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Through the Cevennes and the Ardeche to Orange

From Pont Montvert is 85 miles to Orange, so 3 short days.  We didn’t hurry to get up, bought bread at the tiny boulangerie at 8 and then cheese and fruit in the little market which had sprung up along the river.

Then on up the dwindling Tarn the valley becoming gentler and very quiet as we reached the top at Col de la Croix de Berthel, 1088 metres.

 

Then a lovely descent into the Cevennes and then contoured along the top of a steep valley before dropping down to the Cèze river where we spent the night at the Camping Municipal at Bessège. The campsite is on the river and we spent the afternoon on the beach with lots of local people, children canoeing and swimming,  people fishing, chatting sunbathing and just enjoying the lovely place. Quick swim in the clear water before supper.

 

Bessège is a long town strung along the valley.  A good market in the morning where we foraged for lunch, then pedalled first along a moderately busy road to St Ambroix but then along a quiet lane to Barjac and over the top through Organic en Avens to St Martin en Ardeche. Vineyards and forests. They are just starting the vendanges and the cooperatives are starting to weigh in trailers full of grapes, the variety chalked on the side. In Orgnac stopped to look at the museum of prehistory. So many sites here in the Ardêche area.

 

Posh private campsite at St Martin,  went out for a nice salad in a restaurant overlooking the river and watched the sunset. Good starry sky.

 

23rd was our last cycling day. Visited Aiguèze, the little medieval village perched on the ridge above St Martin and then headed for Orange,  down to the Rhóne and the flat flood plain into the town

 

Lovely night in hotel in Orange: sheets on a real bed. What luxury.  Now on the bike bus home: no sheets or beds but a whole busload of cyclists full of sun and fresh air.

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From Arpajon to the Tarn

16th September we camped at Arpajon sur Cere in the rain and it poured in the night so we set off damp with a soaking tent. Cycled over rolling terrain and then a marvellous descent to ther valley of the Lot river at a lovely little town called Entraygues sur Truyères. Lunch by the river admiring their medieval bridge and also their modern hydro schemes, the Truyères river supports several dams and produces electricity for half a million people.

The bridge at Entraygues,  built by Henry 2nd,  a busy man.

The bridge at Entraygues, built by Henry 2nd, a busy man.

Then up the Lot which should have been an easy cycle but the road was firmly barrée while they consolidated the cliff, the deviation wasn’t very far but involved a big climb and felt tough at the end of the day and we arrived quite late at Comb d‘olt where we had booked a Chambre d’hôte.
The room was lovely with a man who had retired back to the village where he had grown up,  buying an old house, the one where he used to come to buy milk as a child. It had been neglected and he has done a lot of work really valuing the old fabric of the house but also making it very comfortable. He cooked us dinner, a delicious 5 course meal and we were able to dry the tent and ourselves and wash some clothes and generally feel more human

Estaing one of the pretty medieval villages on the Lot

Estaing one of the pretty medieval villages on the Lot

Comb d’Olt is a beautiful medieval village with a church with a crooked spire but unlike Chesterfield it seems to have been deliberately built crooked to look like a flame.
Next day was dry and cold. A long steady climb out of the Lot valley over a plateau which changed from igneous rock to limestone and camped at Severac Le Chateau. Very cold.

Next day was gorgeous: a short climb from Severac then an amazing descent down a steep valley into the Tarn gorge. The rest of the day was cycling up the Tarn through the dramatic and spectacular rock formations of the Gorges. The road is a real feat of engineering as it goes through tunnels under overhangs and along ledges. The river is green and silver in the valley bottom. The rocks and cliffs are white and gold and form pinnacles and huge cirques. Castles perch on rock pinnacles and tiny little villages cling to the steep hillsides, often with their only connection with the road being a cable across the gorge or many kilometers of footpath.

Cycling through the Tarn gorges

Cycling through the Tarn gorges

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We camped by the river by the tiny village of Castelbouc in a campsite which was officially closed but the owner said we could stay as he hadn’t yet turned the water off.

