My task – to find something memorable for the girlfriend’s 40th on a modest budget. She likes vehicles, she likes travel, she likes Scotland and Cornwall.
Then I stumbled on a Wicked advert in TNT, left out at the Aussie Film Fest in March.
So, things rapidly started to come together.
I rang the company. Yes, they have a van. Could I have the Pink Panther? ( a tame design compared to some) Yes, I can have the panther.
So – that’s it then – accommodation and transport all sorted at a sum that I could go to.
So, from the most southerly point of mainland Britain to the most northerly.
First – the AA route planner tells me it’s 870 plus miles. Print that out. Secondly I discover there’s an exclusive club that on completing the trek you can join - http://www.endtoenders.co.uk. Read first and make sure you get your papers rubber stamped at the right places.
So, all sorted!
Day One:
Drive from my home in Hampshire to Wicked in London.
Hand over cash, show ID etc. promise not to run off etc.etc.
Very friendly crew then gave us a guided tour of the van, where the liquids go in, where the kitchen bits are and how, as if by magic, the dining room turns into a double bed.
Drive from London to home. Fill van with food, clothes (both warm and summer) and hit the road.
Driving from Hampshire I took the A303. This takes you past Stonehenge and through the rolling hills of Wiltshire. Stonehenge can be a bottleneck, so best avoid at peak times. From A303, join the M5. Blast past Exeter, join A38, Oakhampton then down A30. Arrive Penzance 8.30pm ish. About 4.5 hours and 530km.
Day Two:
Here we go! Seems strange driving to gorgeous Cornwall with the sole purpose of leaving, However –
Got to Lands End. Explain that you are doing End to End and you don’t have to pay to go in. Go to the End to End office, or the hotel reception or the ticket office. In all these places you can get your end to end log book stamped. This is ESSENTIAL. Forget this and your membership won’t happen.
Got pictures taken at the famous signpost, then head off, crossing the ‘START/FINISH’ line outside the main complex.
Exeter – 2pm. Sainsbury’s superstore. Toilet, café lunch and customer enquiries stamped our log books. The End to End club ask you to get a minimum 6 stamps along the way as proof of journey. So that’s a break every 100miles.
746km so far.
Strensham Services, M5. Stamp. At motorway services we used the hotel receptions as they have time to help you and all have rubber stamps.
Frankley Services, M5. Stamp. Trip counter reads 002. That’s our first 1,000km then!
On M6 traffic can be very slow. We left on Junction 18 and spent the night in Lamb Cottage caravan park in Whitegate. What’s it like? Think Kath and Kim on Prozac…lots of Prozac.
Day 3:
Left Whitegate at 9.15am. No need to kill yourself!
Northwick post office for a log stamp., then back on M6.
Tebay services, M6. Again the hotel for a stamp. 1,303km. 11.50am
This is where the wild country starts. Hedges are replaced with stone walls and sheep stare at you from craggy hills. The amount of traffic drops rapidly too.
Abington Services, M74. Stamp. 1,456km. 2pm.
Perth BP services, A9. Stamp. 1,598km. 4pm
Aviemore. A1 Motorcycles. Stamp. Very friendly bunch. The place is an outdoor activity town, with ski resort in winter. Felt out of place without goretek boots. 1,729km. 5.40pm
And finally – Dornoch Campsite, Tain. Situated on the banks of a firth (estuary) and near a distillery. Stamp and camp. 1,838km. 7.10pm.
Drive into Tain and get dinner in a very posh looking Royal Hotel with excellent service for an amazingly cheap price.
Day 4:
Leave Tain at 10.52am after much birthday present opening and breakfast eating. Yes, it’s possible to have a birthday party (be it exclusive) in a Wicked Camper.
The journey now takes you into the gorgeous open country of Scotland. Hugging the coast and following contours of steep hills. Keep an eye on the map otherwise you’ll shoot past an historic ruin without even knowing.
Wick. William Dunnet petrol station. Stamp. 1,958km. 12.35pm. The oldest petrol station attendant I’ve ever met. Suit, tie and old style service to match!
Not far now…
The countryside is now a patchwork of fields dotted with bungalows and the ruins of stone cottages now used as scratching posts for sheep and the shaggy highland cattle.
Dunnet Head. 1,999.4km. 1.30pm. Although John O’Groats is the famous northern most point, it actually isn’t. Dunnet Head is most northerly point, so visiting both is a must. To get to Dunnet you follow a tiny winding road through a peat bog. The Head itself has a fascinating history with light house, cottages and concrete remains of WWII defence buildings. Like the Sydney heads with the heating turned off.
Finally –
John O’Groats. 2,024km. 2.55pm.
Head straight for the hotel, right down by the sea. Don’t worry about parking etiquette, you’ve earned it. Outside the ‘Groats Inn’ is the second ‘Start/Finish’ line. Made it!! Time to walk about feeling smug.
There’s an identical signpost and cameraman here to the one at Land’s End.
ESSENTIAL – get your log book finally signed by someone in the gift shop.
The hotel has been closed for 11years, but Geoff still runs the bar, so seek out Geoff if the shop’s shut. Geoff also knows his whisky! As an End to Ender you can now write in the official comment book that Geoff will present to you.
There’s a campsite on the water’s edge at JOG, within staggering distance of the Inn. Need I say more?
