The journey is all the more impressive because while Sarah believes strongly in sustainable transport, she doesn’t describe herself as a hardened cyclist.
 
The weather was chilly, navigation was challenging and ashes are surprisingly heavy. In her own words:
 
I have recently returned from an adventure that took me on holiday to the Orkneys and back on my electric bike.
 
The idea of a bike touring trip came to me a few years ago after getting my first electric bike and realising what a game changer it was for cycle journeys.
 
Last year my father passed away and as he had believed he was immortal, no plans or advice regarding what he wished to happen were given and as he was quite a heroic man in his way I wished to acknowledge this.
 
He was a climber all his life, one of his significant achievements, at the age of 67, being to climb the Old Man of Hoy, a windswept pillar of rock in the North Sea.
 
I had never visited the Orkneys so a holiday there to take dad to one of his great moments struck me as a fine plan.
 
So I booked a ferry from Scrabster to Stromness for 27 June, and on 8 June I pedalled away from Reepham, rushing to get to the King’s Lynn foot ferry as my route over the River Ouse.
 
It was the start of a marvellous trip, meeting so many interesting people: a retired tour guide provided me with a full itinerary of what to see and do on Orkney (and what was essential to book in advance) and a posse of Polish motorcyclists shared their supper with me in the wilderness of Forsinard.
 
I chatted to cyclists travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats and cyclists who had just returned from trips to the continent or were planning to go on an insane road race (by bicycle) from France to Turkey in 10 days.
 
So many beautiful landscapes; particular highlights were:

• Lindisfarne, with its sparkling seascapes and ancient buildings;
• the walk to the Old Man, with its red cliff faces and my first ever sighting of puffins;
• astonishing Neolithic relics all over Orkney, uncovering a sophisticated society with highly developed skills and a much wider global outreach than ever imagined;
• the Flow Country, a unique environment with a vegetation and watery pattern all its own;
• Loch of the Lowes near Dunkeld was a garden of delight with nesting osprey, great crested grebe with their humbug-striped chicks being piggybacked around the loch by their parents, beaver and red squirrels.

 
Dunkeld itself was a gem with a thriving scene of music/culture as well as fantastic food. I ate one of the most imaginative and delicious meals of my life at The Taybank.
 
Moving at speeds of around 15 mph gives one a great opportunity to appreciate the species we share with. I saw many birds such as curlew and oystercatcher, as well as red squirrels, red deer and stoats playing.
 
What a fantastic experience it was. I am thinking of Mid Wales for the next one…
 
The vital statistics
Miles ridden: 1,313
Days ridden: 30
Minor accidents: 1
Bike shop repairs: 2
New batteries bought in dodgy roadside deals: 1
 
Read a full account of Sarah’s journey HERE.