Part one of my epic journey cycling the length of the UK, focusing on the challenging and scenic leg through Scotland!
We start the adventure by taking the Caledonian Sleeper up to Inverness before making the final push to John O’Groats via Thurso. The first 10 days are a brutal mix of amazing views and frustrating low points, including a terrible attempt at wild camping where we got moved on, running out of water on the road , and the hardest day of cycling yet when a route took us through overgrown, unused woods.
0:00 – Intro (Getting to John O’Groats)
1:39 – Day 1 (John O’Groats to Tongue)
4:00 – Day 2 (Tongue to Tain)
6:03 – Day 3 (Tain to Inverness)
8:24 – Day 4 (Inverness to Kingussie)
9:58 – Day 5 (Kingussie to Aberfeldy)
11:54 – Day 6 (Rest day!)
13:01 – Day 7 (Aberfeldy to Stirling)
15:20 – Day 8 (Stirling to Lanark)
17:10 – Day 9 (Lanark to Abingdon)
18:34 – Day 10 (Abingdon to Longtown)
We stop in places like Inverness, Tain , and Stirling before finally crossing the border into England! Subscribe to see if we manage to conquer the rest of the country!
#JOGLE, #LEJOG, #EndToEndUK, #CyclingChallenge, #UKCycle, #LongDistanceCycling, #Scotland, #CycleScotland, #ScottishHighlands, #JohnOGroats, #Inverness, #LochTay, #FallsOfClyde, #Thurso, #Bikepacking, #BikeTouring, #WildCamping, #WildCampingFail, #CampingLife, #CyclingVlog, #AdventureCycling, #CaledonianSleeper
This is day zero of end to end UK edition. So Jono gross to Land’s End. I got the Tempame’s link all the way to St Pancreas station and cycled around the corner to Houston to meet my friend Alex who I’d be cycling with on this trip. We got the Calonian Sleeper at 9:00 p.m. to arrive at Invenesse at 10:00 a.m. It was actually a really bad sleep. The guys behind us were watching Avengers on their iPads about 2:00 in the morning out loud. Just kind of really odd. [Music] Waiting at Invenesse train station to go all the way to Thzo which is the most northern train station in the UK. It is a very slow train to Thzo. [Music] Making a sandwich outside Little and then eventually leaving Thzo and cycling to Jono Gros. Right. three miles from Jono Gros and uh I’ve eaten three flies already and it’s not even day one J2O orange and passion fruit still review. I’m hoping we do actually do 80 miles tomorrow. Fingers crossed we do 80 miles tomorrow. Anyway, that’s uh that’s enough terrible content for today. Chowo chow. See you tomorrow. Day one of cycling end to end UK edition. So, woke up, ate some oats, and then we set off on our thousandm journey to Land’s End. So, we landed in Thzo yesterday. We cycled 20 miles to Jono Gross and stayed there in a hostel. And now we got to cycle all the way back. Today we’re going to try and do 60 miles, maybe a little bit more, and wild camp. The boys are back. Yeah, just had a sip of an electrolyte drink and a gel tropical jelly. I really love it. Dude love doesn’t like it. It tastes weird. And the consistency is not nice. And I am a big silhouette right now cuz the sun is behind me. Oh, and I’ve swallowed two flies. already this morning. Oh, bump. But yeah, we’ll stop in like an hour for a break and we’ll update you on what’s going on. But look at this view. Lovely. Look at all them chickens. Look at all those chickens. All right. Right. So, we’re at Little. I’ve got a whole Italian salami, one banana, instant oats, big baguette, [Music] and we’re just taking a break at this beach called Strathy Beach. It’s bloody beautiful up here. Bloody hell. Woo. Jeez, look at that. Alex, there’s actually so many. Is the candle doing anything? I don’t think so. Think the candle’s immune to it. We actually got moved on by a farmer that lived down the road. Said that we can’t camp there. We were moved on. New camping spot because the the guy uh turfed us off in the Alex. Hi guys and welcome to day two. Tossig still in his tent. Here’s the gist of what happened last night. We were camping at a uh little picnic place and about 8:30 we got turfed on by some random bloke in a pickup truck. packed up really quickly and then we went to at this point it was about 9:00 9:30 and we were just cycling trying to look for a place to to camp and we kind of just started in these woods. Um me and Alex didn’t really sleep at all last night. I’m just going to make some oats and then make Alex a coffee. Do you want a coffee, Alex? Yeah. He wants a coffee. That’s it really. [Music] There’s like a double can of iron bridge. That was actually so big. That’s so cool. Oh my lord. It’s nice and nice and hot. We’re very late start. It’s nearly 1:00. Had a sandwich, a pear, and of course Iron Brew. Quick pit stop in leg or log. Got some supplies for tonight. We’re going to try and make it to Tain which is another 20 miles. Welcome to the campsite that we’re staying at. We’ve got the train tracks right