Martin's mixed bag

(posting a day late) woke up to find my lovely sheltered spot by Loch Loyal was also favoured by the dreaded Scottish midge, had to don the midge net to be able to pack the tent away, I had forgotten how bad they could be! But then had a fantastic last day's cycling with a stiff breeze at my back to push me on my way, so made great time. Had some steep climbs (still nothing on Cornwall) and some bracing descents. Quick stop for Haggis and chips then racing to get to see Alice and Maisy at John o'Groats by 4.30. Not bad for the last 120 km.

(Posting a day late as no Internet yesterday) Great day cycling today, weather was cool but dry and wind behind me most of the time. Highlights were seeing the salmon leap at the Falls of Shin (also bumping into Steve McMellor from work there on his biking holiday, first time we had met properly in person!), a snack and beer at The Crask Inn (one of the most remote pubs in the UK), the wonderful Highland scenery, and camping wild next to Loch Loyal.

Day 13 Insh (South Of Aviemore) To Evanton (North Of Inverness). Probably a perfect day. Woke up to find the camping spot I had arrived at last night (in the almost dark) really was the best, iconic camping spot: by a totally calm loch, with the whole loch area to myself and the mountains and trees perfectly mirrored in the loch, wish I could have stayed all day. Weather was not exactly warm, but warm enough for cycling and the first dry day for a while. Made great time and the best bit (even better than the best camping spot ever) was to meet Alice and Maisy on their journey up to John o'Groats. We met at the Battle of Culloden site, lots of interesting history. Sad to leave them, but made great time to the campsite North of Inverness. Nowhere to wild camp here, so at a "normal" campsite. Feels really strange to hear noises of other campers after days of sleeping in wild spots. But the shower was amazing...

Day 12 Loch Tay To Insh (South Of Aviemore). (Posting a day late as didn't have internet) Late start today as the cyclist I had met yesterday had seen the weather forecast say heavy rain till 10am, and sure enough almost spot on 10am it stopped (at least for a while). Glad I waited till rain had stopped, but knew I had a long distance to cover today. After starting off in wet and cold conditions when I saw the sign at the start of the cycle path for the Drumochter pass saying "warning weather conditions deteriorate without warning and can be severe even in summer" my heart fell as I was already wet and cold. But the combination of a long hard climb (warming me up) and improving weather actually made it one of the highlights! Amazing views at the top, felt like cycling on top of the world. From then on it was a long day but rewarded by the ultimate camping spot: in a wooded area by a small loch, all to myself. As I had been wild camping in the rain but without nearby wat

<iframe src="https://www.komoot.com/tour/43075662/embed?profile=1" width="640" height="580" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> Day 11 (Posting next morning) Great day cycling today on the wonderful route 7. Weather cleared up overnight and it was mostly dry today. Route 7 goes through the Loch Lomond national park with most of the tour of road on really well thought out paths. Probably one of the best routes I have ever been on. Track was rough and steep in places but most was very good so even loaded up I could cycle it (not always easy for off road routes). A day of wonderful views of lochs, glens and waterfalls. Met another cyclist (first who is also camping cycling). He had arrived from Seattle a couple of days ago in Inverness with just a plan to make it to Italy. Good to swap stories and advice.  Only difficulty today was finding a camping spot, South of Loch Tay on the loch shore was not easy to reach in any goo

(Posting two days later as have not had coverage) Long day today but mostly quite flat. Woke up to find the "quiet" spot I found in the dark was actually on an access road to a wind farm construction site. So at 7am there was a string of cars and vans being escorted from the main road to there construction site (quite a distance from me). They did not seem surprised to see me there! Unfortunately, it turned cold windy and rainy and stayed like that until I was getting closer to my destination, a small forest East of Loch Lomond. Cycling through Glasgow along the Clyde was great. The cycle routes here (route 74 today) are wonderful, almost like a cycle motorway with signs like "local traffic" and "local services," quite unlike the routes in England where you are lucky sometimes to even have a route indication at a junction. Had trouble finding a good camping spot, the forest was quite wild so there were no flat spots without undergrowth. Eventually found

Long distance today (134km) but not as much climbing as most other days. Left the B&B filled up on a most excellent breakfast (but could not choose the timing so left quite late). Then the lake District did what it does best and rained (steady, but not too heavy). Unfortunately, my water proof jacket failed to keep me dry and I also got cold for the first time and totally wet through. But then as I left the lakes the sun came out and I started to dry out. The best bit was then stopping off at a random place that said "hot food" which turned out to be a food van (The Butty Monster) on an industrial estate a couple of miles south of the Scottish Border. I was given a great welcome to Scotland by Morag who runs the van. I was her last customer of the day and we got talking about her boys (one a roofer the other an opera singer, quite different!) and my tour and family. She donated £5 to my charities, gave me bottled water and the last of her banana bread (delicious!). Meet

