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Wed
First thing this morning we cross the railway bridge on foot. Not quite as easy as it sounds as there are lots of steps and we need to carry our bikes, panniers and all. However its the only crossing over the river at this point and saves us a 10 mile trip to the nearest road crossing.
A couple of long climbs are followed by equally long descents. Scenery quite bleak at times, strong cross winds and rain never far away.
I'm doing about 30 mph down one of the descents when I hit a bump and move into an unassailable 5-1 lead on punctures. This one with the new tyre.
In spite of this its one of my favourite descents of the trip, lasting several miles, good visibility, long straights and a complete lack of cars. Cars are so rare at the stage that when one passes we wave to each other. You have an affinity with anyone else using this road.
Lunch under the bridge over the river Naven at Altnahara, but it couldn't protect us from the wind. Turn of this road onto and even quieter one along an expanse of water and then a river valley. The road has occassional ups and downs but nothing challenging and virtually no traffic.
Weather improves so we stop by another bridge and I fall asleep in the sunshine. The weather changes so quickly - the sunshine disappears and its cool, threatening rain, so we move on.
Just before reaching tonight's destination we see the sea for the first time since Cornwall. We've completed south to north, if not yet finished the full trip. We have seen the first road sign to John O'Groats - 54 miles, 52 of them tomorrow. We can't believe this is our last night.
We're staying at the Bettyhill hotel. There is an aerial photograph of it looking very grand, but its now a bit rundown. However its perfectly good for our purposes and we have a room to ourselves, so no snorers etc. The staff (Glaswegian and Czech we think) are very helpful and friendly. Fits the bill nicely.
Bettyhill (clues in the name) sits on a hill overlooking the north sea. Its has several beaches, each of which could feature in a glossy travel brouchure - wide expanse of golden sands sloping gently down the sea - beautiful to look at, but not for swimming.
Had a meal in the hotel, a few pints (losing my discipline) and a few games of pool. Catch a glimpse of events in Cumbria on the pub telly, but we are strangely cut off from the outside world.
Tomorrow is the final day and we meet up with Helen early afternoon to drive back to Inverness. 52 miles to go, which, if the climb out of Bettyhill is anything to go by, could be hard work. We shall see.
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