Dedicated to a wonderful Mother Jean Noble 31/5/1929 - 20/8/2007 - may we never take our mothers for granted. - Goodbye Mum

UNITED KINGDOM PAGE 7 SCOTLAND SEPTEMBER 2007

For the moment, the following Sovereign Territories form the U.K.

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Some may say America (and this is probably true of the moment) BUT, historically, no other nation has had an effect on the world greater than the United Kingdom, It's language links billions of people. It's laws form a basis for many nations. It once ruled over 25% of the worlds people. Like it or hate it, the British Empire, the largest formal Empire the world has ever known, will never be equalled, unless the dynamics of the world change dramatically. It is responsible for a disproportionate amount of the worlds innovations in all areas of human endeavour. It's people now inhabit the far corners of the globe.

5^th September 2007 Evie to Kirkwall

Approx. 28.11k's Average Speed 11.11kph Cycling time 2Hrs 31 Minutes Max speed 41kph

Terrible winds and drenching rain were the order of the night, at times so strong it was frightening. About 1/3^rd of our gear was wet after the days ride.. Our tent and bedding were warm and dry, which is important at these latitudes. Lee is coping with the wet and cold, probably better than I am. Astonishing – would have thought the other way round ;-) The morning started with a “stormy” break camp, we packed a very wet tent... ridding into the cool winds and driving rain we set off on what was to be a 42k journey – an easy day normally. However the rain and wind caused us to re-think and we took the shorter route to our destination – which was Kirkwall. One of the two ferry points in Kirkwall (Bellow) the other is 3.2k's away.

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Stopping for lunch in the bus shelter a fine glass enclosed shelter seen often in the Highlands and islands.

We have now circumnavigated the main island via the coastal route. Much of the inland we can see from the many “summits” that we top. Talking with the locals we were sure that we would see little that is different ridding these roads. We are both satisfied we have had a good taste of Orkney and its wonderful people. More of Kirkwall

Still More of Kirkwall – The tourist information centre.

Well that's it for now... Catchya Later

6^th September 2007 Kirkwall

Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hrs Minutes Max speed kph

REST DAY for the exploration of Kirkwall
Woke up to wild winds and driving rain a relatively mild temperature.

The “Midges” have just about bitten every square inch of Lee's exposed flesh, they have been a terrible problem since we started on the Mainland. We first encountered these little blighter's when camping in Wales. Despite their tiny size they are able to bite quite hard. Poor Lee is covered in bumps and lumps and the itching is driving her mad. For some reason I am not affected, I feel the bites but have no reaction.

7^th September 2007 Kirkwall

Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hrs Minutes Max speed kph

REST DAY for the exploration of Kirkwall

Great day exploring the museums and ancient buildings of Kirkwall... Many of the streets are narrow and winding, just like Stromness... A lot of the ancient history going back more than 2000BC appears “best Guess” as so few fragments remain,

(this building is about 900yrs old)

however they are aware the history is “dynamic” and add to their knowledge when they can. We spent a pleasant few hours in the local museum. Rain is the order of the day, as it is every day, however, it is a fairly mild temperature – about 14C or thereabouts.

SOME NEWS

Some news from our friends Andrew & Joanne HOOKER from Rockingham Perth. http://www.where2pedalto.com/ They had planned to do “three oceans on three wheels” starting in Alaska USA. They have ridden from the top of Alaska to Calgary in Canada.. various factors are causing them to re-think their completing this journey. I hope it is not the necessary evil “money” that is stopping them. They are true “Adventurers” in every sense of the word, having done tens of thousands of kilometres by trike. The have earned their place in cycling history. I hope you will support them by buying their merchandise or emailing them with your encouragement, even sponsor them in some way... If we were well off I surely would assist wherever I could, but, money is the one thing we don't have also.

8^th September 2007 Kirkwall

Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hrs Minutes Max speed kph

Today we leave Orkney for Shetland

We have now altered our plans slightly and are booked to leave the UK for Bergen in Norway on the 14^th of September. This will give us two more weeks to get as far south as possible before the winter, a good move we hope :-).

ORKNEY SUMMARY

Orkney, (in fact Scotland itself) is blessed with some wonderful people. We have experienced a great deal of warmth from our journey... there are a couple of sad points,(Racism) however, they are so far down the scale that it is hardly worth mentioning... So far nowhere, be it mainland Scotland or Orkney have we experienced driver abuse – far from it – from Trucks to motorbikes we have had waves and smiles. We hope this continues in Shetland and beyond. We enjoyed our last full day in Orkney.

SHETLAND (Scotland)

8^th September 2007 Kirkwall Orkney to Lerwick Shetland – By Ship and Cycle.

