Tour of the Highlands Part 2: The DidierD Chronicles

[DidierD]

Hopefully you've all read Jamie's thread ... here: Jamie's Epic and as you will know after 4 days we went our seperate ways, he in a recovery van to Halifax and me to wherever I fancied

It's worth noting I only had my phone camera for pictures so the quality isn't that great but it does a job.

I'll briefly go over the days me and Jamie were together because he's done a good job of explaining them

Day 3: After Jamie's disasterous parking performance and his need to source a new clutch I selflessly left him to it and buggered off up the road we were camping on for a quick ride. It's only a few miles long but the road flows left and right and up and down following every bump and turn in the hillside, it's spectacular. It was wet so I was taking it steady but it was just so much fun!

It turns into single track (like a lot of Scotland turns into) so I stopped to take a few photos:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00147.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00148.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00152.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00153.jpg

Back at the campsite Jamie wasn't making much progress so I decided to head South to Oban on the A828.

Some more lovely roads with great scenery and very varied weather meant I arrived in Oban in full waterproofs sweating in the glorious sunshine. I didn't take many photos from the route because a) it was chucking it down most of the way and b) the road was far too much fun

Here's Stalker Castle though:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00156.jpg

Am I right in thinking this is the one from Monty Python: The Holy Grail? The bit at the end where they all charge at the castle?

Once I got to Oban I tried sourcing a motorcycle shop to see if they had any spare clutch levers that might do a job for Jamie. The tourist Information place was quite helpful and I got sent on a trek to one that was closed when I got there

O well, sorry Jamie, I tried.

Well I had the rest of the day to explore so I decided I'd carry on down Argyle on the A816 and do a loop back up the A83 to Invararay and be back in time for tea.

...This ended up being quite ambitious but it was a super ride anyway.

Rough Route of where I went:

GoogleMap

By the way the B8074 was easily the best road I had been on so far in the trip. It felt like I was riding through Canada or New Zealand and a big grizzly could come out and maul me at any moment. It was simply stunning and the road twisting and turned and rose up and down following the contors of the land, it made for an incredibly relaxing yet exillerating experience that I felt sorry Jamie couldn't have felt as well.

Needless to say I failed to stop for any photos because it was my experience and I didn't want it to end

Got a castle for you to identify if you fancy though:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00157.jpg

So eventually got back around 6.45pm and we cooked up some fodder, drank some beer and chatted to a couple of germans we met and the Irish bloke about their's and our adventures of the day...and midges

The next day was of course Skye and we all know what happened there so I'll just amuse you with some photos:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00164.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00166.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00167.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00170.jpg

^Incidentally I got a phone call here offering me a job at Leeds Fest Good times

Canada?

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00171.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00172.jpg

This is some pictures I got of the area Jamie crashed. He couldn't have done it in a more picturesque place so I climed a small hill and took these:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00181.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00182.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00179.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00180.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00183.jpg

So we both packed up in the morning in lovely sunshine and bade our farewells with a manly handshake. Jamie was getting a taxi into town with all his luggage and getting picked up by the recovery guy to take him home.

I meanwhile planned to head over to my Granparents who live just south of Forres near Inverness in this lovely little cottage in the woods:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00196.jpg

They also have neighbours down the track who own the most gorgeous cat I've ever seen ... and he knows it:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00195.jpg

Here's the route I took, only took a couple of hours:

GoogleMap

As Jamie mentioned before when he got his new clutch from Inverness, the A82 is sublime. It is quite popular but I got a stretch of about 5 miles where I didn't meet anybody along loch ness and the road was excellent. It weaved left and right with superbly flowing bends. They weren't tight and didn't catch you out, you could do them all at 70+ and it was just so relaxing it was beautiful.

Loch Ness is way too overrated though and it's not the picturesque so I didn't stop for any photos but on the way I met a 'swing bridge' which seemed to just be practicing it's swing:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00184.jpg

It was quite exciting and kids were rushing out of the car to see what they were letting through. Unfortunately it was bugger all and they had to walk back dejected when it started closing again.

Very odd.

Anyway I arrived at my grandparents around 2pm and we set up my sleeping pitch for the night

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00197.jpg

I had heared so much about the West highlands and the stunning roads and scenery so thought I may as well see what the east has to offer whilst I was over here. So I went for a 3 hour ride out before tea and I was HUGELY impressed...

I did get a bit lost but this is pretty much the route I did:

GoogleMap

Some photos:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00186.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00187.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00189.jpg

^That road was brilliant

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00190.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00192.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00193.jpg

My grandparents cooked a lovely shepheards pie and we drank the wine I had bought them as a thankyou. The 'tent' trailer thing was pretty cold but I couldn't complain it had electricity and running water next to the bed!

So it's now day 6 I think...