there. Main road. Train tracks. Another 60 mi done. Actually, I think it was like 62 in Vaness tomorrow. That’s so good. So loud. That was so frequent as well. It’s only like 20 minutes ago the other one came past. Day three of cycling end to end UK edition. Completed it, mate. Bit windy, isn’t it, Alex? Bit windy. You sleep all right? Yeah. Did you sleep all right? Nah, it was horrible. Apparently, I was snoring. Anyway, time to leave this really loud campsite and uh we’re going to go little our favorite place. We begin the day at Tain and we head to Invenesse. We’re heading towards something Hig ferry hopefully. That’ll be exciting, won’t it? We got the Kromati ferry which is small but still held two cars. £650. Oh, sick. Hello. On our way to Invenesse about 25 miles away, I think. Com. We stopped at this waterfall for lunch and of course I had to whip out the little special sandwich. [Applause] We’re currently under the Invenesse Bridge. Look at the bridge. And you notice that we’re not going across it. Do not follow Google Maps. Google Maps is bad. Right. So, we’re through Invenesse. We booked a campsite past Symphoness, but what an incline. I mean, this is going to be the most inclinest day. That’s not a word. Um, but yeah, we’re just uh walking the bike for the first time. Woo! You right, Alex? Yeah. He’s not all right. He’s done. I’m done, too. But yeah, see you at the campsite. And this is end of day three. The amount of midgetes at the campsite was unbearable. So I had to eat inside my tent. See you tomorrow for day four. [Music] Day four of cycling end to end UK edition. We woke up at Oralinin Holiday Park. Uh I’m probably butchering that name. Alex left out these boiled eggs from last night so they were covered in midgetes. Packed away and got all the bikes ready to leave. So we’ve left that campsite. Lot of midgetes. £750 each. Yeah, really good value. Good showers. Had a kitchen. Feeling stiff today. Now we’re going to go cycle some more to have in more. We’ve done 8 miles in an hour. [Music] We’re done with the climb. Apparently, according to Kimoot, it’s all downhill. Wa! [Music] This is me in front of the castle. Pretty cool. We got some food at a place called Joe’s. Girl behind the camera said they do a really good burger. Burger and chips. And then we got the Fanta lemon. Today was hard. And then we stayed at the worst campsite I’ve ever stayed at. I’ll tell you more about the horror story tomorrow. This is day five of cycling end to end UK edition and we woke up at easily the worst campsite of the trip so far. It was an honesty box setup. So no staff, just a little sign saying you could book online or just turn up. Not complaining. It was an all right place to stay. And now we’ve got a cycle about 50 mi uphill to our hotel tonight. First hotel of the trip really isn’t it? Two single beds, breakfast. Got a bar in in the hotel. A great day. A big climb, lots of hills. It’s going to be great. Love it. It was a beautiful day. But we had one problem. We were running out of water quite quickly cuz of the sun. Still, it was really a nice day and the scenery was unreal. You know, big rolling hills. It was a nice quiet road to cycle on. Even though you could hear the the A9, it was just right next to us the whole day. This would be a really nice road if it wasn’t for the A9 that’s right next to us. Nearly at Abeli. Probably very sunburnt. Running out of water. Wow. Tunnel Bridge never looks so great. We should try and find some water though. Do you reckon we can drink that? At least the locals are godsend. Hey, sorry mate. Oh, it’s glorious. But after the sundrenched slog of the day, we finally rolled into Abbeldi, completely exhausted. So, tomorrow me and Alex are going to have a rest day. Join us for some sightseeing and some relaxation. See you. That was a bridge and a half. Yeah, mate. That must be the hill. This is day six of cycling end to end UK edition rest day. Good thing about this hotel, there was a free breakfast and it was actually really good. I accidentally asked for a full English, but you should be asking for a full Scottish. And they had a really good place to lock up your bikes in this storage container. Did you have a good sleep, Alex? Oh, yeah. Had a great sleep. Yeah, we plan to just have a really chill day and we end up going on a small hike. How comfy is that? Ah, this is nice. And of course, I had to do the vlogger experience of filming myself walking along a bridge. That’s uh quite cringe, but I like doing that. Look at that waterfall. Q8 in the champagne super. Oh my god, the highlight of Abbey, the waterfall is absolutely huge. And that’s it for day six. A short one, but we’re back on the road tomorrow. Day seven of cycling end to end UK edition. So we woke up in Abbereldi after our rest day and we were ready to hit the road. Sorry, I had to start my strava because um you don’t strive, it doesn’t count. And we we have to start again. It is overcast today, which is kind of nice. Not too sunny, perfect cycling weather. I hope I haven’t jinxed it and it doesn’t rain or something. But yeah, day off yesterday and we’re going to Sterling hopefully today. 