This week’s on this day post comes from the 9th-September-2014, and I’m on my way to John O’Groats, Scotland. I’d cycled to Land’s End a month or two earlier but had run out of time to cycle to John O’Groats. So now I was cycling from Home to John O’Groats, my own version of “lejog.”
Tuesday 9th September 2014 Doncaster to Heighington, Durham. 90 miles
What a nice fast ride today. I’m surprised how flat it has been. And not only has it been flat, but I’ve also had a nice tailwind! I think things might change tomorrow!
I was hoping to finish nice and early today. I’d already decided early on in the day to stop in Darlington for the night. And with that tailwind, I’d made good progress, reaching Darlington at about four o’clock. Unfortunately, all the hotels I tried were full! Bored with trying to find a hotel, I resigned myself that I might have to camp wild! As I couldn’t see anything nearby on the map!
My Lucks In
As I cycled along, I saw a sign for some hotel in a castle and pulled over to see if I could find a phone number just to see how expensive it would be! As I pulled over, I was next to a pub and noticed a sign saying camping! I immediately went into the pub to enquire. Inside, I saw the landlady, who told me they take tents, but there are no toilets and no water! That was fine by me. I was expecting to camp wild anyway! But now I had a pub I could sit in for the evening, and as a bonus, drink beer! The pub didn’t serve food just yet, but they gave me a selection of phone numbers for takeaways that deliver.
It turns out that the landlady and her husband have only just taken over the place. It had been closed for several months. The landlady was pleasant enough, and so was her husband, but I think he liked to drink a bit too much! He stank of drink right from the moment I arrived! And I could tell from the way he acted that he’d had a few! And sure enough, by eight o’clock, he’d gone to bed! He’s probably not the best sort of person to run a pub. I think it’s more of a lifestyle for him than a business! But I wish them good luck and hope it works out for them!
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