# taxi to john o groats



## bianchi1 (27 May 2008)

I have decided to cycle Johno groats to lands end in the summer as i have a week without my children and fancy the challenge. I am based in the midlands so i am flying up to inverness on saturday 16 August then a taxi the rest of the way to the start. If anyone happens to be going the same time there is space in the taxi for a few more bikes. I know this is a long shot but what the hell, i am going anyway so if anyone out there needs a taxi share let me know.


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## Dayvo (27 May 2008)

Why don't you ask one of our *MANY* Scottish friends for a lift?


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## bianchi1 (27 May 2008)

Bit of a cheek!! its a 250 mile around trip i think. Taxi is going to charge me £150 plus, but i am a bit tight on time so its my best option. Coaches cant take bike, train is difficult etc. Havent even thought how i am going to get back from lands end. Still if the sun is out a few days in cornwall wont kill me.


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## dodgy (27 May 2008)

I admire your spirit of adventure, good luck!

Dave.


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## redfox (27 May 2008)

I did a similar thing Inverness Taxis took me and my bike in the back of an Espace for about £100, but petrol was a lot cheaper five years ago.

It is expensive but, if you only have a week, you don't want to spend two days getting to the start.


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## bonj2 (27 May 2008)

there is apparently a train station in wick you know...


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## redfox (27 May 2008)

bonj said:


> there is apparently a train station in wick you know...



I investigated this at the time, it didn't work out flying from Luton to Inverness.

Unless you can clear baggage collection, reassemble your bike and cycle the ten miles to the middle of Inverness in 50 minutes, the train from Inverness to Wick a non-starter.

Also the your bike doesn't go on the train, they cart it up to Wick in a van. So you have to hang around and wait for it, re-assemble (again) and then cycle the 17 last miles.


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## bianchi1 (27 May 2008)

Good info. Cheers. Had looked into rail a bit a while ago but i thought there were issues with getting to the station from the airport. Will have another look into it. rail info only runs until 3 August so far, but it does look like it may be promising.....Do i trust the rail!!


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## bianchi1 (27 May 2008)

Beat me to it redfox. Although it does look as if you can take a bike on the train now.


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## bonj2 (27 May 2008)

well i'd have got the train all the way - getting a _plane_ for an intra-uk journey?  not worth the hassle in my book - specially with a bike. But each to his own.


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## bonj2 (27 May 2008)

bianchi1 said:


> Good info. Cheers. Had looked into rail a bit a while ago but i thought there were issues with getting to the station from the airport. Will have another look into it. rail info only runs until 3 August so far, but it does look like it may be promising.....Do i trust the rail!!



you can phone up scotch rail or whatever the operator is and ask them. If they don't, they don't. If they do, they do- and you've saved yourself quite a lot of money as looking online the train's only a tenner.


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## redfox (27 May 2008)

bonj said:


> well i'd have got the train all the way - getting a _plane_ for an intra-uk journey?  not worth the hassle in my book - specially with a bike. But each to his own.



Agreed, I really wanted to use the train, but it was going to take two days to get there. Also, as there were two of us, the combined cost of the flights and taxi was considerably less the train!


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## bianchi1 (27 May 2008)

Have travelled by plane with my bike once or twice a year for the last 6 years without a hitch. Easy to book, fast, efficient, cheep, all the things the rail network should be....but are not. I could get the train from birmingham to inverness/wick but the timetables are not out for some parts of the journey yet. As This has to be a planned in advance, I cant wait untill the last week to decide, as if its not possible the flight price by then will have gone through the roof. The rail say i can take my bike on some sections of the route.. but not others, or only if it is quiet! The flight option..£15 extra baggage, on it goes! 
A quick look shows me that to get to inverness by rail (on a date before i want to go! ) would cost 4 times the flight cost and take 11 hours and 'stage 3' of the journey is a walk through birmingham!


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## vernon (28 May 2008)

redfox said:


> I investigated this at the time, it didn't work out flying from Luton to Inverness.
> 
> Unless you can clear baggage collection, reassemble your bike and cycle the ten miles to the middle of Inverness in 50 minutes, the train from Inverness to Wick a non-starter.
> 
> Also the your bike doesn't go on the train, they cart it up to Wick in a van. So you have to hang around and wait for it, re-assemble (again) and then cycle the 17 last miles.