65 miles the scenic way. We ended up chasing this uh sheep down the road. Come with us. And then we cycled along Lo Tay. So, we’re just cycling along the Lo Tay on our way to Sterling. And uh it’s misty, but it’s it’s almost quite cool, isn’t it, Alex? Stopped for lunch at Lo Tay. I had a pot noodle which I was dipping a sandwich in. Yes, that is uh that’s quite the lunch to have. But um that pot noodle was in my bag for a few days now. Needed to be eaten. There’s loads of people here though. It’s a lovely little trail. That did that looked more mental in real life than anything. What the hell? That’s so low. What a lovely cycle path. Hopefully that’ll give me the energy. Woo! We cycled from Abbey to Sterling today about 100 km. It wasn’t too bad actually. Feel well rested after staying in the hotel. And we got to Sterling and stayed at a place called the Witches Craig or Witches Crag. Um, but yeah, see you tomorrow for day eight. This is day eight of cycling end to end UK edition. So, we woke up to campsite in Sterling in a place called Witches Craig Caravan and Camping Park. This was actually a quite a cool caravan park. Dump my old sleeping bag in Zabin because it was a bit dirty. And now I’ve got this bad boy here. Oh, the sleeping bag 200 plus Nimbus flies around, does loads of stuff, talks to you in your sleep, sings you la. It’s great. Sat really well. Didn’t wake up once and it was cold last night. We stopped off at Tim Hortons to get coffee and a donut. What have you got here? Got you a Boston cream, mate. Oh, look at that. Oh, mate. That is some good [ __ ] We saw the Fowler wheel, which we just stumbled across. We’ve made it to the little wheel that’s not really doing anything. It would be funny if that gate opened and they fell out, but it’ be like some um final destination kind of stuff. And then it all went downhill. This is by far the worst day I’ve ever had on a bicycle. We got lost in the woods, which was really frustrating and uh obviously it got it actually got quite a bit dangerous. We were in there for about 2 hours. It’s actually frankly quite embarrassing. Um don’t trust Kimoot or apps. It took us down a route that honestly probably hadn’t been used for about 15 years. It was so overgrown, but pretty cool to be fair. So, after spending most of the day stuck in the woods, we couldn’t find any sort of accommodation or campsites, so we had to end up wild camping in this small woods. And uh it was rubbish. I’ll see you tomorrow for day nine. Welcome to day nine of cycling end to end UK edition. Yesterday was truly the worst day of the trip. Morale is low. We woke up in the woods. I barely slept. It’s a new day. Last night was [ __ ] [ __ ] Lit it all up from here. And I don’t know about you, but we woke up and there was this fresh broccoli in this river beside our tent. And I have no clue how it got there. Today we cycled through a little trail through the falls of Clyde which uh is a really cool like park experience. Um there’s loads of waterfalls. I mean if you’re in the area you must go. It’s so cool. [Music] We were cycling on and I was really struggling. I honestly probably slept about 2 hours. I was just too prank sleeping in the woods. I decided to cut my day short and stay at the Mountain View Caravan Park. My friend Alex that I’m cycling with, he has a deadline. He needs to get back to work. I have a little bit more time off and at the rate we’re going, I’m just going to burn myself out. So, we’ve decided to split up just for now. He’s going to plow ahead and then maybe we’ll meet up for the next couple of days, we’ll be solo. I’m knackered. I’m completely knackered. So, I’ll see you for day 10 tomorrow. This is day 10 of cycling end to end UK edition. Hello there viewers. Today we go to England after by far the worst day of the trip where we got lost in the woods. We couldn’t find accommodation. That was yesterday. This is today. Me and Alex, we split up. He has a deadline. He needs to get back to work. I have a little bit more time. I can I can chill. I can relax. I was feeling awful yesterday. This is the day we get to England. You’ve got those days where you just don’t want to be in front of the camera. And this day was one of those days. But yeah, we made it to England. Look. Look at us. We just cycled the entirety of Scotland. I never thought I would ever say those words. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for part two where we conquer England. Thanks.
1 Comment
Nice