Our trip had been planned to help Derek’s wife raise money for her employers designated charity the NSPCC. Caroline works for Ladbrokes and is the area co-ordinator for fund raising. They select a different charity each year and ask the staff and customers to try to raise monies for that appeal. Rick had only passed his full motorcycle test the previous October and was getting used to his Honda CBR 1000. Whilst chatting over a drink, Derek and Rick decided that a nice long trip on their bikes would do them both good and help Rick gain valuable experience on his Honda. Derek has been riding motorcycles since 1978. It was possibly the ale that helped with the decision to ‘go for the big one’ and do the LeJOG and a natural progression to raise some money for Caroline’s appeal.
So the scene was set and the day had arrived. We had both agreed to meet at the main Ladbrokes shop in Derby at Irongate. Even the local paper sent a photographer and published a piece in the local paper for us. So on 10th March 2003 at 10.00am we met in the centre of Derby outside the Ladbrokes shop. They kindly provided us with a coffee and a sending off committee comprising of Derek’s wife Caroline, Ricks wife Eileen, his son Steve, two area supervisors, the manager, Caroline’s sister, various customers and two traffic wardens!! Once they understood that we were doing this for charity and saw the local press photographer, they decided not to move us on, as we were in a no parking area (access only), but declined to be included in the photograph
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At 10.30am we started our bikes and proceeded on the first leg of our trip.
Apart from stopping for fuel, we had planned to try to visit a different Ladbrokes
on route each day and today was Newquay. After an uneventful trip down the motorways,
we entered Newquay to find the centre in turmoil due to roadworks. We got our
first glimpse of the sea and after circling the centre, found the Ladbrokes
shop. Again the staff was excellent and fed us with sweets and coffee to keep
up our energy. After leaving Newquay, it was a nice short ride along some excellent
twisty roads to Lands End. Only to find it shut! We had arrived at 18.15 and
all the shops etc had closed. It was very windy and grey so we decided to take
a few quick snaps of the centre, hotel and of course both of us at the signpost
and head off to our hotel, The Old Manor. Pulling into the car park, there was
a distinct lack of vehicles and we were pleased to see a face at the door welcoming
us. They had decided to renovate the rooms etc and we were the only guests!
We were shown the cabinet holding the trophies for the Land’s End –
John O’Groats Association and signed the guest book accordingly. This
only heightened our want to complete the trip as many had done before us and
many will continue to do so after.
After a good sleep and excellent breakfast, we set off on the longest planned day of our excursion at 8.00am. 600 miles to Falkirk (Larbert to be exact). Again it was cloudy and dull and treated us to drizzle as soon as we started out of the hotel car park!! This did not change until Exeter, where we decided to have a coffee and dry off at the services there. The only leaks in our waterproofs were at our wrists and the rain had crept up both arms. We both commandeered a hand dryer each in the toilets and proceeded to dry ourselves off, much to the amusement of two policemen who stopped to chat with us. Nicely dried off and warmed through we continued up the M5. Next stop Lancaster Ladbrokes, or so we thought. Lancaster is a bustling town dominated by one-way systems. After searching for three circuits, we stopped and asked for directions, only to be told that the Ladbrokes shop was in a pedestrian only part of the town! We phoned Caroline to tell her and she called the branch to apologise (they are not allowed to give out shop phone numbers to non members of staff so we could not call them direct). So we continued towards Falkirk, passing through Kendall in glorious sunshine. Spoke too soon. Just south of the outskirts of Glasgow the skies turned black and the heavens opened. Welcome to Scotland. Thankfully we were only around 20 minutes from Larbert (Falkirk), so we continued on to The Red Lion Hotel, arriving at 20.15pm. This is a Hotel/Pub that Rick has used before and that kindly gave us free lodgings for this night. We were very ready for our beds and enjoyed a hot shower to fight off the chills!
Yet again a superb breakfast started our third day, as did brilliant sunshine! We left at 9.00am and headed straight onto the A9. No need for maps as this road stops at John O’Groats, our destination for today. Our Ladbrokes shop for today was Inverness, well both of them were. We arrived in the centre of Inverness and found Ladbrokes straight away. Only to discover that it was the wrong one! The friendly staff directed us to the shop that was expecting us (only 5 mins away) and after another coffee we found it, took the photos and proceeded north. All I can say about the road from here northwards is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. The road surfaces were good, wide, not congested, twisty, with superb scenery, snow topped hills, vast moorlands stretching as far as the eye could see, beautiful clear blue skies and the friendliest people you could meet. Whenever we stopped for a break or to re-fuel, people chatted with us and were so kind and encouraging. The final half-mile or so is bleak and suddenly you are there! The little harbour was busy with fisherman and the Groats Inn empty! A few pictures taken, including one of both of us at the signpost, kindly taken by a man claiming to have been a chef for the Queen Mum (!). We saw the Start Finish sign and the board outside the Groats Inn telling us we could sign the book there, so in we went and after a short wait had a welcome drink, signed the Association book and returned the 400 yards or so to our hotel, The Seaview. We both could not stop enthralling about the scenery, roads and people in this part of the country. If you have never been, you must make the effort. It is worth it, no matter how you get there!
Thursday saw the dawn of another gorgeous days weather with clear blue skies, which stayed with us all day. Yet another good hearty breakfast (I can see a diet coming from this) and around 9.00am we started our way back to Larbert. We were sorry to be leaving this part of Scotland but looked forward to another day on these great roads. We took a break in Aviemore for refreshments (coffee and a snack) and again found very friendly and generous people, like the Landlord of the Winking Owl. We had stopped for a coffee and got chatting. Then the landlord said, 'pick what you like from the menu'. We did not want too much so plumped for soup and a roll. Very tasty too. Then the landlord refused to let us pay for our coffee and soup when he found out we were on a charity run. If you visit Aviemore, pop in to the Winking Owl and enjoy a great menu and extremely friendly people.
Only wish we could have stayed for a beer or two. Maybe next time. This trip we visited the Ladbrokes in Stenhousemuir. Again very friendly people and free coffee. It was here that I noticed my rear tyre was looking rather dangerous. It seems the roads had not been as kind to my tyre as they had been to us. It was 16.20pm and it looked like I was going to struggle to get a new tyre before Friday. However, just half a mile away was a Motorcycle shop which had a tyre of the right size, took my wheel off and fitted the new tyre without charging for the fitting, fantastic service, great people. We will be sorry to leave Scotland.
Friday, our last day. Just before we left The Red Lion in Larbert, we were presented with a Haggis each. Not small ones either!! Anyway, we left Larbert at 9.00am and tired but happy, started to wend our weary way towards home. The final Ladbrokes before derby was to be in Ripon. Lovely town and luckily there was a driveway alongside the shop, which is on a no parking street! Once again a photo was taken and we left for the final leg. Just 200 yards from our start/finish point, Ladbrokes Irongate, Traffic Wardens stopped us. This road is often used by people shopping, and should be for access/deliveries only. Luckily it was the same Traffic warden that saw us on Monday and remembered us. After a quick conversation about the trip, he allowed us a brief visit to the shop to have our photo taken and to finish the trip. We both then went to our respective homes, tired but immensely satisfied and looking forward to doing something similar next year. Maybe the same again but the other way round? Who knows………?
If you get the chance, do it. Its a great experience.