Scotland / Wales

BenBray · Spanner Monkey Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Karma :

I'm planning on touring Scotland and/or Wales during the summer after I get the bigger bike - I was wondering if anyone has any great places to go to for scenery and roads etc.

I know bend, marjay, wave and a few of the other should have good ideas of scotland so I may need your help if your reading this Razz

Anyone know some good places in Wales that are a must-see as I pass on through?

Thanks for any help dudes,

Ben
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T1z3R · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Oct 2005 Karma :

east and west coasts of scotland have some great scenery (so does the middle bit as well but everyone likes the coastline). up north has some of the best but you can find nice places all over scotland IMO.
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kat250 · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Karma :

Your best bet is to either try sky from the south side of lochness for added fun. Or the highlands for all the fun of the north of scotland.
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AcIdBuRnZ · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Karma :

Let us know if you are coming up to Scotland - I'm sure a few of us could act as a tour guide for you Thumbs Up

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Bendy · Mrs Sensible Joined: 10 Jun 2002 Karma :

We went with the sole purpose of doing Skye and the Inverness - Kyle road and weren't disappointed.

Anything north west you really can't go wrong with. Thumbs Up

Biker-Kev · Brolly Dolly Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Karma :

IMO, best thing to do is head up the A9 to Inverness and keep going North to the tip of Scotland and work your way round towards the West of Scotland and head south. The east of Scotland is rather more boring untill you get to FIFE Thumbs Up

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ppeaster · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Karma :

A few years ago I went up to Scotland for a week in a VX220 Turbo and had a blast.

My absolute best piece of advice is if you can, do the A87 from Invergarry to the Isle of Skye. Absolutely cracking road. It was voted the UK's best on some website a while back and when you see it it's obvious why. The scenery is breathtaking, the surface is second to none and the road itself has hairpins, fast corners, long straights, everything! Mr. Green

I went in early May and remember the weather being pretty decent. Often got some rain when you arrived at Skye but the Invergarry end was usually dry and sunny.

ppeaster · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Karma :

A few years ago I went up to Scotland for a week in a VX220 Turbo and had a blast.

My absolute best piece of advice is if you can, do the A87 from Invergarry to the Isle of Skye. Absolutely cracking road. It was voted the UK's best on some website a while back and when you see it it's obvious why. The scenery is breathtaking, the surface is second to none and the road itself has hairpins, fast corners, long straights, everything! Mr. Green

I went in early May and remember the weather being pretty decent. Often got some rain when you arrived at Skye but the Invergarry end was usually dry and sunny.

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

Just another vote for getting as far north as you can. Excellent scenery and good roads.

Watch out for the time of year. Scottish midges take no prisoners. They also like dark clothing and anything that's hot and sweaty. So that'll be bikers then Wink

They also like wet boggy ground so if camping be careful where you put the tent. There's at least one campsite on Syke that's best avoided because of this. As for insect repellant for the buggers one of the very best is Avon Skin So Soft Body Oil/Spray (as allegedly used by the SAS).

Other than that, hope you have a good time.
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Jman · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 21 Feb 2006 Karma :

i heard scotland was a great place to tour, i wanna head up there when i get myself sorted out, espacially the south west coastal reagion for scenery. really easy on the eyes i'm told....

have a look at this site for more ideas.
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pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

The Midges are everywhere, camping-wise you want a fairly dry location which is exposed to the breeze a bit. Beside standing water and under trees is bad, some places casn be utter midge death. If you are camping, the best thing is to light a fire and sit round it. There wil be fewer of them on beach-side areas.

In my experience, midges on parts of the west coast think skin-so-soft is great because it means they can jab into you better and will bite you on general principle for smelling like a poof. My advice is to go to a hardcore mountineering shop (eg Tisos) and buy yourself some jungle strength insect repellant containing at least "75% DEET". You can get 100%, go for this, you don't need to use much, just wipe it over any exposed skin. Proper chemical warfare stuff.

Don't let that put you off. I am badly allergic to midge bites and spend most of my free summer weekends camping in Scotland. Remember, they don't like dry and breezy locations. That dark and scenic looking tree-lined Glen may seem ideal for camping but it will be midge death.

On the subject of camping and campsites, the Scottish parliment recently brought out new legislation giving a "Right of responsable access." to all land in Scotland. The keyword is RESPONSABLE, if you are not interfering with anything and leave things as you found them, you should be ok. As ever, common sense prevails.

Fire sites could be a bit of a tricky subject, hasn't really been sorted out yet. We tend to only make a fire where there has been one before (which can also indicate a decent camping spot since it has already been used for that), where we can totally dismantle it as if there never was one or where it is not going to matter (eg. on the beach).

pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

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stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Actually. You might get away with no midges in April. We usually go on a run to Galloway at Easter time because we can camp in the woods without being bothered by the little bastards. Depends on the weather.
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