Darren S
ClioSport Club Member
As a follow on from my thread from months ago.....
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?546727-Road-trip-help-amp-suggestions-please-from-the-Scottish-Lot!&highlight=scottish
My m8 and I (StevieGreenstuff off here) finally made the epic trip northwards last Thursday morning. Up early and packed from the night before, I gave the 'ol girl a quick wash at about 6.30am - lol....
We then did the compulsory pre-trip 'must do's' - a Macca's breakfast, together with filling both cars to the brim at Tescos...
Go-go gadget Clio!
First real hike in the car - driving north up through the Lake District on the M6....
Arriving at Loch Lomond after we managed to blitz past Glasgow.
Increasingly finding the roads more deserted, which suited us both fine - gave us the chance to stretch the legs of the little Frenchies a bit!
That said, sometimes the traffic did get a bit of a squeeze!
Not long after - we entered the region around Glencoe, which I found truly awesome....
Out the other side of Glencoe, came the first petrol stop. Filled to the brim again, it was pretty damn impressive how close our cars/driving styles were matched.
My fill-up...
....and Ste's fill-up...
After the first night's stay just south of Fort William (including a rather mild chicken vindaloo from a local curry house - bah!) - we continued north. The famous Commando Monument was in spitting distance of Fort William and on our route anyway, so a few pics were taken....
Ben Nevis was under cloud cover in the distance....
Next on the map was a quick stop at the Glen Shiel site - location of a battle dating from 1719...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Shiel
Loved the addition to the road sign!
About three of four trainer planes kept buzzing through the valleys too. Picture Fail at not having a decent zoom - lol...
Next stop was Eilean Donan Castle...
....then after that was a THE epicness that was the 'Pass of the Cattle' blat over towards Applecross....
The run over got my brakes a 'stinkin, but despite that, the 182 handled brilliantly. And there was so little traffic too!
After there, we made the run to Ullapool and stayed overnight there - witnessing quite expensive beer prices and quite ludicrous fish & chips too - £8.30 for one large portion.
The following morning - the journey continued north. About half a mile from the B&B we stayed at, I noticed a 172 Cup coming the other way and we let on to each other. :approve:
The traffic by now was getting really scarce indeed - making pulling over to take pics of the scenery ever more easier...
The downside of which, presumably made the logistics of transporting petrol to the pumps, all that more difficult. The prices in some rural areas was jaw-droppingly bad...
We made a detour off the A838 and headed towards the dead-end of Sheigra - basically to see what was there...
The hamlet of Sheigra itself... our cars just about visible in the fore-ground.
Eventually, The Parph peninsula was in reach - along with Cape Wrath, which was initially our main goal to get to. Unfortunately, neither the ferry nor the minibus (a loosely applied term to what is actually a Land Rover) start running until May. We could have hiked it there by foot, but at nearly 12 miles each way and the fact that it was bloody freezing, kind of put paid to that.
The nearby deserted Balnakiel Bay and its beaches more than made up for it though. I couldn't believe that this was on the northern edge of Scotland?!
From there, we headed east, via Tongue and then southwards towards Lairg. The scenery through this section of Scotland was truly inspiring - almost like something from a backdrop off Lord of the Rings. Again, literally zero traffic, this picture summed-up the sweeping roads that made this trip such a joy to drive...
Stopping at another chippy in Lairg (my cholesterol must be through the roof at the minute!) - we debated about finding a B&B there. However, Ste suggested that we push on to Dornoch and we found a great B&B called the Bank House....
The following morning, Paul (the owner) gave us a guided tour of the house, but not before we had a full breakfast while watching the final stages of the F1 race from Shanghai. Pretty good start to a Sunday, by all accounts.
Leaving Dornoch, we headed southwards and came across the Glenmorangie distillery which was unfortunately closed at the time.
...so we continued on and naturally had to do the whistle-stop visit to Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle.
Job descriptions sounded so much more appealing in the old days. Where are such career prospects now?
