Cruise News
OF BRITAIN REVEALS MILES OF DELIGHTS
TWO girls and a dog in one large motorhome driving from Land’s End to John o’ Groats – what could possibly go wrong?
I hadn’t explored much of Britain before, so as I arrived at Penzance station I was buzzing at the prospect of covering the full length of our island.
My friend Claire had agreed to join me with her collie Amiri on this crazy road trip – but we had second thoughts when we saw the size of the rig we had to drive.
Graham from Rockin Vans gave us a run-down of our fully equipped four-berth motorhome, and we were soon off to the supermarket in “Bert” to stock up on goods.
Claire cracked on with the driving (I’d only ever driven a VW Polo…) and did an amazing job.
Staying at pre-booked Camping and Caravanning Club sites, our first night was spent in lovely Sennen Cove at a simple place with a gorgeous view over the countryside and out to sea.
We were up bright and early on day two, ready to start our LEJOG trip. At Land’s End there was a mini village of shops, cafés and restaurants, an interactive exhibition and other attractions – as well as the famous signpost. But for a snap right next to it you have to pay a professional photographer.
Back at the visitor centre we had the obligatory Cornish pasties.
After stopping off at dog-friendly Long Rock Beach outside Penzance, we pointed Bert inland towards our next stop: Cheddar, Somerset.
The site assistant at Cheddar’s picturesque campsite was funny and helpful and told us about a dogfriendly pub nearby for dinner.
We had to follow our noses for about 15 minutes until we came to the Queen Victoria Inn. It was very busy, but the long wait for our delicious food was worth it.
Day three started with a trip to Cheddar Gorge. Fuelled by cheese toasties from a café in town, we tackled the 274 steps up Jacob’s Ladder (£5.50pp, or £19.95 annual pass for the whole site, cheddargorge.co.uk).
Our next stop was Winchcombe in Gloucestershire.
It was a beautiful campsite with its own lake. We spent the evening looking for places to visit on our way to the next day’s pitch and decided on nearby Sudeley Castle.
No dogs are allowed inside, so we did a walk around the countryside by the gatehouses.
On our way to drop Amiri off at home in Stafford (he couldn’t come with us the whole way), we stayed at Hayfield campsite, which had beautiful views over the Peak District. Day five took us to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
The ticket includes a self-guided tour of the house, and don’t miss the gardens (chatsworth.org, house from £12.50pp, gardens from £7pp).
From Chatsworth, Claire drove us to Keswick in the Lake District, where we stayed for two nights. At the campsite the motorhome pitches are set back from the lake, with fine views and plenty of wildlife.
Our activity in the
Lake District was the
Via Ferrata near Honister – a climb up cables on an old miners’ route on Fleetwith Pike.
We did the Xtreme version, which is a guided climb where you wear a helmet and are attached to the mountain by wires.
After a full safety briefing we were off. Part of the experience is scrambling up the huge cargo net to reach the 2,066ft summit.
But all the climbing is totally worth it for the most amazing views (honister.com, from £40pp).
On day seven we crossed the border into Scotland and headed for the west coast to the campsite at Culzean Castle, overlooking Firth of Clyde. Our prime spot provided by far the best sunset of the trip.
I figured it was unfair for Claire to do all the driving, so took Bert’s steering wheel and managed to safely negotiate us to Loch Ness Shores campsite.
This is another great spot, with plenty of new facilities. I wholeheartedly recommend the waffles from the food truck; they’re great. We walked those off with a hike up to the 165ft Falls of Foyers and around the lovely loch (alas, no Nessie). Our final day dawned, and I drove us to John o’Groats to send postcards from the British mainland’s most northerly postbox and take selfies next to the sign (no hustling for money – Land’s End, take note). Over a hotel dinner that night, Claire and I reflected on our epic LEJOG road trip. The traditionally accepted distance is 874 miles, though with our diversions we did 1,039 miles.
We had driven a motorhome the length of England and Scotland, going to places we’d never been before. We’d also met some brilliant people and saw sights that will stay with us forever.
Thank you, Bert. We are proud to officially be End to Enders!