In the medieval village of Castelbouc

In the medieval village of Castelbouc

Idyllic spot by the river

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Today we pedalled on up the Gorges to Pont de Montvert, well above the popular parts of the gorge, high at almost 900 metres and feeling really quite remote. The Tarn is small up here, the town not at all touristy. Young people running the shop and the cafes. We are camped on the Camping Municipal. Legs quite tired. 3 more days to Orange.

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Through the Limousin and the Auvergne

Through the Limousin Park and the Auvergne

 

Tuesday 13th we managed to leave early, getting up into dark at 6.30 and taking the tent down by torchlight.  Bought breakfast and lunch food at the tiny epicerie in St Hilaire Le Chateau.  A long climb up the to the Limousin plateau along a tiny Road through mature forests and golden fields.  Very hot once the sun had been up for a bit. There was a market in Royère de Vassivière small, local produce and we sat and enjoyed goat’s cheese and apricots and people watching.  A French cycle tourist arrived bravely cycling a very battered bike with makeshift saddle bags…  made us feel a bit wimpish.

 

Then on over the Limousin plateau.  There are similar plants to Scotland: rowan. silver birch,  pine, heathery and gorse but very dry, no moss or ferns.  Lovely golden brown cattle and big lakes, we had lunch by one.

 

At 900 metres we reached the top of the plateau and the watershed between the Loire and the Dordogne ad plunged down to Sardon, a small town with a nice campsite which was unfortunately closed. The forecast wad for rain and with no alternative campsites nearby we resorted to a Chambre d’hôte with a couple who had retired here from the Champagne region in the North and were finding it hard to integrate. They were very kind to us but it was clear that we needed to avoid talking politics..

 

The next day was pouring and rained all day. We pottered down a pretty valley to Ussel and then along a road which was busier than we liked to Bort les Orgues, on a lake and getting it’s name from the basalt columns like organ pipes.  We were soaked and spent the night in a small village called Champ sur Tarentaine in Chambers d’hôte with a really lovely family, he was a farmer with 38 cows and househusband living on an old family farmhouse and making ends meet by the B&B and her job as an agricultural reporter.  We joined him for a beer and heard all about the difficulties for small farmers using traditional methods trying to compete with large farms.  He clearly loves living in the Auvergne and told us about local dishes and traditions.

We went for an amazing meal in a small auberge 2km up the valley,  offered us the use of his car but we opted to cycle,  luckily avoiding the deluge that followed shortly after

The auberge had a very rustic feel but clearly took food very seriously,  all the dishes were local recipes,  including a starter called pounti with prunes,  delicious. Locally sourced meat from Limousin cows and a selection of very local cheeses followed. Overall it was the best restaurant meal we had had in many years.  

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Afterwards we cycled back up the steep hill feeling very replete

 

Slept in the next day and chatted to Emmanuel over breakfast and then pottered off for a shortish day up the Gorges de la Rhue and through Rioms es Montagnes to Le Claux, w tiny hamlet at 1100 metres on the Auvergne plateau.

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 Camped at the Camping Municipal,  wonderful rainbow and then rain overnight. Noisy night with dogs Barking and some large animal running around the campsite…  hopefully just deer.

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This morning, Friday we did a getting up by torchlight start. Lovely sunny morning and we pedalled up Puy Mary,  an iconic Auvergne mountain with a beautiful dramatic shape and a lovely approach along la Route des Crêtes. We stopped on top and climbed the last 200 metres to the top. Wonderful views along the ridges and crags made more dramatic by rapidly approaching weather.  Swifts in large numbers and crows.

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Then a swooping descent and Le menu proved very tempting in the Hotel des Genets in the small village of Mandailles…  more pounti and truffade.

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From the Loire to the Parc naturel Limousin

From the campsite on the Loire on Saturday morning we set off along the Loire to Amboise…  rather bafflingly couldn’t find the town for a while.. As the roadsigns were taking us to the new Town, we eventually found the old town with the chateau (when I listened to Martin who was looking at the map). Very beautiful chateau with impressive gargoyles.  Then past Clos Lucy where Leonardo da Vinci died and then down little roads out of the Loire valley and into the Indre where we had lunch by a Ford and the skeleton of an old medieval bridge.

