Day 72- Wick to John o'Groats and Duncansby Head 22 miles

Crossing River Wick in the morning

 I can't believe its here! The final day. By tomorrow I'll have nothing to do but sit and wait for the car. I was half excited and half disbelieving. I packed up without thinking and left, walking along the River Wick back into Wick for breakfast at Weatherspoons. I'd woken at 6:30 for the first time in weeks after going to sleep later than ever, so I reached Weatherspoons too early and had to wait for a while.

  After breakfast I headed out of town, passing the massive supermarket and joining the A99 again. The first part of the morning was rather awkward, hitting quite a lot of traffic. I crossed the road a number of times trying to stay ahead of the curving road. Eventually the traffics drawn away and your left with only the occasional car and passing cyclist. Cyclists this far along are only doing one thing, I wished good luck to all those going south and waved congratulations to those on the last few miles north.

  I was tired half way through the day, and struggled a little to get momentum. I'd already finished the
walk in my head. As I approached John o'Groats I waited for the rush of joy, or euphoria which I'd imagined a hundred times over since leaving Land's End. Nothing. I walked on into the outskirts of John o'Groats and looked down towards the Orkney Islands. They are a stunning sight, and while the town is small its not as unpleasant as the guide books suggest. I had a choice to walk to camp and make the last few miles to Duncansby Head tomorrow, in the end to turned right and followed the lane away from town. I wanted it to all be finished so tomorrow I could lounge about waiting for my lift.

  Its a flat enough route to Duncansby Head but I felt every meter, reaching it exhausted. The light house, built in 1924, is a pretty enough building but the beauty of the spot is the coast line and bird sanctuary. Thirle Door and the Stacks of Duncansby are wonderfully reminiscent of the 12 apostles at the end of the Great Ocean Road Walk in Australia. I stood listening to the birds for a while, lay on the grass and tried to get around the idea it was over. In Wild she gases up into the heavens and whispers thanks repetitively in a holy manner. All I felt was fed up that now it was all over I still had another two miles to walk back to John o'Groats to camp.

Duncansby Head

Thirle Doors and the Stacks

  Once pitched and showered I wondered round a little. Tourists came and went in their truck loads,
all posing on my sign till I gave up trying to take my own picks and retreated for food. It felt silly in
any case, especially alone and with strangers taking photos. Instead I sought my certificate from one of the shops, and was given it my a nice pimply teenager with writing as jaggedly my brothers for 80p. The sun was high and it was a lovely day in which to rest outside. The Cabin at John o'Groats is a lovely little shack, run by a couple that work the entire summer without a day off before going abroad in the winter. She gave me a cup of tea on the house and I happily munched down fish and chips with onion rings. The last really unhealthy meal I had a right to eat guilt free.

The Official End of Land's End John o'Groats

John o'Groats Campsite

  Just before bed I met a cyclist off to the Orkney Islands, I thought she looked wonderful, like the adventurer I try to pose as. A little bit of me felt jealous of her forth coming trip although most just felt relieved it was over. I showered and went to bed, eager to get to sleep early to wake up at two and watch the dawn.
  When dawn came I opened the flap and peered out, surprised to find light already spreading across the sky. For an hour and a half I lay in my sleeping my staring out and listening to the world wake. It was wonderfully calming, and exactly what I needed. When I drifted back to sleep at 4 it was with the first tinges of pride and feelings of accomplishment. I felt more relaxed and content than I'd been all year.

Dawn Rising over Duncansby Head