London to Scotland and back early Sept

[95Theses]

Hi

I am planning a trip to Scotland and back in Early September (leave 6th back 11th)

I'm doing loads of research at the moment on routes, places to stay etc but I wondered if anyone has any advice and / or suggested routes?

Cheers

[Marmalade]

If camping I can recommend this place on the border near Gretna. Stayed there a few times and are happy for you to get there late at night (just before 1am last time) if you are quiet. It's £6 a night.
No frills but decent toilet block and decent ground to stick your tent on

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=55.007265,-2.994123&spn=0.001763,0.004823&t=h&z=18


Castletown hotel in castletown near John O'Groats looks to have last been decorated in 1980 but it's warm, dry and clean and a decent help yourself cooked breakfast for not a lot of money and again they are happy for you to roll in late.

Found myself on this road by accident and stuck with it. Not a choice if you want to get somewhere quickly but for a decent ride with views it's worth a look https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=55.494366,-3.451968&spn=0,0.308647&t=h&z=12&layer=c&cbll=55.494366,-3.451968&panoid=NxbuLxNKVYWDoxkYUI8U8g&cbp=12,244.21,,0,0
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[Gazz]

[doggone]

My favourite spot to get to on first night up there is Glencoe.
If you take the old road about halfway down there's a walker/climber pub - The Clachaig Inn - which is very good for meals (and whisky)
A mile or so further on is a campsite caller Red Squirrel I think in easy walking distance.
You used to be able to camp outside the pub but it got a bit out of hand and more or less stopped now.

West coast is generally best for Mountain and Loch scenery, but more prone to interminable wind-blown rain.
Caingorm area is interesting but Aviemore is probably best avoided.

You could do worse than book in a B&B in or around Oban as a decent base for touring inland or island hopping.
Skye is well worth a visit as much for the roads to it as the place itself.
You could visit Skye and thing ''is that it?'' the best places are a bit out of the way like Quiraing and Elgol.

[stinkwheel]

Yeah. Get out of England as soon as possible. A1 or M1/M6 depending what end you're at. Blast up and get as far north as possible as quickly as possible, then have some fun. You'll be able to get up into the Borders/Dumfrieshire on Day 1 without too much trouble.

Make sure you have LOTS of tread left if you're going to the Highlands. The roads are great but a combination of sustained high speed and high grip/wear surfaces means it'll destroy them.

You CAN get tyres in Fort WIlliam but they are well aware they are the only place for 100 miles that do them. I see people stopped there regularly with luggaged up bikes and canvas showing all the way round.

The Red Squirrel at Glencoe will be total Midge Death at this time of year. Bring insect repellant. I suggest DEET based stuff, as strong as you can find. Make sure you get a receipt from the guy at the gate if you stay there. Last time I was there, he kept coming over and whinging at me saying I hadn't paid until I eventually told him if he was so certain I hadn't paid he should phone the police, otherwise fuck-off and stop bothering me. Must have come over six times in total and you can only be polite for so long when someone is stood acusing you of being a thief.
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[95Theses]

Thanks for all the advice, my rough route plan is as follows:

Day 1 - London to Lake District

2 - Lakes to Fort William

3 FW to Ullapool

4 Ullapool - Aviemore (Although Doggone has me reconsidering that!)

5 Aviemore - Borders

6 Borders - London

[instigator]

As daunting as it may seem, I'd recommend you go south and across the border, over to Germany for some good roads. The weather is fucking dire in Scotland and it's full of NEDs anyway.

[95Theses]

I'm going with two guys who have done Europe loads but never Scotland, I'll do Europe another time!

[Bendy]

What stinky said.

Don't waste time, just hoof your way as north and west as possible in a big sloggy day and then have fun while you're up there. I do this at least once a year and have tried all the 'find a fun way up' shit - complete waste of time. London to fort William in a day, sore arse but worth it.

Then just stick north and west taking any road that looks interesting. They're all good.

[Stevie GooGs]

Sept if the weather is anything like now, wet and midgy feckers are out. I would get up north via the west coast, do skye the head north west up to durness.
I live in Ullapool so if you need any info about up here let me know.

Petorl on sunday on west coast is a nightmare nt everywhere is open, plan in advance,

Have a look here, work in progress

https://www.visit-ullapool.co.uk/content/122-Ullapool-and-highland-motorcycle-touring
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[Native Warrior]

Ladysmith Guest House in Ullapool....lovely rooms and fab brekkie.
I have another one we used in Dumfries.
https://www.lindeanguesthouse.co.uk/
So biker friendly...Steve moved his bike out of the garage so we could park ours , and suggested some fantastic bike routes up the West Coast.

