Day 106 - Keiss to John o'Groats - 14.5 miles

The last 14 miles. The last day of the walk. The weather forecast wasn't the most promising. While the rest of the country was still experiencing 'Summer' weather, it looked as though the North of Scotland was going to be wet.

Whatever the weather forecast, we set off.

Keiss Harbour - you'd need a nifty hand-brake turn to get in to the inner harbour.

The trail rises slowly towards the precariously perched Keiss Castle

There were seals, cormorants and the calls of oystercatchers all the way along.

The strata are visible as large flat slabs sloping into the sea

 which in places look as though they've been shattered into massive cubes of stone. They look like ready-made building blocks.

In places, these blocks have been left stacked high into eroded columns of stone and the cliffs look almost like science fiction tower blocks

At Nybster Broch 

we stopped for a flask of coffee and sheltered from the breeze sitting on a victorian monument dedicated to a Victorian archaeologist who first excavated the broch.

Unfortunately his friends used stones from the broch to build his monument. Doh!!!

Freswick Bay has a perfect sandy beach

and we met a family walking their dog.- the only people we met all day. The couple had moved from the midlands 20 years ago to work at Vulcan, the MoD's base on the north coast. They'd enjoyed the area so much they'd stayed.
On a perfect afternoon in Freswick Bay it's not difficult to understand why.

A lunch stop with a Scotch Pie at Skirza Harbour.

Then the rain came on heavily and we had constant rain for the rest of the walk.

An oystercatcher, standing on a way-post and proclaiming our arrival!!

How much more auspicious can you get??

The cliffs along the coast are punctuated with Geos or deep clefts that -  a topographical feature that is peculiar to this area and the Orkney and Shetland Islands. They have great names Hobbie Geo, Selly Geo and Skippie Geo.

Wife Geo is particularly impressive.

The Stacks of Duncansby are fantastic and look almost supernatural!

They're a fitting high point to the walk.

Just as we walked up the open ground to the lighthouse a woman walked briskly across the field to meet us to ask whether we were end-to-enders.

Jane had finished her end-to-end yesterday and wanted to talk to someone else who was feeling as excited as she had. We briefly compared notes, exchanged details and we continued up to the lightouse at 

Duncansby Head - the most north-easterly point in Britain.

Then we continued along the coast a few miles to John o Groats - the northern most town and the usual end point of the end-to- end trail.

From a distance it's unprepossessing -  surrounded by day trippers' attractions, campervans and the hotel looks like something out of Disneyland. Xanadu - it is not! But they do have a signpost that has a significance.

These moments have to be savoured and Sally had prepared for the occasion by bringing a suitable celebratory dram.

Then, on to the Seaview Hotel, a well deserved hot shower, a snap of my RNLI socks

to proove they'd made it to the end, a great supper 

and a 'flight' of local whiskies to round off the day and the journey.

Brilliant!!

Deep Sleep.

Post Script
I'm continuing the blog for a short while to cover our visit to Stromness and travel home to Arundel. It's also been suggested that I keep the charity links open for a while after the walk so if anyone reading this would like to pass on details of the blog to anyone else who might be interested or inspired to do the walk, please do. 

Thanks to all those walkers who joined me for a day
Neil, Paul, Caroline, Aaron, Chris, Kirsten Mike, Alan, Pam, Jonathan, TT, Jerry, David C, Herbie, Barrie, Emma, Dave, Hamish, Alfie and Rory and of course Sally who,
as always has been a tower of power!

Thanks to all those who provided me with accommodation along the way, Mike and Vero, Gill and Alan, Herbie and Suzanne, Jill and Donald.

Thanks to all you sponsors - Many, many thanks for your support of these great charities. If I have your email address I will be writing personally to thank you.

Thanks to all the contributors to the blog - great comments and questions. I'll apologise now for not having responded more quickly but in the evenings, I've found staying awake really difficult and writing the blog has normally involved fighting my eyelids!

How do I feel?

I was told I might feel this way, and I do!! I want it to carry on!!
I've enjoyed the wonderful comraderie there is between walkers.
I've enjoyed meeting wonderful people every day of the walk.
I've enjoyed the wonderful scenery in every part of Britain.
I've enjoyed having the time to look and listen - from moths to whales, the different accents along the way, the stone walls....
I've become aware of how noisy cars are and how fast they travel on country roads.
I've realised how much I've enjoyed periods of solitude.
And I feel ridiculously emotional!

Anyway, curiously, I enjoyed putting my boots back on this morning while not having to be bothered about whether my socks were 100% comfortable.

And now on the No.80 bus to Thurso and the ferry to Stromness to see Helen and Mike. The fun continues.....

Total distance walked = 1286.6 miles

Total ascent = 142 942 feet

If you'd like to leave a comment, correct me on any detail or just nudge, it'd be great to hear from you. If initially it comes up as Anonymous, please just add your name at the bottom so I can see who it's from.

email: david.LL.thomas@gmail.com

mob: 07850109100

If you'd like to contribute to any or all of the three great charities I'm supporting, here are the relevant links.

- Parkinsons UK   - My dad had Parkinsons in his latter years and the research work this charity funds and the support it provides to patients and their families is invaluable. - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-thomas215

- Just Wheels UK  - this is a small charity set up to provide wheelchairs in a rural community in Tanzania. It does this through funding training, education and the local fabrication and servicing of bespoke wheelchairs. My nephew uses a wheelchair and as he grows I can see the life changing freedoms that proper wheelchairs can bring to both users and their families.- 

 https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900002H35TDAAZ

- RNLI   - these are the brave guys who selflessly head out to sea to help others. I volunteer at Littlehampton RNLI shop and often meet families of those who’ve had first hand experience of their loved ones being saved from the sea. Having sailed for years I can say thankfully we’ve never had to call on the RNLI's services but it’s amazing what it does to know they are there 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-thomas216