Welcome to my new cycling adventure for 2026 – “Going to Extremes”: a ride from the Isles of Scilly to the top of Shetland via the most easterly and westerly extremities of the UK – and (additionally) the cardinal extremities of the island of Great Britain.
The British mainland is surrounded by a myriad of off-shore islands, large and small. Each is a miniature world, reached across the waves through the excitement of a ferry journey (or occasionally a bridge or causeway), and each offers its own unique character. There are a lot of them, and despite working my way through many in my recent cycling adventures, it is no surprise that some have continued to elude me. Perhaps most notable among these are the Isles of Scilly.
Islands in general are fascinating places; but Scilly is a whole archipelago. During the Bronze Age it was a single landmass – often referred to as the legendary Kingdom of Lyonesse. But around 4,000 years ago, rapidly rising sea levels flooded the central plain to create the archipelago of smaller, hilly islands we see today. It lies far from most of the other islands around our coast, and a long, long way from my home in the Derbyshire Peak District. Even reaching a jumping off point for Scilly on the mainland is a major exercise, and both getting to the Scilly Isles and staying there is an expensive undertaking.
I thought my chance might come as I set out by bicycle in May 2022 to cycle through all of the 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 maps. It was, after all, an adventure to every part of Britain. And indeed I did visit many islands and ride something like 70 ferries with my bike. I even managed to reach the astounding and remote St Kilda archipelago, which lies a four hour boat trip to the west of the Outer Hedrides. But most of those islands and ferries were in Scotland, making life very fiddly for me until almost the end of August, when I was still well short of half way through the 204 maps.
A key rule for this adventure was that I had to visit each map in numerical order. I started in Shetland on map 1, and 7,300 miles later completed the final 2 maps, in Cornwall, on 28 November 2022. I was blessed with incredible weather for cycling throughout September and October; but my quest still turned into something of a sprint for the line. Cycling across the final few maps had to be squeezed into short gaps of fair weather between violent Atlantic storms. The Isles of Scilly lie in my penultimate map, number 203. So a visit in late November was altogether impractical, if not impossible. And thus the wait continued.
We had plans to visit in spring of 2024; but an unfortunate accident meant that Jenni couldn’t go, and I wasn’t about to make a trip like that alone. The sub-tropical climate makes Scilly a desirable destination for gardeners, and this would be a special trip for her when we finally made it. The famous gardens at Tresco Abbey ranked highly on her must-see list. In the meantime I kept myself busy with other adventures at home and abroad, and once got as close as Penzance; but no closer. But still the elusive Scillies were calling to us, and finally, in January 2026, we managed to book some hard-to-find affordable accommodation for a week in May, on the biggest island and transport hub, St Mary’s. The time had arrived.
It may come as no surprise that I spotted a golden opportunity to capitalize on the long trip South West. It seemed almost wasteful not to take my bike along with me, and I began to wonder what route I might follow once there. Some idle research revealed that the Scilly Isles – or more specifically the island of St Agnes – is the southernmost inhabited part of the United Kingdom. Which, obviously, got me thinking that it would be a fine adventure to join together the other three inhabited cardinal extremities of the UK (east, west and north) in a single continuous line. In fact I might as well add in the cardinal extremities of the island of Great Britain while I was at it. It would make for a long ride of perhaps 2,000 miles, and would take me to places I had never been in my own country – as well as some magical places I had every reason to return to. It could be done without rushing, following whatever route took my fancy, and compiled in pieces to fit around the other elements of my life. I would be open to others joining me if they wished. And it would culminate – sometime in 2026 – at the spot in Shetland where my first adventure began in 2022. I rather liked the sound of all that, and I already had the perfect opportunity to get things started.
