40 - Church Road, Wimbledon - Andy Murray

Surprisingly, this postbox was really hard to find... even though it is right outside one of the most famous sporting venues in the world !!  For a start, the postcode we got for the All England Lawn Tennis Club was incorrect.  Secondly, there are absolutely no signs for Wimbledon anywhere in Wimbledon.  And, it's actually in Merton.  We were so lost that we found Sophie Hosking's postbox while we were trying to find this one.  More importantly, if you remember, Andy already has a box in his hometown so this was all totally unnecessary !

 

39 - Worple Road, Wimbledon - Sophie Hosking

Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking - who only came together this year - were roared to victory in the Women's Lightweight Double Sculls beating China by over a length to claim Great Britain's 10th Gold of London 2012.

We found this box during our "Where the hell is Wimbledon?" phase.  We were going to do this one after Andy Murray but we must have been approaching Wimbledon from the wrong side as we reckon the signage is much better (in that it actually exists) from the M25.  Postbox was in a good location and all of today's boxes have been in really pleasant surroundings.  A great trip all round.

 

38 - Broad Street, Teddington - Mo Farah

Mo Farah won his second Gold with a thrilling victory in the 5000m on the final night of action in the Olympic stadium.  He produced another brilliant performance to complete the long distance double.  This was Great Britain's 26th Gold of London 2012.

Mo Farah's second postbox is outside a shop called Fara Books and they have added the "Mo" which was a really nice touch.  We parked, and grabbed lunch, at the nearby Tesco - just follow the pink arrows.

37 - London Road, Isleworth - Mo Farah

Within minutes of Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford claiming Gold, Mo Farah capped a memorable night for British athletics by winning the 10.000m in thrilling fashion with a blistering final lap of 53 seconds. This was Great Britain's 13th Gold of London 2012.

Now we enter Lubs' old student stomping grounds and very pleasant they were.  This postbox is prominently situated on a busy street and we invented the Duo-Mo-Bot for the occasion.  We're smiling because we feel slightly foolish but we're also having a good laugh about it.  Mo legitimately has two postboxes so we'll rush on to the next without further ado.

36 - Heathfield Terrace, Chiswick - Pete Reed

The first box of our London trip.  Situated outside of Chiswick Town Hall, this one was very easy to spot and, being Sunday, we were able to conveniently park right outside.  Pete was given a second postbox because he lives and trains nearby but that doesn't explain why he has two - we've already visited the other one in his hometown of Stroud.  Royal Mail have told us that they have a procedure for choosing which postbox they paint but haven't told us exactly what it is.  And now they've painted a little one outside his parent's house...  It's not appeared on the official site thankfully...

I Would Walk Three Thousand Miles...

Over 3000 miles.  Wow!  The trip to Scotland and back was very tiring but such a beautiful country.  We have now travelled 3109 miles to get 35 golden postboxes... an average of 88 miles per box.

35 - Hunter Square, Edinburgh - Chris Hoy

Chris Hoy became the most successful Briton in Olympic Games history with six Gold medals after winning the Keirin with an average speed of over 69km/h.  This was Great Britain's 21st Gold of London 2012.

Part Two:  At least this one was easier to find but by then we had bought a small map to help us.  And notice that this postbox has been sealed up !!  So back to the car (no parking ticket thankfully) and time to leave.  I could feel Lubs' anger as he pushed me and he admitted that he was about to punch the next person who got in the way.  Again, lack of signage meant that we were in danger of never leaving the city and we really wanted to leave !  Finally we got out, calmed down and headed for Glasgow to pick up the M6 and go home.  Overall Scotland was awesome and really beautiful but you'll never see us in Edinburgh again !!

34 - Hanover Street, Edinburgh - Chris Hoy

Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny won the three-lap Team Sprint in a world record of 42.60 seconds.  Chris competing in his fourth Games has now drawn level with Steve Redgrave with five Olympic Gold medals (and one more to come hopefully).  This was Great Britain's 5th Gold of London 2012.

Part One:  This was the low point and our experiences of Edinburgh were annoying and upsetting.  Firstly, it was raining.  Parking was terrible but I suppose you expect that in a big city.  Disabled access was an absolute joke.  They have the obligatory little ramps to get you off the pavement to help you cross the road.  But these were dangerous and I had a frightening moment when I nearly pitched out of my chair and could have hurt myself if Lubs hadn't managed to grab me.  There was a distinct lack of signs so we spent a frustrating and tiring time trying to get our bearings, all the while trying to get through crowds of the ignorant and unhelpful.  Frankly, I don't know how we're managing to smile in these pictures.

