Leg 6, Day 4: Aberdeen - Arbroath

Untitled from Rad Hart-George on Vimeo.

After another broken nights sleep on the ferry, involving a stop off at the Orkneys at 11.30pm (and accompanying announcements!) and few drunk lads playing games at 1am, we woke rather bleary eyed. 

Following a good breakfast on the ferry, (again, courtesy of the very kind North Link ferry crew), we were refuled and on the road by 7.30am. Cycling out of Aberdeen, there was a quick change from city to countryside as we headed south along the coast, and we were soon back in the countryside.

Yet again, the weather was firmly on our side- although we had a gentle head wind all day, the sun shone as we headed south along the coastal route and through beautiful undulating farmland.

The first station of the day at Stonehaven. A picturesque fishing village, with large sweeping bay beyond the harbour.

In Stonehaven, we came across a man, sorting through a basket of Chanterelle mushrooms on the waterfront.  A short chat, revealed that he was a French Chef who works out on the oil rigs, but was hartbroken, having recently returned from his 3 week shift at sea, to find that his wife had run off with another man. He had picked a basket full of Chanterelle's from a nearby wood, in 10 minutes and was off to cook them with some Mackerel he had just caught from the sea. 

We cycled on across yet more picturesque countryside, with a couple of slightly more challenging hill climbs until we reached our next station of the day- Montrose.

A quick photo, and refil of our water bottles and we were off again, churning our way thefoug mile upon mile of countryside.

With Rad opting to take the coastal route for a large chunk of the day, including some fairly rustic off road cycling paths, we were fairly knackered by the time we reached the final stop of the day- Arbroath. 

We arrived at Arbroath in good time, for the afternoon. A late seafood lunch on the harbourside of 'smokies' (locally smoked Hadock) gave us the bit of extra fuel we needed for the afternoon of washing kit, fixing broken phones, mending bikes, meeting crew, sorting photos and videos and getting bedding sorted. 

A pub supper down the road and a beer with the crew at the station topped off a great day, and we were certainly ready for bed by the time our heads hit the pillows. 

Leg 6, Day 2; Macduff to Aberdeen

RNLI TOUR OF BRITAIN. LEG 6 - DAY 2 from Rad Hart-George on Vimeo.

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We woke after a somewhat broken night's sleep in Macduff lifeboat station- it's going to take a few days / complete exhaustion to sleep well again on our camping mats!  Following a quick cuppa, we got kit on and bags packed, and we're back on the open road by 7.30am. 

Having been advised by Chassey the night before that the coastal road (which we were due to take), was very hilly and that we should consider, instead, the main A road, we in something of a dilemma. One one hand the A road would be flatter and faster but less scenic and probably more dangerous. The coastal road would be much hillier, more tiring, and slower but more scenic. We ended up opting for the latter, and Chassey wasn't wrong... It was certainly fairly hilly, but also absolutely beautiful. The Aberdeenshire countryside in sunshine was spectacular and well worth the effort, and we made good progress, as we crossed the rolling countryside. 

We made Fraserburgh, about 35km into our day's ride, in time for a late breakfast on the harbour front, overlooking the Lifeboat and impressive and sizeable fishing fleet. The trawlers were far larger than we had expected -huge great modern steel ships which we estimated to be about 150 ft long. The sort of boats which would look at home mid Atlantic.

We were soon back on the road heading further east.  By Mid morning we had 'turned the corner' and started heading south. This was quite a milestone in the trip, but it also had the slight tarnish, of being straight into a 20mph headwind for the rest of the afternoon! With Rad and my fitness levels not being quite what they were in years gone by, this proved more of a challenge than the hills we had hit in the morning. The only way I can describe it, would be cycling with very tired legs, and your breaks half on for three hours...!

Progress was slow and very hard work, but at least the sun was out and we passed through yet more beautiful countryside. 

We made it to Peterhead by 12noon- another very active fishing port with an even more impressive fleet of fishing boats.... a quick photo and stretch at the RNLI station, a baked potato with beans and cheese at a local cafe and we were off again.

With our last remaining 'critical' (Rad's organisation) timing deadline of the entire trip being the return ferry to Aberdeen, we were under some pressure to make Aberdeen in good time for our 5pm departure for our overnight crossing to the Shetland Islands. The relentless headwind and a few hills made this two of the harder hours of cycling R and I can remember, and we were totally exhausted by the time we made Aberdeen. This said, the sun continued to shine which was a real treat following our 2014 expedition.... 

After a shower and supper onboard we set out our camp beds in the bar of the ferry.