Despite a hurricane, dodgy knees, 30% gradients, a suicidal badger and Scotland's wettest day in 60 years, we arrived in John O'Groats after 18 days and 1,061 miles of hills, moors, wealds, hills, lakes, lochs and hills.
We chose the quietest roads we could find. Some of them had one or two cars an hour - and that was rush hour. Every county was gloriously beautiful and we met generous people everywhere. In Scotland there were Severe Weather Warnings most days and it rained non-stop for 36 hours, but on the whole we were lucky with the weather. Now I'm back home and enjoying sitting on a seat wider than four inches.
For more of the story, you can click on the photos on the left of this page. For even more of the story and even more photos, please see my Flickr page:
I want to thank everybody who has donated so generously to The Smile Train. And I want to thank my fellow travellers, Rob and Tim, for being good company throughout the length and breadth and height of the country. Rob raised money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Tim raised money for Naomi House Children's Hospice.
Happy birthday, Rob. You were right. It was a good idea.
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I was born in a Liverpool hospital in the summer of 1965. After a short delay and a whispered conversation, the doctors handed me to my mother.
"Here's your baby," said the doctor.
"He's beautiful," she said.
"Have another look," said the doctor.
That's when my mum looked more closely and noticed a hole in my face where my upper lip should've been.
In the subsequent months and years, my opinion of doctors improved. They repaired my lip and, cleverly, using bone from one of my ribs, repaired the cleft in my palate, transforming my face into the vision of loveliness you know today. Lucky for me, I was born in a country with a national health service.
This summer I travelled from Land's End to John O'Groats with no mechanical aids apart from a bicycle and a corkscrew.
Along the way I raised money for The Smile Train, a charity that works in poorer countries where children born with clefts are often untreated and ostracised. By giving local doctors the necessary skills and resources, the Smile Train transforms the lives of thousands of children and adults every year.
If you can spare some money to help their work, you can donate on this page. If you're a UK taxpayer, please use Gift Aid to increase the value of your donation. And feel free to forward this email to anyone who might be interested. Thanks very much.