You overestimate the speed of the train. The van is quicker. My bike was ready ands waiting for me at Thurso. Shame the van driver wouldn't let me travel with the bike


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## Kirstie (28 May 2008)

I was about to post this question. I am riding a LEJOG from 2nd - 17th August and will need to get to the station in Wick from JOG to get a train on the morning of the 17th (a Sunday). Your taxi could take me and my friend back down to Wick from JOG on the Saturday evening if that helps. Our plans aren't set in stone just yet as I am currently reworking the mileages, but it's a thought. Even better we could take the taxi back to Inverness on the Sat night and fly down to Brum the next day, but we'd have the problem of bike bags...unless you want to recycle the ones you use to come up on the plane... we should PM about this.


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## redfox (28 May 2008)

vernon said:


> You overestimate the speed of the train. The van is quicker. My bike was ready ands waiting for me at Thurso. Shame the van driver wouldn't let me travel with the bike



LOL, I did wonder when writing the comment. 

We really do have a piss poor train service in this country compared to other countries in Europe.


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## bianchi1 (28 May 2008)

Kirstie said:


> I was about to post this question. I am riding a LEJOG from 2nd - 17th August and will need to get to the station in Wick from JOG to get a train on the morning of the 17th (a Sunday). Your taxi could take me and my friend back down to Wick from JOG on the Saturday evening if that helps. Our plans aren't set in stone just yet as I am currently reworking the mileages, but it's a thought. Even better we could take the taxi back to Inverness on the Sat night and fly down to Brum the next day, but we'd have the problem of bike bags...unless you want to recycle the ones you use to come up on the plane... we should PM about this.



The taxi firm i was planning to use are based in Thurso, so i guess would charge you again for a trip going south from JOG. I think I am going to use a used cardboard bike box from my local bike shop on the plane and just throw it away at the other end. You are quite welcome to have it and i could poss shove an old canvas bike bag in there as well if you need another. What have the rail firms told you about traveling with your bike? I plan to be at JOG at around 2/3 pm on the sat 16. Funny isnt it that the hardest thing about this ride seems to be the transport to the start and finish!


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## dodgy (28 May 2008)

How about UPSing your bike to somewhere local to the start?

Dave.


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## Kirstie (28 May 2008)

bianchi1 said:


> The taxi firm i was planning to use are based in Thurso, so i guess would charge you again for a trip going south from JOG. I think I am going to use a used cardboard bike box from my local bike shop on the plane and just throw it away at the other end. You are quite welcome to have it and i could poss shove an old canvas bike bag in there as well if you need another. What have the rail firms told you about traveling with your bike? I plan to be at JOG at around 2/3 pm on the sat 16. Funny isnt it that the hardest thing about this ride seems to be the transport to the start and finish!



Thanks bianchi1 I just PMd you back! The rail firms just say that you need a reservation. Our main problem is the time it takes to get back from JOG, so flying would be a good solution for us.


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## ronstrutt (28 May 2008)

redfox said:


> Also the your bike doesn't go on the train, they cart it up to Wick in a van. So you have to hang around and wait for it, re-assemble (again) and then cycle the 17 last miles.



I think they've abandoned the van now, but when I used it the van was there long before the train and I got there to find the bikes unloaded and ready to ride off!


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## ronstrutt (28 May 2008)

redfox said:


> We really do have a piss poor train service in this country compared to other countries in Europe.



Not really the fault of the railway. In the 1980s the Department of Transport decided to fund some major new bridges on the A9 north of Inverness which vastly cut the road journey time. It was suggested that these bridges be built to carry a diverted railway line so that the Far North trains could share in the reduced journey times. 

Guess what the reply from the Department of Transport was?


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## bonj2 (28 May 2008)

sod off?


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## User482 (29 May 2008)

I used these people (http://www.puffinexpress.co.uk/bike.htm ) to get me from JOG to Inverness. Quicker than the train and cheap, but they can only take 2 bikes.


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## Kirstie (29 May 2008)

User482 said:


> I used these people (http://www.puffinexpress.co.uk/bike.htm ) to get me from JOG to Inverness. Quicker than the train and cheap, but they can only take 2 bikes.



Great suggestion!


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## redfox (30 May 2008)

User482 said:


> I used these people (http://www.puffinexpress.co.uk/bike.htm ) to get me from JOG to Inverness. Quicker than the train and cheap, but they can only take 2 bikes.



What a good idea, shame they only take cyclists from JOG to Inverness. Maybe there is money to be made for someone with a mini-bus and trailer prepared to ferry end-to-enders between Inverness and JOG.


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## theloafer (30 May 2008)

hey bianchi 1 why not give these a go we used them on last lelog to get back from inverness one way hire... http://www.europcar.com/EBE/module/booking/FirstStep.do


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## BobLauder (25 Jul 2008)

Kirstie said:


> Great suggestion!





