Scotland Trip Writeup.

[divuk83]

Just been up to Scotland for most of the last week. Bit of a last minute holiday as I had 10 days off work in a row so only started planning it the week before!

All pictures can be made bigger by clicking on them.

Day 1 (Sunday):

Scooter all set and ready to go
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0001.jpg

Set off from York in the morning to the campsite in Fort Augustus at the southern end of Loch Ness. Not the most exciting route as its mostly motorways till you get north of Glasgow, gets the mileage out of the way though!

https://www.campinglochness.co.uk/

https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_campsiteroute.jpg


Stopped a few times on the way for fuel for the bike and also for me, needed a few coffees and a Buger Ming etc on the way as it was a bit chilly as I had taken all of the thermal layers out of my textile kit thinking I would be too hot.

Made it to campsite by tea time and after tens mins of scratching my head I remembered how to put my tent up, much to the amusement of the other people on the site. Had myself some dodgy camp food (beans and something that looked like sausages?) and then went for a drive down to the town to get some petrol for the following day and have a look around.

Loch Ness from Fort Augustus.
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0010.jpg

Returned back to the camp site and decided to have an early night as I was tired and had a lot to get into the next few days.

Day 2 (Monday):

After a crap nights sleep due to the cold and me bringing my summer +5 sleeping bag (dropped just below freezing overnight) I got up at 06.30 to have a hot shower and defrost myself. Plan for the day was Ullapool via lots of other places or just spend the day in the shower getting warm. After a long hot shower I decided that I would have to get out and get a move on! Route below was off the undiscovered Scotland website and was programmed into my sat nav. Sorry there are no place names however Map Source only outputs to google earth and not google maps. I also tacked on a trip up to Ullapool onto their suggested route.

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_ullapool_route.jpg

What a fantastic route with some of the best roads I have ever driven on in the UK, you could stop pretty much anywhere on this route and get a fantastic view. The roads were pretty much all amazingly smooth, with open, sweeping bends and there was hardly any traffic on them. There was a slow single track bit on the route though it was through a really nice gorge so it was nice to be able to ride slowly and take in the scenery.

https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0018.jpg
Loch Ewe (Nato Submarine/Ship Refuelling point pictured)
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0026.jpg

https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0027.jpg
Ullapool
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0037.jpg

Stopped in at Ullapool for some lunch and a wander round then made my way back to Fort Augustus via the north side of Loch Ness and Loch Tarff as well as a quick stop at Urqhart Castle . More dodgy camp food for tea then another wander down to the town in the evening before another chilly night in the tent!

Urqhart Castle
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0045.jpg

Day 3 (Tuesday):

The longest (in terms of time travelling) of the week, todays plan was going up the Orkney's for the day. After another cold night in the tent and not much sleep I set off for John O Groats at about 8am. The A82 up the side of Loch Ness is a pretty crap road as its very twisty and enclosed and its full of trucks and caravans etc, the A9 just above Inverness is pretty much the same. Once you get about 20 miles north of Inverness everything improves, the roads get more open and quieter and the views are much better.

https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_orkneysroute.jpg

Made a quick stop at John O Groats to look around at what little there is there and decided not pay to have my photo taken next to the tacky sign. Took a few pics myself but couldn't cheekily take one of the sign as I didn't bring any of the bigger but bulkier zoom lenses for my camera with me!

John O Groats Harbour
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0060.jpg
Dunnet Head Lighthouse and Fog Horn
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Had just enough time to get to Dunnet Head (the most northerly point) before getting to get the ferry from Gills Bay over to St Margarets Hope on South Ronaldsay. The Ferry left at 13.45 and took about an hour to get there which didn't leave me that long to have a look round the Orkneys as I was getting the ferry back later the same day, Luckily the're only small islands so it doesn't take long to get anywhere! I went to Hoxa Head to have a wander round all the first and second war observation and gun emplacements that were still there. After this I had a drive over a few of the Churchill Barriers that link most of the islands together and secure the harbour of Scapa Flow.
Ferry Crossing from Gills Bay
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0076.jpg
St Margarets Hope
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0136.jpg
WW1 Gun Position on Hoxa Head
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0105.jpg
View across the mouth of Scapa Flow to Hoy
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0116.jpg
One of the Churchill Barriers with some old block ships next to it.
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0120.jpg