Even LY would have found her perfect occupation in winding the clock back several centuries....:clown:
And proof (as if needed) that the French are bloody awkward, could be seen on the following sign - provided in English, Italian, German and Spanish. Can you guess the French part?
The typical touristy places were visited too, along with the purchase of some much needed souvenirs - mainly in the form of whisky by me.
The cars both received a much needed jet-wash while we were here too. The amount of insect-kill on the front really was beginning to build up.
We then looped back north slightly via Inverness to pickup the A9. As the CS people had advised us on the other thread, the A9 for the most part is quite boring and dull after the decent roads of further north. In saying that though, views like those arriving towards Aviemore reminded me a LOT of Canada....
Finally we made our last stop in Blair Atholl, having stopped briefly in Pitlochry first. We stayed in the Atholl Arms Hotel on Sunday night, before heading off through Crieff and Dunblane on Monday morning. After that, we continued southwards, past Glasgow, Carlisle, through Dumfries & Galloway and onto the Lake District again. A quick detour took us through the Kirkstone Pass again - but given what we'd seen over the past few days, it was a bit of an anti-climax tbh...
The five days on the road simply flew by. Over 1,200 miles of the clock - slightly too much spent on petrol, but it was definitely worth it. Having never been deeper into Scotland than Dunfermline before, this trip opened my eyes to an area of the UK that's merely several hours and a tank of juice away.
I'd long held Canada in the highest regard. That to me was the benchmark that defined openess, scenery and a chance to chill out away from the daily grind. Scotland to me initially felt like a 'baby Canada' - but in the end, it actually surpassed it in many ways - especially from a driving perspective. Some of the roads in Canada are world class in terms of driver involvement - but they are mainly spread out over truly vast distances. A great section of sweeping bends might then be interjected with 10-15 miles of arrow straight highway.
Scotland was much more close-knit and rewarding to drive. Sure, parts of the A9 were a bit mundane, but they were means to an end in my mind. The combination of clear roads and MUCH better tarmac than what we have generally in Lancashire made exploiting the 182 so much fun and a great time all round.
I'll definitely be heading back soon. I've merely glimpsed at what's on offer up there. And I need to get back...
D.
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?546727-Road-trip-help-amp-suggestions-please-from-the-Scottish-Lot!&highlight=scottish
My m8 and I (StevieGreenstuff off here) finally made the epic trip northwards last Thursday morning. Up early and packed from the night before, I gave the 'ol girl a quick wash at about 6.30am - lol....
We then did the compulsory pre-trip 'must do's' - a Macca's breakfast, together with filling both cars to the brim at Tescos...
Go-go gadget Clio!
First real hike in the car - driving north up through the Lake District on the M6....
Arriving at Loch Lomond after we managed to blitz past Glasgow.
Increasingly finding the roads more deserted, which suited us both fine - gave us the chance to stretch the legs of the little Frenchies a bit!
That said, sometimes the traffic did get a bit of a squeeze!
Not long after - we entered the region around Glencoe, which I found truly awesome....
Out the other side of Glencoe, came the first petrol stop. Filled to the brim again, it was pretty damn impressive how close our cars/driving styles were matched.
My fill-up...
....and Ste's fill-up...
After the first night's stay just south of Fort William (including a rather mild chicken vindaloo from a local curry house - bah!) - we continued north. The famous Commando Monument was in spitting distance of Fort William and on our route anyway, so a few pics were taken....
Ben Nevis was under cloud cover in the distance....
Next on the map was a quick stop at the Glen Shiel site - location of a battle dating from 1719...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Shiel
Loved the addition to the road sign!
About three of four trainer planes kept buzzing through the valleys too. Picture Fail at not having a decent zoom - lol...
Next stop was Eilean Donan Castle...
....then after that was a THE epicness that was the 'Pass of the Cattle' blat over towards Applecross....
The run over got my brakes a 'stinkin, but despite that, the 182 handled brilliantly. And there was so little traffic too!
After there, we made the run to Ullapool and stayed overnight there - witnessing quite expensive beer prices and quite ludicrous fish & chips too - £8.30 for one large portion.