User482 said:


> I used these people (http://www.puffinexpress.co.uk/bike.htm ) to get me from JOG to Inverness. Quicker than the train and cheap, but they can only take 2 bikes.



Hi, Thanks for this very usefull suggestion. We (2) are planning to arrive in JOG on Monday 18th or Tuesday 19th and this looks like the solution to getting back to a town.

As has been commented here figuring out how to get to LE and from JOG has been more difficult that I had anticipated. My plan to use the train in both directions failed as I was never able to get a reservation for the bikes. 

I'm getting a one way hire to Penzance and cycling the last bit, so this seems to get me from JOG to Inverness, and now I only need to get from there to Lancaster.

Thanks for all of the helpful comments here.

Cheers,

Bob


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## Arch (25 Jul 2008)

What a cool thing to say to any non-cyclist who is amazed by the idea of you riding LeJoG:

"Oh, the riding was easy! It was getting to and from the start that was hard..."


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## snorri (25 Jul 2008)

I don't want to get into a debate as to which is the fastest/cheapest/best way to get to John O' Groats, but would point out that some of the info offered on this thread is outdated.
There should be no great problem cycling from the airport to Inverness railway staion, approx 8 miles on level terrain although the road can be quite busy at morning and evening rush hours. Although there is a saying in these parts that flying is OK only if you've got the time to spare.
There are three trains daily from Inverness to Wick, if you are unable to book a bike space on any of these, then consider taking one of the six trains a day which take you as far as Tain or Invergordon. Scotrail do not take cycle bookings for these shorter hops, but apart from the connection leaving Inverness around 18.00, I have never seen a cyclist refused.
I believe Scotrail no longer transport cycles by van, but I think they only ever did that in the southbound direction (the van carried a load of empty coffins northbound).
Have you considered the rail sleeper service north to Inverness? Always room for bikes in the guards van, and very cheap if you book in advance, look for Bargain Berths on the Scotrail website. Even at the full fare, it is not so expensive if you think of it as B&B on wheels.It gets in to Inverness at 08.30. 
Another option to consider north of Inverness is the bike bus run by Tim Dearman
http://www.timdearmancoaches.co.uk/durness.htm


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## Anthony (25 Jul 2008)

I did JoGLE last year and I found getting to John O'groats fairly easy. We booked the overnight sleeper form euston to inverness. Like snorri said, we booked it online and got a bargin bearth for about £19 each!!! Then we got the train form inverness to wick, and our bikes went in the van. we had no problems, the bikes were waiting for us in wick.


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## Cycle Taxi (20 Sep 2008)

Hi, I have been running a VW caravelle minibus to and from John O Groats and Inverness, I can carry up to 5 bikes and 5 people, if you are raising money for a charity then the price for the 250 mile round trip is £100, plus fuel @ £45...£145
taxi2.co.uk


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## Cycle Taxi (21 Sep 2008)

Hi, taxi rates here in the Highlands are the lowest in the UK @£1.30 per mile, so work it out how much a 250 mile round trip would cost you, for a minibus would be a whole lad more, and that also would be even more on a Sunday, the cost is the same for 1 person or 5 at any time.
Scotrail will not take more than 2 bikes at a time, and with over 36 runs either to and from JOG to Inverness I have a very happy portfolio of satisfied clients, from this and previous years.


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## klanky (21 Sep 2008)

www.keissprivatehire.co.uk

Based just a few miles south of JOG. 
Do a lot of runs to and from Wick/Thurso and Inverness train stations and the Airport.


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## numbnuts (21 Sep 2008)

can't you get a flight to Wick ?? and then ride up to John O'Groats it's only 26k


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## dodgy (21 Sep 2008)

Cycle Taxi said:


> Hi, I have been running a VW caravelle minibus to and from John O Groats and Inverness, I can carry up to 5 bikes and 5 people, if you are raising money for a charity then the price for the 250 mile round trip is £100, plus fuel @ £45...£145
> taxi2.co.uk



I think £145 is pretty fair.


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## dodgy (21 Sep 2008)

User76 said:


> Blimey, do you want a lift anywhere



No, but 250 miles is possibly a 6 hour trip, that's only £15 per hour roughly. And considering that includes all occupants (unless I've made a mistake), the cost can be shared.

Good value.

Dave.