 

33 - Clifton Road West, Lossiemouth - Heather Stanning

 Heather Stanning and Helen Glover made a blistering start to the Women's Pair final and had sprinted into a clear water lead over the Kiwis by the 500m time-check, an advantage they held through to the half-way mark.

When they hit the wall of sound generated by 26,000 fans in the grandstands, Stanning and Glover extended their lead to two lengths, crossing the line in an Olympic Record time of 6:57.29.  This was Great Britain's 1st Gold of London 2012.

We left Aberdeen at 7am and by 9.30 Lubs was tucking into a scotch pie overlooking the sea.  We found a small bakery and had our breakfast sitting in the sunshine thoroughly enjoying our surroundings.  Lossie is a fantastic little town with stunningly peaceful views of the sea.  We watched the waves roll in and this may have been my favourite moment of our challenge.  We left in good spirits... then Lubs got very excited when he spotted a plane parked outside the petrol station.  He had to stop and get pictures of that beautiful Buccaneer (they're at the end of this post).  I'm so glad that we came here, the furthest north I have ever been.

 

32 - Westhill Drive, Aberdeen - Tim Baillie

Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott won the Men's Canoe Double Slalom in a time of 106.41.  Their team mates Richard Hounslow and David Florence took second place.  This was Great Britain's 4th Gold of London 2012.

 As you can see, an early morning in Aberdeenshire.  The start of a long day that would take in Lossiemouth and Edinburgh, ending much later that evening in Coventry.  Postbox was just outside of the city in a quiet suburb.  A boring box I suppose... but they're all important and they all count to the eventual glory !

31 - Castle Street, Aberdeen - Katherine Grainger

Anna Watkins and Kath Grainger won their 23rd consecutive race and dominated the final of the Womens Double Sculls.  This famously ended Kath's run of a Silver medal in each of the previous three Olympics.  This was Great Britain's 6th Gold of London 2012.

We rolled into Aberdeen in the early evening light and were both blown away by the city.  The massive tankers seemed to be right in the heart of town and you could see the results of the oil money everywhere.  Postbox was in a large open square and a relatively easy find for being in such a big city.  By now though, we were eager to find the hotel and get something to eat.  We found a pub around the corner from where we were staying and ended a tiring day in convivial surroundings.  It turned into a crisp, cold evening reminiscent of late October... wow, it's a long way north !

 

30 - High Street, Dunblane - Andy Murray

Andy Murray produced one of the best performances Wimbledon has ever seen as he defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to win the Men's Singles.  This was Great Britain's 15th Gold of London 2012.

Dunblane vies with Bradford-upon-Avon as our favourite destination on our challenge.  Just look up that street below - isn't that quaint?  And there were some beautiful houses on the outskirts and a very posh school just down the road.  A small town means friendly people and the hearty Scottish welcome never gets tiresome !!

29 - High Street, Peebles - Scott Brash

The Showjumping Team of Scott Brash, Peter Charles, Ben Maher and Nick Skelton won a thrilling jump-off against the Netherlands to claim Great Britain's 17th Gold of London 2012.

I don't know what it is but Lubs and I didn't expect Peebles to be so great.  We thought the place would be rough and rundown... don't ask us why.  But anyway, it seemed quite upmarket and would actually be a pleasant place to spend some time.  Good location for a golden postbox.  The outskirts were very nice too.

 

28 - Apsley Way, Stockton-on-Tees - Katherine Copeland

Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking - who only came together this year - were roared to victory in the Women's Lightweight Double Sculls beating China by over a length to claim Great Britain's 10th Gold of London 2012.

This was our second stop on the way to Scotland.  As you can see the day had brightened up since leaving Hull.  Postbox was in the middle of a new estate which was split in two - the road had a barrier across it and we had to drive around the edge to get to the other side.  The Satnav was totally foxed and had originally sent us into a cul-de-sac.  There was an very attractive young mother taking photos of her kids and she took ours too !!

27 - Hessle Road, Hull - Luke Campbell

Luke Campbell boxed majestically in the Bantamweight final to see off his old rival and friend John Joe Nevin of Ireland by a score of 14-11.  This was Great Britain's 27th Gold of London 2012.

Our first stop on our trip to Scotland, a detour to unglamorous Hull.  Not much to say - an ordinary main road with shops on either side.  It was raining steadily so we made it a very quick stop before hitting the M1 again.  The bridge was the only sight to see and we saw it as we drove on by.