Wonderful ride over the Forest of Bowland at the start, not somewhere you hear much about, but it is now a favourite of mine. As I had to double back last night I was worried about today's journey as I had more distance and a hell of a lot of climbing to do (124km and 1700m). Started well with a steep long climb but then very early on I had lost all my energy. Panicked as I was basically cooked after 30km out of 124, first time I had actually struggled. Then I realised I had not added electrolyte to my water and was dehydrated (can be a big problem for us ileostomates). Sorted that out and about two hours later started to feel ok. Then had a great ride into the lake District. One of the safe routes I had planned was closed (Bowness Ferry out of action) so had to go on the busy A591 which I had wanted to avoid at all costs. In the end had an exhilarating ride on it downhill from Ambleside by going as fast as I possibly could so instead of cars trying to squeeze past me I kept in t

(Posting a day later as didn't have internet yesterday). Today was mostly flat and relatively easy going for the first 3/4, then going up to the wonderful Forest of Bowland. Highlights were seeing Mohammed Al-Kahlidi for an early lunch in Horwich (Mohammed happend to be traveling nearby), passing over the Manchester ship canal (it's huge), climbing over Saddleworth Moor in the clouds (didn't see evidence of the recent fire) and finally arriving at the Forest of Bowland. I was planning to camp wild but was advised against it (they are strict about moving campers on, it is mostly a hunting estate or farms). Consequently, I had to double back up some steep climbs to a farm that allowed camping in a back field. The farm owner (Crawshaw Farm) insisted she donate the camp fees to my charities which was kind. I was the only person there and had a great view of sunset over Bowland. The Forest of Bowland was definitely one of the highlights so far, a fantastic place and great cycli

After the late arrival last night I then had a bad night as I had a stoma bag leak. I know that's probably more info than you wanted, but hey, part of the reason I'm doing this is to raise awareness. Anyway it was not too bad and nothing much got soiled but hard to deal with when wild camping! On the upside as it happened at 5.30am it meant I was up and away and arrived at the campsite in good time tonight. Now doing the washing, it was fine hand washing the other nights, but a washing machine and tumble dryer make it so much easier. The cycling today was much easier, more downhill than up, and weather was cloudy but dry, made really good time even though it was about 135km. Not that much to see today but, Clun is a really interesting small town and quantum leap at Shrewsbury is a cool art piece celebrating Darwin (who was born in Shrewsbury).

Long day today. Great start at Tintern Old Station, a disused station that has turned into a cafe/attraction. I had been the only one camping there and did not see anyone either arriving or leaving which felt quite strange. Quick look at Tintern Abbey which is quite impressive, it's in a great tree lined valley with the River Wye meandering along the valley floor. While I was taking a photo, someone came up, their son has Crohn's, and like me has an ileostomy, he is about to do the three peaks challenge for Crohn's and Colitis UK and they recognised my shirt! The rest of the day was less interesting and tough at the end. It started raining about 2 and did not stop until the early hours of the night, although I missed the worst which was while I was shopping for food and while I was asleep in my tent, there is always an up side! May the gods of cycling curse Hereford's one way system (see the map to see why!). Tough bit was the end, I had not realised the place I had pi

Another good day, wind behind me to begin with but then turning into a tricky strong side wind. Highlights were breakfast of local sausages and eggs, climbing Glastonbury Tor (what a remarkably strange mound), Wells cathedral, and crossing both the Clifton and Severn bridges. Got to the campsite quite late (not sure why it took me so long, probably spending too long at Glastonbury and Wells).

Fantastic day of cycling! Three of the longest descents I have ever experienced: down from Dartmoor, a decent from a village called "Long Down" into Exeter (wondered why it had that name until the descent), and down from the Blackdown hills. Wind behind me all the way. Day started with yoga on Dartmoor and an off road cycle to Hurston Stone row which is impressive. Now camping in Long Sutton just south of Glastonbury. Star gazing at the moment, have never seen so many stars!

Great day cycling, two ferries and lots more climbing. As predicted, although the climb to Dartmoor was high and long, it was not as tough as the high gradients in Cornish coastal roads. Great views on the coastal parts and in Dartmoor. As usual it tipped it down on Dartmoor, but the upside was some great rainbows. One end of a rainbow even marked my camping spot. Now camping wild on Dartmoor and it stopped raining just when I wanted to set up camp! Now the stars are out and the milky way looks brighter than I have ever seen it.

First stage done, quite a tough day with a few long hills at 15% or more which were hard work with a bike loaded with camping gear. Most people say the hills on the first day are the hardest, so feeling good that I managed it and still feeling good. It was perfect cycling weather and fantastic scenery, in particular dropping in to Mousehole and views of St Michael's mount. At the end I met up with Alice and Maisy for dinner (they were at the Eden Project for the day, just a few miles from my campsite!). Looking forward to Dartmoor tomorrow, more climbing than today but generally gentler gradients. Thanks to Alice and Maisy for dropping me off at Land's End.