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## dodgy (22 Sep 2008)

User76 said:


> Good point. However the OP wants to *cylce back*, so why the hell would he want to pay for the 125 mile return journey? This taxi service guy is charging to take someone about 125 miles to JOG, _then he is charging them the same to not bring them back_ Why pay for a return journey when the whole point is to get there so you can cycle back?????? All of a sudden £30 an hour does not look so good does it?
> 
> When you get a taxi home from the pub in town, the taxi driver does not charge you for the return journey backinto town does he?



Also true, though it is my understanding that taxi firms in sparsely populated areas often charge in this way. I guess if there was a guarantee of a return fair (i.e someone doing a LEJOG) everything could get a lot cheaper.


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## Cycle Taxi (22 Sep 2008)

*Get Real.......*

A Taxi from Inverness to John O groats will cost you now in the region of £162 for up to 4 people, for over 4 and up to 8 will cost in the region of £300. These are set by the council and not some taxi guy charging for both ways on a journey my price is for one way, so its up to you, Bloody Well Walk....here are the rates

*Tariff 1*
General effect – the price of a hire£3.10 for the first mileplus£1.30p per mile thereafter
*My Rate – Flat £1.20 per mile*
*Tariff 2*
Applies between *10.00pm and 7.00am on any day*, *all day on Sunday **and*when* 5 or more passengers are being carried *at any time of any day or night, for example, by a “London” style taxi or by a “people carrier” or by a minibus, except where Tariff 3 applies.
General effect – the price of a hire£4.20 for the first mileplus£1.80 per mile thereafter
*My Rate – Flat £1.50 per mile*
*Tariff 3*
Applies on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and 2nd January. It also applies when 5 or more passengers are being carried between *10.00pm and 7.00am* and *all day on Sunday*.
General effect – the price of a hire £5.30 for the first mile plus £2.40per mile
*My Rate – Flat £2.00 per mile*


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## dodgy (22 Sep 2008)

Cycle Taxi, I don't think you'll get very far by taking that tone.
I've already made my views known, but you've probably just lost the ones on the fence.


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## Cycle Taxi (22 Sep 2008)

*Get Real...*

Maybe, but I dont like the way you are trying to make it look like I am ripping people off, just get a calculator and work it out, I have many bookings left for this year and 15 so far for next, these prices are only for those collecting on behalf of a charity, if you are doing it because its a challenge then I just charge basic flat rate for up to 5 people


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## bianchi1 (22 Sep 2008)

Love the way this thread has turned into an argument. I ended up getting the train and it was a nightmare. Even tho i booked 2 months in advance with a bike and confirmed twice, when i got to the station they had no record of my bike booking and it was only because someone who had booked failed to show that i was allowed on. As a scottrail member of staff told me " all the people in the offices are idiots " Not much good if i had to spend the night in inverness, miss days cycling, then be forced to re book all my accommodation.
If there had been more than 4 of us the train is out of the question because you were only allowed 4 bikes on every train! ( boxed, bagged or whatever)
I would go with the angry cabby every time!!


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## gavintc (22 Sep 2008)

A one way car rental will not cost that much. I do one way rentals all the time at work, they are not as pricey as you would think. You will probably need to arrange for the keys to be with a hotel reception.


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## snorri (22 Sep 2008)

Strikes me the taxi fares quoted are quite reasonable considering the convenience and time saved on the journey. Sure, there are cheaper ways for one person and their bike, but the taxi could well be an option worth considering depending on the numbers travelling and the time they have available.


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## Cycle Taxi (23 Sep 2008)

Hi to all.. I have just picked up 4 more bookings for 2009, 3 to pick up from JOG and 1 to transfer from Inverness airport.
There is nothing like a good debate !!! thanks to all those who have been watching in on this subject.
Just to confirm, Scotrail will NOT take any more than 2 bikes at a time
http://www.taxi2.co.uk


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## Kirstie (23 Sep 2008)

Or you could take the Puffin Express for £28 per person. It's what we did...


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## User482 (23 Sep 2008)

Kirstie said:


> Or you could take the Puffin Express for £28 per person. It's what we did...




Was Sinclair driving? He's quite a character!


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## Kirstie (23 Sep 2008)

User482 said:


> Was Sinclair driving? He's quite a character!



No he was in the passenger seat, pissed as a newt, doing the commentary through the microphone although we were only 4 feet away from him in the back! In Brora he stopped and dashed into the local for another pint. Laslo (sp?) was the driver, but he didn't say much. It was a pretty mad drive!


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## User482 (23 Sep 2008)

Kirstie said:


> No he was in the passenger seat, pissed as a newt, doing the commentary through the microphone although we were only 4 feet away from him in the back! In Brora he stopped and dashed into the local for another pint. Laslo (sp?) was the driver, but he didn't say much. It was a pretty mad drive!



