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You can sponsor me to help raise £5000 for Aberystwyth Samaritans, where I am a listening volunteer. 

Celebrating 50 years of Aberystwyth Samaritans, I will be cycling on the Pictish Trail from Edinburgh to John o' Groats and across to the Orkney islands. I will be riding 500 miles, over 50% off road, and climbing the same height as Everest. 

Starting on 1 May 2026, it will take a couple of weeks, wild camping on the way. You can follow me on this blog or Strava.

You can also watch the video of last year's ride from Glasgow to Cape Wrath or read last year's blog. 


 
  
 




 

 

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On The Train

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I'm now on my third train and will be getting to Edinburgh in half an hour! Many thanks to the Aberystwyth Samaritans who saw me off at the station this morning. You can sponsor me here: https://samaritanscommunity.enthuse.com/pf/alistair-thompson-e2o
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Day 3

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After breakfast with a decent size mug of tea, I had two things in mind. First, to get to Arbroath for a Smokie. Second, to get to Edzell for a kilt! The trail to Arbroath followed a cycle way by the sea for 18 miles. It was flat and with a headwind. I like hills! I did pass Carnoustie golf course. The Smokie at Arbroath was delicious. A few miles out of Arbroath was St Vigeans, the site of a Pictish monastery around 700 AD. When I was a child visiting my grandmother in Aberdeen, we used to go on a day trip to Edzell so I recognised the arch. And I found the kilt shop that I remembered being taken to. Once inside I realised that I wouldn't be able to get a new kilt but I was just in time for tea and cake. The old measuring counter remained along with a wildcat from the original shop. I talked with the person running the shop who knew some of the history. Her mothe...
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Day 2

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I was off by 6:30am to the sound of a cuckoo. My phone battery was almost out of charge as water had got in to the USB port and I couldn't risk trying to charge it. Within half a mile I got to a kissing gate which meant I had to unload the pannier bags that I'd only just put on! For once I was pleased to see some mobile masts and to be able to send a messages to my wife. That exhausted the battery but fortunately the USB port had sorted itself out. .  I then had a good downhill section with a max speed of 40mph. The rest of the day's ride was fairly uneventful. There was a gnarly tree I passed. I was relieved to get some water from a kind woman in her garden as I had forgotten to top up my water bottles and was running low. I then had enough for some pot noodles and stopped for a rest. The Tay bridges are nothing like as iconic as the Forth railway bridge. After checking in to the backpackers hostel, I headed up a steep hill t...
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