[Stevie GooGs]

there are loads of biker friendly places up here, make sure you get avon skin so soft or some other midge repelant as you will need it especially if ur camping.
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Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[Easter Bunny]

In july I went down from Inverness along side Loch Ness, Ben Nevis, past Oban, tempted to head over to Isle of Mull (went 4 years back, if you can go over quite common for seals to be playing in the bays) but carried on down to Loch Lomond then headed down the west coast by Troon, down throu the Galloway forest.

As my mum's from Scotland I've been a several times that route but still marvel at the scenery especially as I couldnt have had a brighter day
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[Stevie GooGs]

If ou have time Applecross is great and the road through Torridon is stunning.

Here are a few videos of that area:

https://m.youtube.com/#/profile?desktop_uri=%2Fuser%2Fultimatemobiles&sort=p&channel_id=0&livestreaming_tutorial=False&ytsession=%7B%7D&start=0&user=ultimatemobiles&autoplay=True&gl=GB
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Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[harscot]

Yeh, I agree with Stevie Googs, I live in the Achnasheen area, so if time F/William, Mallaig, ferry to Skye, Lochcarron, Applecross, Torrodon, Kinlochewe, Gairloch, Ullapool, Inverness and home, regarding midgies I have found Autan spray or gel to be the best, call it 30 years experience trying various methods, another which is not recommended is to drink enough whiskey till you can't feel them HaHa, a midgie net/hood helps as well, weather wise a bit of a hit an miss, you can get great warm sunshine, also can piss down every day, good warm weather gear so see you alright, and I would do B&B a few times, a warm bed/breakfast and a chance to dry out if weather is bad could make your tour better. Anyway what ever route you take enjoy and Stay Safe, also a word of caution it's silly season up here with tourists, and there has been a few fatal motorcycle accidents, so be vigilant but have fun

[Stevie GooGs]

If ou have time Applecross is great and the road through Torridon is stunning.

Here are a few videos of that area:

https://m.youtube.com/#/profile?desktop_uri=%2Fuser%2Fultimatemobiles&sort=p&channel_id=0&livestreaming_tutorial=False&ytsession=%7B%7D&start=0&user=ultimatemobiles&autoplay=True&gl=GB
____________________
Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[Skudd]

Glencoe is a great place to use as a base, Applecross is one of the best roads going.
Once at about 8pm three of us were still riding towards Ullapool two of the bikes went onto reserve. No problem we thought............................................ not one garage open. To say we were on fumes when we found our digs for the night was an understatement. saw plenty of dead deer too, car had hit one and was a write off............ mind you the deer wasn't too happy either.
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[95Theses]

Thanks for all the advice, I'm going to start working up a route using this info and will post over the weekend.

I'll try and include roads between places, places to stay and places to visit so you can tell me all the ways I've gone wrong!

Cheers

[Grubby]

I did this last year with the missus. & we ain't far from you in Basingstoke. Here's my route complete with places to stay.
The route from Ullapool to Inverness is an absolute peach.
Don't try the place in Otley though, it's my Auntie's house
[url]https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
212644426044149155396.0004899db80e76d7db1ea[/url]
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[philoldsmobil...]

The first ever ride on my Duke 900ss was oban, west highlands to Milton Keynes, over two days. due to a number of considerations, th e over night stop was in Dalbeattie near Lockerbie (i had been up since 4am to get a flight to Glasgow and a 3 hour train to Oban)

It breaks down like this...

Scotland is so beautiful, the roads aren't too bad, but the weather is unpredictable, dry and sunny, then round a corner into a downpour. this was june, and it was not very warm.

when you've been on the motorway a couple of hours, and you see a sign saying preston is 100 miles further south, you know you're oop north.

As much as i enjoyed the trip, the duke wasn't ideal, and if (when) doing a 500+ mile trip on a bike again, I'm going with something a bit more comfortable (BMW K100RS or RT tops the list at the moment, though the Ducati is not for sale!!!)

if heading to Spain, don't worry about taking a tourer, speed limits are lower, and the roads in general mean a decent sport tourer is a lot more than you'll ever need.

With the point above in mind, you don't need a goldwing, its just a juke box on wheels. I reckon something like a CBR 100oF is as sporty as you need, I reckon the K100RS is going to be perfect for my southern Spain trip next year. If I get a K100RT i'll go down through France as opposed to getting the ferry to Northern Spain.