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Camped at Chatillon sur Indre which has a castle built by our Henry II Plantagenet who was also duc of Anjou. The guy running the campsite was quite merry propping up the campsite bar when we arrived and skipped the usual formalities…. we rather suspect the 10 euros may not arrive into the Municipal coffers

Next day was a lovely ride out of the Indre valley, through the Parc de la Brenne which is a wild expanse of ponds and scrub. Most of the ponds were inaccessible from the road…  lots of waterbirds and it looked as if it is an area people come to for shooting and fishing

 

Lunch by the Creuse river where we spied a pair of kingfishers.

 

Then into the valley of the Creuse river where we camped at Crozant, a tiny village on a lovely deep river valley and ridiculously picturesque castle ruins. Apparently romantic and later Impressionist painters came here a lot and established a painting school.  We could see why,  it was really beautiful.  Lovely quiet campsite, owls and bats at night,  woodpeckers in the morning.

Crozant

Crozant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is all very dry, the smaller trees are suffering and have turned brown,  especially on slopes, Madame at the campsite says  “la sécheresse cette année, c’est le désastre”

 

Today is very hot, too hot for the distance we had planned as we are now starting to climb up into the Massif Central so we are using one of our spare days to take 3 days over the next section instead of 2.

 

Rode along tiny roads, lovely little villages but they do seem a bit depopulated and not as alive as rural France was, many of them had no shop and even no bar! However we did manage oranginas and ice creams and a midday sleep in the shade.

 

Camped at St Hilaire du Chateau in a tiny Municipal site by a river and an old church, the shop runs to cans of beer and the crickets are creaking away

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Through the Parc du Perche to the Loire

Sunflowers ready for harvest

Sunflowers ready for harvest

The campsite on the 7th, in Abrias du Perche was quiet, wooded and with an amazing night sky with such bright stars and the Milky Way very clear. Another English couple in an old 2CV awaiting 40 other 2CV drivers coming for a rally.

 

We left about 9.  The cycle was across a regional nature reserve :Parc du Perche, gently rolling,  deeply rural, woods and fields. Very quiet lovely roads. Lunch in Nugent de Rotrou from the boulangerie.  Beautiful buildings, ancient half timbered and mud with stones embedded.  Sometimes in good repair, sometimes crumbling.  Massive church towers.

Side door of a church

Side door of a church

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Dropped out of the South of the parc and into the valley of the Braye river which was very quiet the only sounds cows   water and the odd squawk of a bird, the only person an odd mam in his immaculate potager.  Very hot, all bars closed.

Camped in Vibraye, a prosperous small town where the Camping Municipal is part of a big sports complex.  Madame who looks after the Camping and sports hall told me proudly that they are the most sporting town on the region with successive mayors, all local teachers having built up really good facilities and participation.  

Next day over high ground. Sunny and hot and dipping at times into river valleys and down to camp near the Loire.

 

Lunch in the shade

Lunch in the shade

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Through Normandy

Portsmouth yesterday was a bit of a reminder of how unequal Britain has become  around the port tatty and people begging and then through an underpass into an area of very smart shops and restaurants for the haves.

Anyway the ferry delivered us to Le Havre this morning. Trains to Rouen  but the next to Serquigny was late due to cow on track. However in Serquigny they kept the next train waiting for us…  Very kind of them and all the passengers delayed on our behalf

 

The cycle South from Conches en Ouche to Ferte Vidame where we ate camped was lovely, warm, big skies mature forests old timbered houses and cornfields. Cassoulet for supper.

Snack time

Barn, restoration project anyone?

Barn, restoration project anyone?

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Along the South coast to Portsmouth

We took the train to Southampton and then a leisurely cycle to Portsmouth with two little ferries en route. Sitting now in Portsmouth.