After this it was time to get the ferry back and I got back to the mainland at about 19.00 and made my way back to John O Groats in the hope of getting a cheeky picture next the the "famous" sign after the guy who owned it had gone home however the sign gets taken down overnight! Made my way back down South and decided I didn't fancy a 4 hour drive back this late in the day and stopped in a B&B near Lybster (just south of Wick), this would let me take my time getting back the following day and give me a chance to stop and look at places of interest I had to speed past today when I was rushing to get the ferry.

https://www.pentlandferries.co.uk/
https://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/guide/5,en,SCH1/objectId,ACC2226Svs,curr,GBP,season,at1,selectedEntry,home/home.html

Day 4 (Wednesday):
After a great nights sleep in a warm B&B and a lovely cooked breakfast I set off down the A9 at about 10am. Stopped at Dunrobin Castle for a wander round the grounds and then took a bit of a detour off the A9 to Bonar Bridge.
Dunrobin Castle
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0187.jpg
Bonar Bridge
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0191.jpg

After a quick stop back at the campsite I then made my way down to Spaen Bridge to look at the Commando Memorial, then stopped at Loch Lochy and Oich Bridge on the way back.

Commando Memorial at Spaen Bridge (Ben Nevis is just visible in the background)
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0201.jpg
Oich Bridge
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0209.jpg
The Campsite on Wednesday afternoon when it was getting warmer.
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0216.jpg

Went into Fort Augustus again in the evening for a bit of pub grub instead of camp food, few pints and a nice venison burger then back to the camp site for the night.
Where the Canal meets Loch Ness at Fort Augustus
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0225.jpg

Day 5 (Thursday):
After a much better and warmer nights sleep it was time to take the tent down and pack everything away onto the bike, which is never easy as it never seems to pack down as small as it should.

Pretty much the same route back down as I took on the way up; the A82 through the bleak and windy area below Fort William and then equally beautiful (but completely different looking) slow route past Loch Lomond.

Stopped off in Grasmere to see my brother for a few days on the way back, didn't really do that much or take any photos of that other than a few of Coniston Water on the Friday, however it was a bit gloomy and Coniston is not the most interesting of lakes from a photographic point of view. Returned home to York on Saturday afternoon.

1435 miles of dead flies (looks worse in real life rather than on the picture!)
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/albums/scotlandmay08/normal_DSC_0229.jpg

In all a very enjoyable week: 1435 miles covered without any problems, a few hicups with the sat nav due to how tiny some of the roads I used were. I did feel a bit like an odd one out due to my bike, not becuase its an MP3 but because its not a BMW. Almost all the other bikes I saw over the week were BMW GS Adventures!

Full gallery of pictures.
https://www.divuk83.net/images/gallery/index.php

Dave

[motoman]

excellent pics bud,
i wanna go,i wanna go !!
looks great,its whetting my appetite nicely for Applecross this year.

[biker_king]

i love scotland, looks like you had a real blast im definatly going to take a trip up their this summer just need some money first.

[Shay HTFC]

Sounds awesome!
Hopefully heading up there this summer for a week or 10 days or so.

Will have to watch out the the fully kitted up BMW brigade!
____________________
Full Motorbike License - GS500E '95

[Tooeymaster]

what bike is that? Gilera?

and how much did it cost you in petrol to go on that??

Thanks am thinking of doing the trip now..
____________________
1979 Honda CB750KZ Ftw!!

[divuk83]

Its a Piaggio MP3 400. Sadly it only has a 12 litre tank with about 150 mile tank range, stopped everytime I got down to less than half a tank and passed a petrol station as I didn't want to get caught out in the middle of no where. There are more petrol stations that I thought there would be however many close late evening which is a bit annoying. Not sure how much I spent on petrol, might try and work it out off bank statement at some point.

Dave

[king kong]

A very well presented write up, very informative. 9/10

[truslack]

Those photos brought a lot of good memories back to me, especially the SAS memorial photo, we visited that after I rode upto Ben Nevis on my push bike.

And I definitely want to go back upto Scapa Flow on the bike this year.


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Current: Suzuki RG 125 Gamma, Honda H100, Triumph Tiger 800XC, Suzuki SV650 (minitwin)

[neatbik]

Awesome write up mate, very very inspiring