Two weeks, door to door 4050 miles and only three days lost to rain (went fishing instead). Got out on the bike every other day and midges were a non-event. Rode just about every great road north of the central belt and did the full NC500 but did it in two parts over two separate days. Fab despite the weather but I'll have to go back I reckon to explore more of the south and the borders. (And Northumberland. My new favourite place in England).
It was a forty mile round trip to get a newspaper and a bottle of milk.. Soon adds up. Could have done it in 35 miles but the 40 route was more fun.
loch garry? if it is, there is monster pike in there. you fish it in the bays to the left of this pic. if you had swung yer camera around to the right the loch looks uncannily like a map of scotland.
i know, its about touring scotland and the north of england, i assume you like to take in the history and customs of the place yer exploring (i do) maybe take a wee look at the scenery and stuff, instead of your refection in the mirrors and shop windows you pass when in metropolis. monster pike btw.
Toying with the idea of a short tour of Scotchland during my next bit of holiday. Things that need doing are crowding in though, so it may not happen this year : o (
if not this deffo next. after yesterday the fugly really does now need the full bhuna , i might have it ready for spring next year. late may, early june
Gim,,,Your thread title should have been this......I am just going outside and maybe sometime Fab trip/vistas
A week and 1200 miles for us, and not one we’re we able to get the roof down Loved the road from Greenock (via ferry) up to Fort William and the one Skye to Loch Ness. Up and over the Cairngorms wasn’t too bad.... even all done at plodding speed. Beautiful place. Can’t say the people were that welcoming. Not unwelcoming but still pretty miserable.
Tis indeed Loch Garry. I was staying at Caennacroc in Glen Moriston, the glen next door but one. I took to using the Invergarry route to Fort Augustus rather than the slightly quicker way through Invermoriston principally because of this view. Never got tired of looking at it. The twisty road was pretty good too.. Do have other pics of Glen Garry. And now you mention the map of Scotland.... Didn't know about the pike. Maybe would have had a go, if my little rod would have stood it. The Craennacroc estate owns miles of the river Moriston and Loch Cluanie so I had automatic owner's permission to fish as part of the property lease. Can you go and help yourself to pike anywhere or do they need owner's permission as well? Caught some nice brown trout in the Moriston. Lost a couple of big ones too. They're lively buggers. As soon as they see the sky they start leaping and somersaulting. So easy to lose them.
Have to say, everyone I met was unfailingly friendly. Lots of locals were happy to chat, usually about bikes and biking and everyone was helpful and cheerful. Maybe the Scottish just don't like Porches . There were a few locals very irate with the traffic, especially on Skye and TBO you can hardly blame them. Their island becomes grid-locked on weekends and some of the driving is appalling. I bet quite a few have come to see that bridge as a mixed blessing. The hiring out of camper vans to people who have probably never driven anything bigger than a hatchback before and who haven't got the hang of driving on the left doesn't help. I go stuck behind a convoy of three French camper vans all the way from Fort William to Ballachulish. They were nose to tail at 34 mph. The bus driver in front of me got so frustrated he overtook them in a very dodgy place and forced an oncoming car to a stop with lots of shouting and swearing. I filtered past them eventually and the lead camper driver was gesticulating left and right, discussing the view with his passengers and looking everywhere except where he was going and utterly oblivious to the half mile tailback behind him. When you have to live with that every day it must get frustrating.
I was in a mini It’s things like cafes and bars. It was ‘what do you want’ no chit chat. We stayed in 4 hotels. One the staff were chatty, on Skye, the others you were an inconvenience. That’s observed as much as experienced tbh.
The north is beautiful but the south is pretty fine too and packed with cultural and historical interest. I could easily spend a week without going north of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Plan to do just that at some point. I liked the east as well. Morayshire, the Cairngorms and Deeside very different to the north highlands but just as scenic in their own way. Deeside when the sun shines is lovely. I completely understand why the Queen has a holiday cottage down there. Even the flatter eastern part of Aberdeenshire has its charms. The sun shone, it was noticeably warmer and plenty of great biking roads with very little traffic on them.
Real windy up on the high parts over Cairngorms. We passed a couple of ski centres, and you could barely stand up outside.
It was like that at John o' Groats. From Helmsdale northwards the east coast road was third gear, fourth if you're lucky, canted over at 20 degrees and being blown to and fro across the carriageway. Had to be done though.