Ferry to Le Havre leaves 11.15pm

 

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Muckle Flugga, the top of the UK

27 June

34 miles

Climbing 1070m

Cumulative 1235 miles

 

Well we made it!

 

We had thought that we might take a rest day today before going to the Northernmost point on Unst, in fact the weather forecast looked slightly better for today so we headed off to Hermaness the most northern point , opposite the superbly named Muckle Flugga lighthouse.

Cycling through Unst

Cycling through Unst

Everyone had said that the wind on Shetland can be challenging- we started with a strong westerly sidewind and made good progress just the occasional gust a bit alarming . We stopped at Baltasound, a tiny village with a shop and Post Office- the most northerly in Britain and people go specially to have their postcards franked there. There are no banks on the island and we were short of cash but the post office is able to supply that as well

 

We made our way to the National Nature Reserve at Hermaness- a wild headland but with an immaculately maintained path across the heather to allow birdwatchers to visit the cliffs, strict instructions to walkers to stick to the path as some of the birds particularly the Great Skuas are ground nesting.

Hermaness nature reserve

Hermaness nature reserve

We wondered if a skeleton some yards from the path was a walker who had strayed… probably a sheep. Little rabbits seem to make their homes under the boardwalk.

Rabbit hiding under the boardwalk

Rabbit hiding under the boardwalk

... and venturing out

… and venturing out

The skuas had been very endangered but there were huge numbers here nesting in colonies on the moorland. They are aggressive birds and feed by stealing other seabird’s food and eggs and are a threat to the puffins . There are warnings that they also attack people who stray too close to the colonies, we saw birds brooding on nests, flying and fighting in the air and many posted on sentinel duty, often flapping their wings and posturing.

Skua brooding

Skua brooding

... and posturing

… and posturing

There were puffins flying acrobatically and then diving into their burrows and vast numbers of gannets – the colonies so large that the rocky islands offshore were white with guano.

West coast of Hermaness

West coast of Hermaness

The sheep seemed to like looking out to sea

The sheep seemed to like looking out to sea

 

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When I am old I shall wear purple…

Apparently in 1970 an albatross appeared,  they are southern hemisphere birds so he was very lost. Anyway, he decided to join the gannet colony and returned faithfully every year, building a nest and hoping to find a mate, until last year, the reserve staff affectionately named him Albert Ross.This is the second year he has not been spotted so unlikely that he will come back now.

Arched seastack

Arched seastack

Gannets

Gannets

Once we reached the far side of the headland we contoured around to the most Northerly point- a sign proudly announced that there was no land between us and the North Pole.

20160628_134435We thought a point a bit further on was actually a bit further north so set off across the tussocks but an angry skua, maybe tasked by the nature reserve staff to keep an eye on trespassing walkers made it clear he would not easily let us proceed.  We decided that for a few hundred yards we would accept the signpost’s position.

Muckle Flugga lighthouse from Hermaness

Muckle Flugga lighthouse from Hermaness

We took our obligatory shot with the banner and then sat down to lunch and mutual congratulations.

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20160627_222529-1600x1065We made our way back to the bikes, visited the visitor centre at the reserve, unmanned but with good information and a kettle to make hot drinks.

Hillsides

Hillsides

Sea

Sea

Martin reminded us that we had said we would be visiting Skaw- the most northerly habitation in the UK (now that the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga is unmanned). He confidently predicted that it wouldn’t take long and didn’t go over the obvious hill – in fact it took us up the steepest piece of road we have encountered on the whole trip and despite not having any luggage we both had to push.

Skaw itself is a single farm reached by a remote single track road over the headland,  the most northerly road in Britain, worth the effort as the sun and a rainbow came out at just the right moment to celebrate the end of the trip.

P1100091-1280x960The isolated farmhouse on the promontory was once home to Walter Sutherland who until his death in 1850 was the last person to speak Norn,  an extinct North Germanic language which was spoken in the Northern Isles and Caithness before it’s gradual replacement by Scots, mainly over the 1600 and 1700s .