The following morning - the journey continued north. About half a mile from the B&B we stayed at, I noticed a 172 Cup coming the other way and we let on to each other. :approve:
The traffic by now was getting really scarce indeed - making pulling over to take pics of the scenery ever more easier...
The downside of which, presumably made the logistics of transporting petrol to the pumps, all that more difficult. The prices in some rural areas was jaw-droppingly bad...
We made a detour off the A838 and headed towards the dead-end of Sheigra - basically to see what was there...
The hamlet of Sheigra itself... our cars just about visible in the fore-ground.
Eventually, The Parph peninsula was in reach - along with Cape Wrath, which was initially our main goal to get to. Unfortunately, neither the ferry nor the minibus (a loosely applied term to what is actually a Land Rover) start running until May. We could have hiked it there by foot, but at nearly 12 miles each way and the fact that it was bloody freezing, kind of put paid to that.
The nearby deserted Balnakiel Bay and its beaches more than made up for it though. I couldn't believe that this was on the northern edge of Scotland?!
From there, we headed east, via Tongue and then southwards towards Lairg. The scenery through this section of Scotland was truly inspiring - almost like something from a backdrop off Lord of the Rings. Again, literally zero traffic, this picture summed-up the sweeping roads that made this trip such a joy to drive...
Stopping at another chippy in Lairg (my cholesterol must be through the roof at the minute!) - we debated about finding a B&B there. However, Ste suggested that we push on to Dornoch and we found a great B&B called the Bank House....
The following morning, Paul (the owner) gave us a guided tour of the house, but not before we had a full breakfast while watching the final stages of the F1 race from Shanghai. Pretty good start to a Sunday, by all accounts.
Leaving Dornoch, we headed southwards and came across the Glenmorangie distillery which was unfortunately closed at the time.
...so we continued on and naturally had to do the whistle-stop visit to Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle.
Job descriptions sounded so much more appealing in the old days. Where are such career prospects now?
Even LY would have found her perfect occupation in winding the clock back several centuries....:clown:
And proof (as if needed) that the French are bloody awkward, could be seen on the following sign - provided in English, Italian, German and Spanish. Can you guess the French part?
The typical touristy places were visited too, along with the purchase of some much needed souvenirs - mainly in the form of whisky by me.
The cars both received a much needed jet-wash while we were here too. The amount of insect-kill on the front really was beginning to build up.
We then looped back north slightly via Inverness to pickup the A9. As the CS people had advised us on the other thread, the A9 for the most part is quite boring and dull after the decent roads of further north. In saying that though, views like those arriving towards Aviemore reminded me a LOT of Canada....
Finally we made our last stop in Blair Atholl, having stopped briefly in Pitlochry first. We stayed in the Atholl Arms Hotel on Sunday night, before heading off through Crieff and Dunblane on Monday morning. After that, we continued southwards, past Glasgow, Carlisle, through Dumfries & Galloway and onto the Lake District again. A quick detour took us through the Kirkstone Pass again - but given what we'd seen over the past few days, it was a bit of an anti-climax tbh...
The five days on the road simply flew by. Over 1,200 miles of the clock - slightly too much spent on petrol, but it was definitely worth it. Having never been deeper into Scotland than Dunfermline before, this trip opened my eyes to an area of the UK that's merely several hours and a tank of juice away.
I'd long held Canada in the highest regard. That to me was the benchmark that defined openess, scenery and a chance to chill out away from the daily grind. Scotland to me initially felt like a 'baby Canada' - but in the end, it actually surpassed it in many ways - especially from a driving perspective. Some of the roads in Canada are world class in terms of driver involvement - but they are mainly spread out over truly vast distances. A great section of sweeping bends might then be interjected with 10-15 miles of arrow straight highway.
Scotland was much more close-knit and rewarding to drive. Sure, parts of the A9 were a bit mundane, but they were means to an end in my mind. The combination of clear roads and MUCH better tarmac than what we have generally in Lancashire made exploiting the 182 so much fun and a great time all round.
I'll definitely be heading back soon. I've merely glimpsed at what's on offer up there. And I need to get back...
D.
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