The Great Tour of Britain - What Bitter Irony :-)

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 21 Jul 2015, 10:08pm

I am 18 days into my own tour, I am cycling around the entire UK and Irish coast, it's been a tough day today and I had decided to take a rest day tomorrow. I booked into the Tongue hostel which is lovely and had planned to spend the day resting and updating my blog. When I enquired about staying for tomorrow the lady said unfortunately it's booked out to an exclusive group. When I went outside I noticed there was the great tour bus, I asked her if that was the exclusive group and she said yes.

How ironic, I am on my own self supported touring the entire UK and Irish coast and I have to move out because I have bumped into the great tour, I asked if I could camp and the lady said it would be ok as long as I didn't come inside.... so now I will have to search for somewhere to stay tomorrow... or I may just move on to my next stop and rest their instead... no room at the inn... I am feeling tired so probably not fully getting the humour of the situation.

"It is amazing how life can be humbling and teach you a lesson about generosity. I packed my kit to leave this morning and the hostess of the Hostel came in and said the tour organiser had invited me to stay for the night so I could rest up...... I really feel humbled.. They have invited me to spend supper with them, I just don't know what else to say!"

LollyKat · Post by **LollyKat** » 21 Jul 2015, 10:32pm

Bitter irony indeed - commiserations. Are you going in the same direction as the others? You don't want the same thing to happen again.

Hope you feel better in the morning.

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 21 Jul 2015, 10:42pm

LollyKat wrote:Bitter irony indeed - commiserations. Are you going in the same direction as the others? You don't want the same thing to happen again.

Hope you feel better in the morning.

Hiya, nope I am going anticlockwise and getting the Kintyre express to ireland from Campbeltown. I am ok but just felt drained today nothing a good nights sleep and a rest day won't cure!

Jon Lucas · Post by **Jon Lucas** » 22 Jul 2015, 7:22am

When I cycled the whole of the British coast I found more than half the hostels I tried to stay in were fully booked, and mostly by pre-booked groups (and who were generally only using some of the beds, so there were bed spaces available, which was the most annoying aspect). Tongue was one of the these, so i never got to savour its delights (I stayed in the Betttyhill hotel instead, which was actually rather wonderful).

If you've just got to Tongue, I hope you cycled down to Torrisdale and Skerray on the way, they are like a mile or two of the Home Counties strangely isolated on the exposed north coast. Heading west from there you now have the best cycling in Britain, down the full length of western Scotland, so I hope you enjoy it fully. I also found the friendliest and most helpful b&bs were all in western Scotland.

pjclinch · Post by **pjclinch** » 22 Jul 2015, 7:46am

We were planning on staying at a campsite when we got to Tongue, to find (in 2004) that our map was out of date and it had shut 3 years previously. B&B in the Ben Loyal Hotel saved the day!

Pete.

Heltor Chasca · Post by **Heltor Chasca** » 22 Jul 2015, 8:00am

Hang in there DN. Don't let them get you down. When you find somewhere you like with a decent campsite stop for a day or two and recharge....b

rualexander · Post by **rualexander** » 22 Jul 2015, 8:16am

Nice little campsite at Talmine, across the causeway and turn right, there's a shop in the village too.

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 22 Jul 2015, 8:53am

Heltor Chasca wrote:Hang in there DN. Don't let them get you down. When you find somewhere you like with a decent campsite stop for a day or two and recharge....b

I am feeling recharged this morning, I am probably going to go on to Cape wrath lighthouse, but may check out the campsite mentioned above!

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 22 Jul 2015, 9:57am

It is amazing how life can be humbling and teach you a lesson about generosity. I packed my kit to leave this morning and the hostess of the Hostel came in and said the tour organiser had invited me to stay for the night so I could rest up...... I really feel humbled.. They have invited me to spend supper with them, I just don't know what else to say!

beardy · Post by **beardy** » 22 Jul 2015, 10:02am

They had probably been reading this forum! :lol:

Have a nice meal, it will not be the last bit of spontaneous generosity that befalls you on the trip.
There is a whole sub-culture of it out there.

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 22 Jul 2015, 10:06am

Hi Beardy,

I am constantly amazed at the generosity I have recieved... I have a day to relax now and I don't know what to do with myself lol - I am going to stock up on food and try and find a waterfall that I am told is local

sultzer · Post by **sultzer** » 22 Jul 2015, 11:08am

the tongue hostel lets tents pitch anyway

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 22 Jul 2015, 11:38am

sultzer wrote:the tongue hostel lets tents pitch anyway

I had asked about that but they said only if I didn't want to come inside, but it all turned out great in the end. I got to meet the owner of the company organising it. A very down to earth guy with a passion for promoting the coastal tourism and just whats out here. Not at all what I expected, this morning a guy was leaving for his 2nd day on a Jogle, his front mech wasn't shifting, I had a look and couldn't really get it to work, their bike mechanic put it on a stand but it wouldn't adjust so needs a new one which is a shame. But they went to the trouble of helping him out I really hope he gets through ok!

phil parker · Post by **phil parker** » 22 Jul 2015, 11:39am

I'm really pleased you've got to stay the night there! A colleague of mine and his wife are good friends of the hostess at the Tongue Hostel and paid them a visit this year so it has been a recent topic of conversation. I also met a cyclist in Wick, in March this year, who had a finished a long section of the northern Scottish coast as training for cycling across the U.S. who told me he had the whole hostel to himself, and a very nice meal as well, whilst we exchanged stories of the road.

I'm hoping to finish off the NW Coast at some time (only a few stretches missing from the whole of the Scotish coastline) and curiosity has tempted me to stay at the hostel rather than camp.

DarkNewt · Post by **DarkNewt** » 22 Jul 2015, 12:11pm

I have to say it's a great hostel, and the star is the lounge area where there is NO tv and lots of books - GOOD wi fi! I was in here last night and there was a group of us just chatting telling tall stories and getting on great! So I was overjoyed with the offer of having my rest day here...

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