Land’s End to John O’Groats Cycle Ride by Isabel Berry
June 2011
Written by Isabel, The Trust's Projects Coordinator
“We should do this!” I said, looking up from the guide book. It was just after Christmas and my boyfriend had been given a Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle guide. "Ok then," he repied and before we knew it, we’d booked time off work, planned a route and got to grips with our borrowed panniers! June came round surprisingly fast, and one Friday afternoon we boarded the train for the South West with our bikes. We had 14 days to ride our route and estimated we'd reach our destination in 975 miles. The actual distance end to end is 874 miles, but we'd opted for a quieter and slightly longer route, and I was looking forward to exploring parts of the country that I’d never seen before.
We left Land’s End on a beautiful, sunny day. Out to sea you could see the Isles of Scilly and as we rode passed the old engine houses of West Penwith, heather and bracken covered hills. Our guide book had warned us of hills as we progressed through Cornwall and as the afternoon wore on, we found more and more of these. The first one provided a fun challenge, but by the fifth the novelty value had worn off. We decided to head inland towards a ridge which would save us yet more roller-coasting along the Cornish coast. Cornwall boasts some truly beautiful lanes but with a generous lack of signposting, lead to much head-scratching, ...and for about an hour, wherever we went we seemed to always be 2 miles from a village called Cubert! By the time we popped back onto the coast, we were feeling seriously crushed. Fortunately an incredible flapjack we’d bought earlier in the day delivered a new rush of energy. I’m sure many people who’ve been on an expedition at The Trust can bear testimony to the transforming effects of a flapjack when all feels too much!
We rolled into Padstow, our first night’s stop, at 8pm. The next morning we awoke to rain pouring down the windows. This continued for most of the day, as we rode drenched northwards before the final hill that evening, where the sun came out and the lane rising in-front of us steamed vigorously. Malt loaf and pies became our staples as we rode north.
Although I’m very active, before the trip, my longest cycle ride had been 40 miles, in a hasty, last-minute training bid the weekend before we set off. But the first few days were averaging 75 miles and every ride was a new record distance for me. .
At The Trust, amongst other things, we teach resilience, and we live by the motto, “We are all better than we know, if only we can realise this, we may never again be prepared to settle for anything less.” As staff, it’s important for us to get out and live these values, and continue to stretch and challenge ourselves, in the same way that we ask the thousands of young people who come on courses with us each year. My stretch zone expanded on our 100 mile day up the west coast of Scotland in heavy rain but the rewards of having pushed myself were immense. Stunning scenery, from the Somerset levels bathed in evening sunshine to the novelty of riding across the Severn Bridge, the unbelievably good cake shop in Ellesmere, crossing the Mersey on the ferry, and riding into the north of Scotland up the coast of Sutherland and Caithness with the sea lapping the cliffs below us and carpets of wild flowers in the fields.
Reaching John O’Groats was an amazing achievement. Until that moment, the ‘End to End’ was something other people did. Now it was something I did! However no-one told us about the final sting in the tail, the two mile hill just a whisker away from John O’Groats, but as we reached the top, I found myself looking at the very top of Scotland; something I’d never dreamed I’d ever see. The trip pushed me and challenged me. There were times when I just had to get my head down and ride, knowing we had another 20 miles to our stopping point for the night. Yet, there were many times when I wanted to slow everything down so I could really savour each moment. Without those tough moments, the amazing ones would not have been half as powerful, and it is this balance of challenge and reward intrinsic to an Outward Bound experience which makes it so potent.
Twenty-four hours later we were getting off the train with our bikes and arriving back home; back to the real world. We shared a bottle of champagne to celebrate. “What do you fancy doing next?” my boyfriend asked me. We’ve not decided yet, but if someone asked me if I’d like to ride the ‘End to End’ again, I’d be there like a shot.
