LEJOG'08 Daily Diary

DAY 7
Longtown to Kilmarnock

the plan:

And into Scotland! 105 miles through Gretna Green, and up around Dumfries to Sanquar and on to Kilmarnock. Long but gentle climbs and beautiful countryside are promised today, ending at the 4* accommodation Kilmarnock Football Club.

the reality:

Pouring rain, strong headwinds, 14 weary bodies... welcome to Scotland! Darryl had plotted an alternative more scenic route along less main roads, but with the weather being as it was (and yes, we know it was beautiful at Wimbledon!) and the A76 not being nearly as bad as we'd thought, we stuck to the main road and cut 17 miles off our planned route today. We all got very wet and very windblown throughout the day. Every so often we managed to raise our heads and look around us at the scenery (looked very nice in parts from what we could see), but generally it was heads down and willing the miles to pass quickly. Very fortunately - as was the case with our other wet day - we are staying in a relatively luxurious hotel tonight, with twin rooms, great baths/showers and there's apparently even a sauna and steam room in the hotel. We need to make the most of it as the next 3 nights we're in youth hostels, and the forecast is for more rain... All part of the LEJOG experience though.

Distance travelled: 88 miles (cumulative 633 miles)
Total time taken Day 5: 8 hours 45 minutes
Cumulative time: 63 hours 34 minutes
Average speed: 15.1 mph
Day Leader: Darryl

Achievement of the Day: getting to Kilmarnock

Siting of the day: sign as we arrived into Kilmarnock directing us to the Dick Institute (made us laugh... it had been a long day)

Star - and also prat - of the day: Siobhan - star for keeping everyone cheerful, and prat for nearly breaking her leg dancing during our morning coffee break

Entertainment of the day: Lucy, Siobhan and Sarah singing their farewell song to Jean... look out for them on Top of the Pops (the HC3s) - they really were fantastic

Thank you's of the day:
- to Paul's mum for bringing us amazing supper tonight
- to the manager and staff at the Park Hotel at Kilmarnock Football Club for being so accommodating (to 14 very wet, dirty, bedraggled looking cyclists and their bikes - we weren't a pretty site in reception!)
- and a HUGE HUGE thank you to Jean who leaves the van in the morning, and hands over to Martin, who has a very tough act to follow

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	DAY 7 Longtown to Kilmarnock the plan: And into Scotland! 105 miles through Gretna Green, and up around Dumfries to Sanquar and on to Kilmarnock. Long but gentle climbs and beautiful countryside are promised today, ending at the 4* accommodation Kilmarnock Football Club. the reality: Pouring rain, strong headwinds, 14 weary bodies... welcome to Scotland! Darryl had plotted an alternative more scenic route along less main roads, but with the weather being as it was (and yes, we know it was beautiful at Wimbledon!) and the A76 not being nearly as bad as we'd thought, we stuck to the main road and cut 17 miles off our planned route today. We all got very wet and very windblown throughout the day. Every so often we managed to raise our heads and look around us at the scenery (looked very nice in parts from what we could see), but generally it was heads down and willing the miles to pass quickly. Very fortunately - as was the case with our other wet day - we are staying in a relatively luxurious hotel tonight, with twin rooms, great baths/showers and there's apparently even a sauna and steam room in the hotel. We need to make the most of it as the next 3 nights we're in youth hostels, and the forecast is for more rain... All part of the LEJOG experience though. Distance travelled: 88 miles (cumulative 633 miles) Total time taken Day 5: 8 hours 45 minutes Cumulative time: 63 hours 34 minutes Average speed: 15.1 mph Day Leader: Darryl Achievement of the Day: getting to Kilmarnock Siting of the day: sign as we arrived into Kilmarnock directing us to the Dick Institute (made us laugh... it had been a long day) Star - and also prat - of the day: Siobhan - star for keeping everyone cheerful, and prat for nearly breaking her leg dancing during our morning coffee break Entertainment of the day: Lucy, Siobhan and Sarah singing their farewell song to Jean... look out for them on Top of the Pops (the HC3s) - they really were fantastic Thank you's of the day: - to Paul's mum for bringing us amazing supper tonight - to the manager and staff at the Park Hotel at Kilmarnock Football Club for being so accommodating (to 14 very wet, dirty, bedraggled looking cyclists and their bikes - we weren't a pretty site in reception!) - and a HUGE HUGE thank you to Jean who leaves the van in the morning, and hands over to Martin, who has a very tough act to follow go to daily diary index