Skaw, the most northerly habitation in Britain at the end of the most northerly road

Skaw, the most northerly habitation in Britain at the end of the most northerly road

Cycling back

Cycling back

Replica viking ship

Replica viking ship

There is clearly a strong community spirit on Unst. Many facilities, including the hostel and visitor centres, are immaculate and well equipped and are open and unmanned with honesty boxes.  The Unst Bus Shelter illustrates the possibilities this opens up, a dry warm haven complete with comfy chair, books, games a can of beer and a visitor’s book full of appreciative comments.

The Unst Bus shelter

The Unst Bus shelter

With duty done we set off back , by now the wind was a fierce 20mph southwesterly headwind, ironic as we had to battle Northerly winds all the way up the UK. We had to pedal hard downhill at times and take turns to be in front taking the full brunt of the wind. We were tired but pleased when we arrived back at the campsite , job done.Tonight it is deluging so we may just be forced to have a lie in tomorrow .

Gardiesfaulds hostel

Gardiesfaulds hostel

So from Horse Point, St Agnes in the Scilly Isles to Muckle Flugga, Unst in the Shetlands.  It has been an amazing trip. Despite the population density of Britain,  we have travelled consistently through beautiful unspoilt countryside,  often completely away from traffic and all but the smallest settlements. The weather has blessed us, we have been drier than we might have expected, it has been cool, only one day when we sought shade for lunch.

It has felt different cycling to fundraise, more pressure to get on every day, no option to give up, and doing the blog has been really fun but also an additional task each evening. We have felt so supported by all the messages and feedback and we thank you all for them. We have also been overwhelmed by your generosity, you have contributed about £2500 to MSF and £1200 to Ashgate Hospice.

We will leave the justgiving page open for a while. Many of you have fed back that you enjoyed the photos.  We did wonder about using them to make a Britain End to End 2017 calender, using the the best photo from each 100 miles and putting a small profit from each calender into the fundraising . As a market research question, would you tell us if this might be something you would consider as part of your Christmas shopping?
We are going to potter slowly back down Shetland and then ferry and train home. It will feel very odd getting into a car again….

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Up through the Shetlands

26 June

48 miles

Climbing 936m

 

Cumulative 1201 miles

 

Up through the Shetlands

 

We arrived in Lerwick on the ferry at 7.30am , wheeled our bikes ashore but then promptly went back aboard for a full breakfast. we were soon off heading up through the islands . The first part over the bigger island  was quite hilly , very different from Orkney, peat moorland very like the top of Kinder but with views over the sea lochs.

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As we have moved North the houses have changed- no longer many stone houses , instead brightly painted houses more reminiscent of Norway. There are many cultural links between Scandinavia and Shetland stretching back to their Viking heritage- Shetland was part of Norway until 1468 when the Danish and Nowegian King needed money for his daughters dowry and pawned the islands on the condition that he could buy them back for 210 Kg of gold- probably it would have been worth redeeming them if he had known about the oil.

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Nordic style houses

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Small hamlet with its own quay


We stopped and chatted with an interesting lady running a tea van – the only sustenance we saw all day- she had moved from Lancashire to work as a social worker twenty years ago, she now does crofting and runs the refreshment van. She was very positive about the inclusiveness of the  Shetland community and had adjusted to the short winter days- Shetland is at the same lattitude as Southern Greenland.

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The only coffee for miles

We passed the the Sullom Voe oil terminal – now much less active but still with a huge gas plume visible across the moors .

Hardy sheep

Hardy sheep

We arrived at the first ferry that we needed to catch over to Yell just in time to see it settling off , as it is Sunday we had two hours to wait but lunch made up for it- again oatcakes and cheese with dried apricots whilst watching an inquisitive seal nearby watching us .

Seal keeping an eye on us

Seal keeping an eye on us

Once over on Yell we had quite a lumpy ride over the tops until we dropped down to the ferry pier – again to see the ferry halfway across the sound to Unst. This time we only had a short wait for the next ferry and couldn’t even pay as the ticket machine was awaiting repair- here the ferries are run by the local council as an essential service and not by CalMac as in most of Scotland.

