Day 66 - WE'VE ARRIVED!!!

After 60 days of walking (plus 6 rest days) and 1044 miles we finally reached John O'Groats at about 3.30 this afternoon. Janet and Kate provided champagne allowing us to celebrate in style. (And I understand there's another bottle for later.)
The weather today has been kind - in fact some of the best weather of the journey.
How do I feel now it's all over? I don't know yet.

Day 65 - ONLY ONE DAY TO GO!

We've walked 21 miles today. After 3 miles we were able to say goodbye to the A9 and join its bastard offspring, the A99. After 4 more miles we left the A99 and headed north on a single track road for 12.5 miles of quiet walking to Wotten.
We have been seeing quite a lot of cyclists on the A9/A99 in the last few days and Andrew has taken to giving them a cheery wave and wishing them good luck. It totally confused the local postman.
Andrew's wife, Kate, flew up today to join Andrew, Janet and me for tomorrow's celebration when we reach John O'Groats.
Met Walter again this morning. We probably won't see him tomorrow but hope to be there when he finishes on Saturday morning.

Day 64

I found out yesterday evening that Andrew had slipped and fallen while crossing the river I had mentioned in yesterday's blog - thereby vindicating my decision to cross the river via the railway bridge. (Please forgive my trespass, Network Rail but at least I stayed dry). Met Walter Baker again this morning. He has problems with his boots wearing out but is otherwise OK.
Today's walk fom Helmsdale to Dunbeath was all alongside the A9 - not very interesting - but we've now passed the 1000 mile mark.
The blister on my right little toe has had a day off ie. didn't reform today for the first time in 6 days. It's still tender, though.
Now Janet's here I've had to stop going to bed with Loreena McKennit but I still listen to her, and other music, on my MP3 player when I get bored with walking which, surprisingly, isn't that often,

Day 63

An easy coastal path from Golspie to Brora meant we could avoid the A9 for 7 miles and get to Brora at midday for an early lunch at a hotel. A young lad working at the hotel suggested we walk along the sea shore from Brora to Helmsdale. Only 3 hours he said. (We were soon to find out that's 3 hours for a 17 year old not two old codgers). What about the fact the tide was coming in? No problem, he said. The first mile or two were quite easy but we found ourselves on a steadily shrinking beach and were soon walking on shingle and scrambling over rocks. Andrew began to pull ahead and, because he doesn't looks behind, I suspected it might be some time before I would see him again. And I was right because by the time I came across a river too deep to walk across Andrew was well ahead. I didn't want to take my boots off to wade across the river because it would take me 10 minutes to redress the blister on my little toe so I climbed up an embankment to cross the river on the railway line. (I had seen a train on the railway a few minutes before so knew there wouldn't be another one for a week or so). After that I decided to admit defeat and rejoin the A9 for the final 6 miles, eventually arriving in Helmsdale half an hour before Andrew.
Janet has flown up to join us for the last 3 days.

Day 62

Tain to Golspie - 18 miles. The trick from now on is to avoid the A9 as much as possible. We had two sessions today where we couldn't get away from walking next to the A9 for several miles but inbetween we had a very pleasent walk on quiet roads to Dornoch and then alongside Loch Fleet.

The weather today has been overcast and drizzling while we understand that in the rest of the UK it's been fine and hot. That's the north of Scotland for you.

At breakfast at the B&B in Tain we met two end to end cyclists. They were heading south having completed the first day of their ride yesterday. This afternoon, as Andrew and I arrived at the B&B in Golspie we met a cyclist heading north. Presumably tomorrow will be his last day. The cyclists have it easy. They can sit down all day.

Day 61

Today, by an extraordinary coincidence, we met two other end to end walkers at the same time on a stretch of road between Allness and Tain.
One, dressed as pikeman (as if this end to end walk isn't hard enough!) and calling himself The Charity Pikeman, has set off from John O'Groats this week. The other, Walter Baker, has walked from Lands End like us. He's English but lives in Canada and is 79 years old!
As far as I can tell somewhere between 50 and 100 people do this walk each year. There is no set route but most people end up going along the east coast of Scotland between John O'Groats and Inverness.
Andrew and I are now in Tain and my room in the b&b has a superb view over Dornoch Firth to the North Sea beyond.