Day 1

115 miles in a day says it all. Was it the bucket of porridge in the Norseman Hotel in the morning that did it?

The Ord of Caithness was given short shrift and dispatched by 11am. The boys celebrated with a 50 mph descent into Helmdale, only to be devastated by the sight of the only tea room in the village, the Bannockburn Bar, being shut. Unperturbed, Tim used his lawyerly powers of persuasion and Will looked pale and meek, and before we knew it we were being treated to tea and shortcake on the house. We may have overegged it as the lady refused outright to accept our payment and instead contributed it to the Eve Appeal. First contribution in the pot for day 1.

A tour rule, established over some whiskies and bravado on the sleeper train, was that for any punctures would be penalised in the evening by a sambuca. Today, James showed his enthusiasm for the spirit by getting four punctures, all on the same wheel. I’m sure he’ll sleep well tonight.

We powered on to Dornoch where we met Will’s uncle and aunt and tucked into some well needed lentil soup. Feeling strong, we found ourselves enjoying high tea and jam sandwiches in Alness, originally our night stop. After another successful sponsorship bid from the tea ladies, we headed west over the hills (through the snow!) into Drumnadrochit, the alleged home of the Loch Ness Monster.

It’s been a “monster” day (good“ness” me, it has been a long day)! Have we overdone it on the first day? Watch this space!