Sounds about right. He asked me what my passion was and I replied immediately with "punctuation". He seemed to like that!

Coming back from JOG was surreal - the bus was full of Swedish pensioners, plus us two very pissed cyclists (having decided to celebrate at the JOG bar by trying their fine range of whiskies).


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## Kirstie (23 Sep 2008)

User482 said:


> Sounds about right. He asked me what my passion was and I replied immediately with "punctuation". He seemed to like that!



Yes he liked the fact that I'd heard of John A Macdonald, and then kept cursing the English! It was funny!

It was just us two in the taxi - we only managed one pint at JoG, but made up for it later!


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## klanky (23 Sep 2008)

There seems to be some confusion over how taxis in the Highlands charge...

They charge no different to any other Licenced taxi in Britain, the trip is only charged one way on the meter. This gives you a figure of around £165.00 on the meter from JOG-Inv. 
As someone pointed out, it is at least 5 hours for the round trip. By the time you have knocked off fuel, running costs and wages for the driver - there isn't as much left as you'd think. The chances of a return fare are basically nil.
Taxis cannot charge over the meter price but are free to discount as much as they like.

Regarding Scotrail:

Some people breeze onto the train no problem at all. 
Other people have a nightmare, sometimes the staff stick rigourously to the 2 bike limit, others will _sometimes _let you take it on as hand luggage (if you strip it down) and others will allow 4 bikes.

The official capacity is 2 bikes. Yet I have spoke to End to Enders who have booked their bikes on in advance only to find that other people have also been booked on even though there is not the capacity to take all the ones that were booked! 
There was nearly a punch-up on the platform in Wick because of this situation a couple of years ago.....But Scotrail inform me that they no longer 'double book' the allocated slots. Hmmmmm


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## klanky (23 Sep 2008)

We do a lot of runs to and from JOG to Wick, Thurso and Inverness. 
As User76 points out there are certainly cheaper ways than getting a taxi, but it can be hit and miss. 
Certainly the train is scenic..it also takes 4 hours to cover the 100 and odd miles!

I've found that a lot of people arrive at JOG (when finishing) with the intention of sorting out transport after they get there....bad move. Please bear in mind that we get a hell of a lot of End to Enders every day of the week in the season...and they're all looking for transport south. 
Also, a lot of End to Enders can't be bothered to cycle back to Wick or Thurso to get the train after they've just pedalled nearly 1k miles, so they use our Taxis for that too.

Getting a Taxi is certainly the most efficient way but certainly not the cheapest.

If anyone wants any info about JOG (accom, pubs, things to do and places to stay), please feel free to contact me. I know all the Hotel and B+B owners in the area and will be more than happy to help out.


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## klanky (1 Oct 2008)

*Slow train runnin'.....*

Update:

Scotrail will now offically take 4 bikes on the Train. Just been told this at the beginning of the week by our 'mole' at Wick station.

Regarding Lee's post about using the van from Wick to Inverness..alas, this service no longer operates.

If anybody wants any more info - please feel free to contact me.

Klanky.


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## Headgardener (13 Oct 2008)

Hi all. For the last 3 months of reading this forum I have thought that LEJOG was some sort of French charity ride, that is until I found this thread and have now been enlightened .


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## The Transporter (27 Apr 2009)

*LeJog Bike Transport*

Just found this interesting forum amd wanted to introduce myself to everyone. 

I have been transporting bikes for people to and from Inverness, John O'Groats and further afield since 2001. I have two fully enclosed trailers and can take up to 8 bikes and 8 people (which makes the transport cheaper).

I have posted bags back to people who have taken their bikes on the plane. I have helped people assemble and disassemble their bikes and I really try to make things as easy as possible for people.

I was an HGV driver for 18 years diving to venues throughout Europe so I have vast knowledge of the country (and further afield!). If anyone wants to get in touch apart from through this forum I can be contacted through email info@ross-tours.co.uk or visit my website www.ross-tours.co.uk.


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## Brains (28 Apr 2009)

Transporter - you should also check out the CTC web site and ensure your details are posted there as well.

The "How do I get to/from Inverness with my bike" question is one that often crops up on a number of the cycle related web sites. 

Next time you give a lift to some one doing the JOG-LE route, get them to put up an advert for you at Lands End, and ensure all the local B&B's, Campsites, route cards, Penzance Station etc so on also have your details.

A couple of A boards on the A9 at somewhere like Brora might also be a good advert 

An A Boa


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