Approx. 5.80k's Average Speed 8.80kph Cycling time Hrs 20 Minutes Max speed 16kph

Approx 211 Kilometres by ship from Orkney to Shetland 7hrs 45 Minutes overnight. Costs $AUD38.00 Per Person - Bikes Free!

A late night cycle with lights flashing brought us to the Northlink Departure Terminal some 3+ Kilometres from town. As we were cyclists we were the last to board. The staff made us comfortable in the warm waiting room and tea coffee was available for the astonishingly low price (For this country) of 45P (About $AUD1.10)

Arrived at Lerwick 0730 precisely on time... “Northlink Ferry's” have treated us very well on our two journeys. No problems with the trike's and very helpful staff. Left the ship in driving rain and only 11C..

Arriving at the much vaunted C/van park we (and everyone else using this type of facility, from the boat) found it closed. Does not open until 0930. So we went to the front of the complex and spotted the cleaner opening the door... Being the opportunist I am I “legged” it to the door and begged for a “Loo Key” , In true Scottish hospitality she obliged and was most helpful. In the pouring rain we erected our tent.

A minor mishap this morning – we left our “tarp” protruding slightly from under the tent – it collected enough water from the downpour to “funnel” water into our tent, which in turn wet our sleeping bag.. All this in just a few minutes – such was the intensity of the rain. Hopefully there will be a dryer in this camp? (Yes there is). We now must decide how much cycling we can do between now and the 14^th. Today we will catch up on some sleep. We spent last night sleeping wherever we could around the ship. Snoring drunks and noisy staff meant a broken sleep.. The “Couchettes” we were allocated were a bit like a business class seat on an aircraft, however, they did not recline as much. A cabin (Lowest Price) was approx $AUD185.00 – way beyond our budget.

I wrote the above after we arrived at 0730 this morning. It is now 1715 (5:15pm) and it has rained CONTINUOUSLY since then. The intensity and persistence of the rain is without precedence for me, I have seen rain all day before, but, NEVER so heavy for so long. So far our tent has kept us warm and dry.

Washing machines are so expensive it is hard to believe. A “wash” in a tiny front loader is $AUD7.00 and 1 hour in the dryer (The dryer uses £1.10 -$2.75- Per 10 Minutes) is $16.50!!! a staggering $23.50 with NO guarantee the 1hr will be long enough to dry the clothes. Each further 10 minutes drying time is $2.75... Some of our clothing is cheaper to buy and discard rather than wash... Of course in these “third world” conditions there is no clothes line and we cannot (always) wait out the weather and do by hand. Someone said “write to the “tourist board” about your findings.. No point in my wasting my time O.J. said “Money” has always won and ALWAYS will win, every argument. Never known this to be anything less than true.. :-)

10^th September 2007 Lerwick Shetland.

Approx. 15.58k's Average Speed 7.82kph Cycling time 1Hrs 59 Minutes Max speed 20kph

Force 6/7 gales and driving rain meant a no start for us today. We will be bitterly disappointed if we cannot tour Shetland before Friday. (We leave for Norway Friday) We met up with other touring cyclists who were in the same position... Two had been here since Friday and had been unable to cycle due to the weather. They (a man & wife) decided due to the poor forecast for the remainder of the week, to leave for Orkney. The forecast there is for better weather. Other cyclists (two young guys) are taking the ferry to Aberdeen and have given up the prospect of cycling Shetland. The weather of course is no one persons fault (I will not go into the argument for global warming)

It is still possible to cycle, however, we simply do not see the point of being soaking wet, frozen solid and battling a gale; the purpose of this part of our journey is to enjoy the experience as much as possible.

We decided to cycle in and around Lerwick and keep our tent at the camp-site.

At this stage we will do that tomorrow, however we plan – weather permitting - to go further a-field. With perhaps a 30-40K round trip. As the weather forecast for the remainder of the week is poor we will probably follow this format.

It is about 40k's to the bottom of the island and about 60ks to the top. Both doable in a day (without our loads). We have a contingency to see Shetland if all else fails and that is to use a Public Bus. EVERY other means of transport is FAR too expensive.. e.g. hiring the tiniest car is 4-5 times more expensive than Australia. FROM $90 per day +++ You NEVER get the “bottom line price” from these guys.

Lerwick is a bigger version of both Stromness and Kirkwall, same narrow paved streets. Similar shopping areas. Some minor differences, but nothing appears significant. We have not yet found where to upload our site, however, the public library offers a VERY heavily censored access point which is only useful for collecting email and some surfing. Unable to access the security and not trusting the “Orwellian(s)” that have designed the setup – we could not (and you should not yours) check our finances.

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