Today I woke up to another pleasent forecast and rode the road from Inverness to Ullapool, the A835 where I was going to camp for the next 2 nights.

Another stunning road with stretches that twist and turn and you just don't want it to end. Plus there is so little traffic you feel incredibly free and all the stress just drains away, it's just you, the bike and the road. It's bliss

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00198.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00199.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00200.jpg

I'd love to tell you the exact locations of these but I'd be making it up

I arrived at the campsite at about 12 o'clock and reception didn't open until 3, when incidently it only remained open until 6 so you have to make this timespot if you want to pay ... or I don't know waht happens to you ...



I pitched up next to 3 bikers who were from Wigan (A ZX10R, A Fazer 1000 and an RSV ... all very new and shiny ) and they kindly gave me a puck to rest my stand on after seeing my struggle to find an appropriate sized stone

So as the day still had plenty of sunlight hours left I headed off on this route:

NiceCoastalRoute

And got snapping. It was beautiful as always:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00201.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00202.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00203.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00205.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00206.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00207.jpg

I decided to take a detour and go off a small singletrack road to see the sea properly.... it wasn't really worth it, the road was windy and the end result wasn't as spectacular as I was hoping, I just met lots of sheep

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00208.jpg

These 2 are probably my favourite photos of the trip:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00212.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00213.jpg

There were lots of flies though

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00214.jpg

Back at the campsite I paid for 2 nights (£16 .. better than Fort William prices anyway) and met a Dutch couple who were touring round on a Triumph Tiger - same year as my Dad's but in Yellow.

They were good fun and invited me down the pub with them. Unfortunately I needed a shower first so said I'd meet them down there only for me not able to find them when I got there so I met some random rough scottish people who were quite hard to understand and headed back to the tent after a couple.

Spoke with the Scousers for a bit and hit the hay ready for a cold hard trip up to the north in the morning.

I woke up to another glorious day, I was getting very lucky with the weather by this point and set off on this route:

GoogleMap

It's worth pointing out that it did get a bit chilly up there and I was struggling a bit with a T-shirt and my inner on my leather jacket but the heated grips did a fairly decent job.

Photos:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00215.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00216.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00217.jpg

This place was incredibly barren and I would go for miles without seing another car and riding the singletrack roads further North were incredibly pleasurable, I just tried not to think about breaking down up here, it wouldn't be a good plan

I got overtaken by a Ducati Monster and some Triumph about 30 miles from Durness so thought I'd try and latch on. So I upped my pace a bit and kept on theit tail all the way and when we got off for petrol in Durness (GoogleMaps says Durine by the way) we had a quick chat and I could tell they were impressed

But I was enjoying riding on my own so much I let them go ahead, had a bite to eat and set off again cruising along the singletrack roads

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00218.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00219.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00221.jpg

I stopped off at this place for about half an hour just sitting and watching the waves lap onto the shore, it was very relaxing

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00222.jpg

But I soon carried on.

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00223.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00224.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00225.jpg

Even though I'd done more miles on the Skye route this was incredibly tiring terrain. It was up and down, and very windy which made it pretty cold so it was physically quite draining but the beauty of the landscape just drives you on. By the end of this, my last day in Scotland, I was suitably tired and had a quick nap.

After a quick rest I thought I'd better be social but the Dutch and the Scousers had gone so I was stuck with the bloody BMW rider who had just come in

Fortunately he was a great bloke and lives up the street from where I lived in Sheffield last year! It's a small world. He was just taken a couple days off up here after finishing a big project at work and before heading to Virginia to sort out a house he has there.

He was putting his tent up all wrong so I went and helped. Stinkwheel would have had a fit if he saw what he was doing

I left him to be after a while and went and sat on the pebble bitch with a beer and witnessed the most perfect sunset to finish the trip with:

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00228.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00231.jpg

https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/Dechant/Scotland/DSC00232.jpg

You can't really see all the colours very well in those but it was unbelievable.

A perfect end to a fantastic trip.

The next day I packed up and rode 400+ miles back to Harrogate which took about 8 hours and wasn't particularly exciting so I'll leave it with the sunset photos
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Bike - '98 Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat Pics

31st March 2008 - Fully converted from four wheels to 2 sets of two wheels

[ram_doom]

[Shay HTFC]

Feck... looks like I missed out on some good stuff.

Even further north looks amazing!

And my poor bike. Not seen those close up photos before :'(

I never knew the campsite would be so close to the beach too! How were the midges at Ullapool?
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Full Motorbike License - GS500E '95

[DidierD]

[Mr.Everready]

[Mudskipper]

Just read this thread, nice writeup.

My mate is moving to Inverness and it's spurred me to plan a Scotland tour next year.

Would I be best waiting till July/August rather than spring?
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Bendy]