Very British! ~ Memorable Images 38 : Land’s End to John O’Groats

Land’s End  to  John O’Groats

Say “Land’s End” to anyone in the UK and they will thinks about “John O’Groats”.

For the British, it is a major achievement to travel, using various foms of transport, from Land’s End at the Westerly most point of Great Britain to John O’Groats in the North. The distance is 874 miles.

There is even a museum at Land’s End showing the various methods of transport used.   Miles of memories .

Experience the smells, the sights, the stories and some of the amazing modes of transport used by intrepid adventurers who’ve become Land’s End to John O’Groats ‘end-to-enders’.

Half-way there!

This intriguing sign at Windamere, Westmorland, marks the middle of the road between Land’s End and John O’Groats – it’s only 434 miles either way.

The John O’Groats Story

John O’Groats is 874 miles from lands end. This is the greatest distance between any two points in Britain.

A mound and a flag staff near John O’Groats hotel marks the site where John De Groot, a Dutchman, built his famous house in the reign of James IV (1488 to 1513). His seven descendants quarreled about precedence and De Groot solved the problem by building an octagonal house with eight doors (one for each of the seven and himself) and eight-sided table so that no-one occupied the important position at the head of the table.

John De Groot, ran a ferry to Orkney and charged 4d, a trip. The little coin of this denomination subsequently became known as a Groat.

John De Groot was Buried in Canisbay church yard, three miles from John O’Groats, and his tombstone can still be seen there. This is the church in which the queen mother worships when on holiday at her northern home, the castle of Mey.