Clockwise around the entire coast of mainland Britain.

"If the sea's on the left, you're going the right way."

June 2007

Five thousand miles in four weeks, riding the Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide.

All pictures © Richard Sharp 2007.

The England/Scotland border just north of Berwick on Tweed.

The beginning of England is marked in the traditional way - by a Burger Van.

Here I purchased the worst cup of coffee I have ever tasted in my life.

The causeway across the sands to Holy Island.

Sand and salt water played havoc with the bike on this trip.

Monument to Captain Cook at Whitby, with the Abbey in the background.

White cliffs aren't the sole preserve of Dover. These are at Flamborough Head, near Bridlington.

Spurn Head lighthouse. Incredibly remote strip of land at the mouth of the River Humber.

The Humber Bridge. The best one in Britain.

Beach huts at Southwold. A lovely little town and home to the very commendable Adnams Brewery.

The pebble beach at Aldeburgh, marking the start of the beautiful Suffolk Rivers.

The River Alde near Iken Cliff. Quiet rural England at its very best.

Broadstairs, utterly charming and more classy neighbour to the dump which is Margate.

Just to the north of Dover. The white cliffs at St Margaret's at Cliffe.

An interesting point to note here is that you can only pick up French mobile phone networks.

The Battle of Britain Memorial near Folkestone.

Dungeness, clear winner of my 'wierdest place in Britain' award.

Hundreds of square miles of gravel sticking out into the English Channel,

where they have a big nuclear power station and everyone lives in sheds.

Bosham, where expensive houses and yachts live.

The Needles, the only stiking thing about the Isle of Wight (other than the fact that it's quite quiet and pretty pretty.)

Corfe Castle in Dorset. Now that's what I call a proper castle!

Hive Beach, near Bridport, Dorset.

The Cobb at Lyme Regis - as seen in the French Lieutenants Woman.

Burgh Island, and it's famous art deco hotel,

to which you have to travel in an ingenious kind of tractor on very long legs.

St Mawes in Cornwall. I think this is probably the prettiest place in England.

The Lizard, the most southerly point of mainland Britain.

Cable Bay near Porthcurno, just short of Land's End.

The transatlantic communications cables depart from beneath this beach. Fancy that!

Land's End. Lot's of scenic cliffs, and a Doctor Who visitor attraction. Not too sure what the link is really...

A former tin mine on the less quaint, more moody and imposing north Cornish coast.

Extraordinary rock strata at Hartland Quay.

Clovelly, phenomenally quaint and preserved fishing / smuggling village.

Where Exmoor meets the sea. A beautifully unspoilt stretch of coastline near Lynmouth.

Tenby. What a perfect setting!

The little beach at Llangranog on Cardigan Bay. Scene of many a childhood holiday.

Private Toll Bridge near Barmouth in mid-Wales. It's quite a short cut so I bet they make a pretty decent living from it.

South Stack lighthouse, near Holyhead on Anglesey.

Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place', at Crosby near Liverpool.

100 of these figures stand looking out across Liverpool Bay.

The local Coastguard mounted a campaign to have them removed as they felt they encouraged people to walk on the beach, which of course is very dangerous indeed. Thankfully, the Coastguard lost and the figures remain.

Statue of Eric Morecambe, located predictably enough on the seafront at Morecambe.

Ailsa Craig. A great big lump of granite.

The Atlantic Bridge, which joins the island of Seil to the mainland.

This is the only bridge which, technically, crosses the Atlantic Ocean.

Glencoe. Spectacularly huge scenery and a heck of a place to get massacred.

The furthest tip of the Isle of Skye.

It feels damned remote, yet there are still more islands and mountains beyond.

Dark and moody rock formations on Skye.

John passing the time of day with a Highland Cow.

Incomparable views near Drumbeg, north west Scotland. Faintly visible in the foreground are two stags.

Cape Wrath. The north western tip of Britain. One heck of a long way from anywhere.

Perfect beaches, completely deserted, right up on the northern coast of Scotland.

Dunnet Head. The most northerly point of mainland Britain.

John O' Groats. Almost as tacky as Land's End.

Gardenstown, one of the many tough little fishing villages on the east coast of Scotland.

Note: I had originally mistaken this place for Portsoy, so apologies to the folk of Gardenstown.

Thanks to Jim Watt who emailed from Nova Scotia to point out my error.

The Discovery in Dundee, the ship which carried Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole.

The Forth Rail Bridge. Surely the most iconic structure in the world...

...and back to the starting point, 28 days and 5044 miles later.

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