real euphoria when I arrived, just quiet satisfaction. When you spend days trying to achieve something but know for the last two or three that you are going to make it, then the final arrival doesn't feel like such a huge achievement. I was a tiny bit underwhelmed and looking forward to catching the train to Inverness and seeing Lynn. This feeling evolved a bit later and I texted people whilst cycling to Thurso to announce my LEJOG completion.