 

The map hinted that there may be a small hill to reach our campsite – in fact it was quite tough but luckily fairly short and we arrived at the amazing Gardiesfauld Hostel and campsite  we had read great reviews and they were right- fantastic views over a sheltered sound , very quiet and flat places for the tent but with a good kitchen and drying rooms so no  cooking on a meths stove tonight. Oh and local eggs with an honesty box.

Idyllic campsite on Unst

Idyllic campsite on Unst

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Neolithic remains, classical music and sleepless ferry

25 June

 

29.5 miles- sightseeing

Climbing 463m

We had a varied day , another slight aside from the main project. We had to be back in Kirkwall to catch the ferry to Shetland just before midnight so had a day to see more in Orkney. We were determined  to see Scara Brae the extraordinary neolithic village on Orkney, and as luck would have it our evening before catching the ferry would be well used as it is the annual St Magnus Music Festival started by Sir Peter Maxwell Davis and there were tickets left for the final concert with the BBC symphony orchestra.

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We started out from the camping at Stromness in light drizzle but it eased after a while and we cruised gently round the quiet roads to the sight of Scara Brae- it was discovered in 1850 when a huge storm shifted a large sand dune revealing meticulously made dry stone walled houses. Luckily the local landlord who lived a feww hundred metres away recognized its importance and started to excavate in a careful way and recorded his finds.


 

The village is a fantasticaly preserved village from 5000 years ago- before Stonehenge , the rooms include hearths, stone box beds and even sideboards complete with families precious artefacts , bone needles, jewellery made from local materials and cooking pots. Stone age man was NOT primitive by any means , the houses are well made and show they must have had a well organised social structure. Interestingly there was no evidence of any weapons . 

Interior of one of the houses with stone furniture :dresser, box beds. Cupboards and hearth

Interior of one of the houses with stone furniture :dresser, box beds. Cupboards and hearth

We stopped off again at the Ring of Brodgar  as we cycled past and it seemed a good place for our lunch of oatcakes and cheese.

Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar

We set off back to Kirkwall and thought that we might need to pay the campsite for a nights lodging to be able to clean up and cook before going to the concert in the sports hall next door- in fact they are really welcoming and have a special arrangement for visitors- three pounds to use their excellent facilities for the evening. We also had a quick visit to Kirkwall cathedral- unusual as it is owned by the city not the church , it was built by Vikings  and then given to the city by James III of Scotland. It had some impressive old architecture including leaning pillars but also  a great collection of macabre headstones particularly from the 1600s keen to show everyone that death is inevitable- lots of skulls and bones in evidence.

Interior of the red sandstone cathedral

Interior of the red sandstone cathedral

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Cathedral in the evening light over Kirkwall

Cathedral in the evening light over Kirkwallk

To commemorate a tradesman

To commemorate a tradesman

P1090951-1280x960We set off for the concert venue clean but feeling potentialy under dressed in our camping outfits but it wasnt a problem – nothing too stuffy about people here. The BBC symphony orchestra was playing along with the local Orkney Community choir- no auditions needed. It was a great evening and some how it seemed fitting that the second half was Beethoven’s 9th, much appreciated by some German cycle tourers we have met several times and made friends with , they are completely bemused by the Brexit vote and it is good that they do not see the UK as completely anti-European.

Outside the concert,  they made us laugh

Outside the concert, they made us laugh

We were pleased by the local touch at the end- instead of giving the lead musicians flowers they each got a bottle of local malt whisky.

 

We had to rush at the end of the concert and cycle a little way out of town to the Ferry terminal in thick mist that had come down suddenly. There we wheeled the bikes onto the ship and settled down for a sleep (we hoped). We had paid a bit extra for “sleeping pods”, sold as being like those in Business class on aeroplanes – in fact they were very uncomfortable and we had a bright light shining down all night (everyone else was in darkness- are we marked out in some way?)

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