SCOTLAND TOUR days 1, 2 , 3 and 4 of the tour

[stevie]

les and myself set of from erskine at 10.30am heading for the island of skye the sun was shining on us which is always a relief when riding your scooter . Our route would take us round loch lomond towards the rest and be thankfull and onto inverary on the A83. Approaching the top end of loch fyne at a steady 40-50mph we turned the bend only to be met by a complete and utter nutter driving on our side of the road !!! a few choice words from myself and we were off again .
We stopped at inverary for a foto of the clyde puffer VITAL SPARK then carried on the A83, through furnace, lochgilphead , and carnbaan then onto the B841 riding alongside the crinnan canal .

the crinnan canal was and still is a great bit of british engineering
we took the oppertunity to watch as 2 boats lowered by flooding the gates were then free to continue their journey to the next lock , it was at this point we got roped into closing the lock gates by a very pretty girl who had to many marbles in her mouth to understand my weegie accent !!
We rode into crinnan harbour which was very picturesque just in time to see one of the last coal powered puffers coming in to berth alongside the harbour wall smoke bellowing from its chimney stack as it struggled to manouver in such a tight spot .

We left crinnan behind and headed onto the B8025 towards oban like many of the roads before this was single track with passing places on route halfway down the road we encountered a large herd of deer in a field next to us , we then joined the A816 kilmartin , alongside loch melfort this reminded me of the time me and gary loan tiled all the new log cabins / challets at the top of the loch for a man none other than mr trebor mints himself well he did own the company .

On reaching oban we settled for a steak pie supper LES,S IDEA !
at least we had a laugh at the old blue rinse dollys who asked for a chip i replied as long as you give me a kiss and to mine and les,s amusement she replied a will take the two of yous !! that was enough for me time for a sharp exit .

Next we headed over connell bridge onto the A828 then onto the A82 fort william road over spean bridge and up to the commando memorial where we took the oppertunity of putting our scooters next to the memorial , at this point a group of cyclists doing a lands end to john o groats sponsored trip for the benefit of help for heros arrived .
One of the group a fat podgy guy a bit like myself BERATED me saying we were being disrespectfull to those that lost their lives !
i let my feelings be known to him and thought the fact that a bus load of jap tourists waiting to descend upon the memorial WAS more disrespectfull to our fallen heros ENUF SAID !!!
Onwards to invergarry on the A87 towards kyle of lochalsh on route we came upon EILEAN DONAN CASTLE which is the most photographed castle in scotland so duty bound we took our photos of it as well ,
we pressed on as light was fading over the bridge into skye we drove for around 40 mile trying to find the campsite to no evail , we decided to set camp behind a farmers shed of course we asked his permission first , we had a few beers and then hit the sack WHAT WOULD BE IN STORE FOR US TOMMOROW WE WONDERED .

DAY 2 TO FOLLOW SOON

[stevie]

DAY 2

We were woken at 3am by the howling wind which was doing its best to lift our tents with us in them and deposit us some where else on the island , we jumped out the sleeping bags and quickly dismantled our tents this time the rain was coming down in sheets making it even more awkward .

tents down we decided to shelter in the farmers shed even bringing the scooters in for shelter . Les got the stove out and made us tea and a roll on bacon which went down a storm just like the weather outside .
we watched as the wind whipped up a vortex of water from loch sligachan which was around 20 feet in height but as elegant as a balerena in full flow as it danced around the loch .

It was 6.30 am so we decided to pack up and head into portree on entering the town we stopped for a photo at the portree sign
this was when i noticed LES,S leo vinci exhaust had a hairline crack right round it , les had decided there and then that his tour was over . I suggested we go down the harbour and see if we could find someone with a welding machine to repair it .

Once at the harbour we found a local guy who specialises in welding of metals in alluminium , stainless etc .
we headed out to his workshop at 7.15 am but although it was thursday morning we had forgot it was ISLAND LIFE he did turn up at 8.30 am
I asked him if he had a tig welding machine ? he said it was broken and he couldnt get it to work , but if i was capable of fixing it we were welcome to use it .
I could see by les,s expression he didnt hold out much hope , but i had every faith in my own ability not only to fix the guys machine but also get les,s exhaust welded .

I fixed the machine and welded the crack up and then put a stainless sleeve over it as well to make the exhaust even stronger than before . Job done the guy was so impressed he offered me a job there and then somehow a couldnt see big amanda (the misses) moving up to skye there wasnt a marks and spencer and the midges would get on her tits !!
Les lifted the exhaust to fit it OH NO !! it was still red hot and he picked it up with the bit i had just welded !!
time to leave we offered kenny at kam fabrication money but he was over the moon i managed to fix his machine he wouldnt take anything .

We headed to the town centre and a chemist where the wee woman put two burn plasters on les,s fingers which had already blistered badly i couldnt help but laugh he thought he got away with the prize of a freebie but in the end it cost him a £5 for burn plasters .

We set off our aim was to reach ullapool via the coast route round applecross with driving rain and high winds battering us head on we left skye behind and took the A890 heading for loch carron onto applecross .
The road to applecross rose to 2503 feet the sign at the bottom gave an insight into what we were about to experience !! it stated the road ahead was not suitable for elderly,or learner drivers as well as caravans
we rode up the single track road flanked by mountains either side with rocks hanging loosely overhead making the journey even more hazardous .
As we got higher and higher the road was full of sharp hair pin bends with no barriers you were looking at a sheer drop of thousands of feet . It truly was an exhilerating experience as we reached the top of the sumit the clouds were actually below us so we took photographic proof .

Applecross was down the other side of the mountain thank god the decent wasnt as steep as the climb we just had .
Once we got into applecross it was a bit of a let down one hotel/pub and a couple of dozen houses if it wasnt for the climb up , beaches and scenery i would have said it wasnt worth the effort .
We carried on the coast road lonbain , callakillie , cuaig , fearnmore , arinacrinachd , kenmore , ardheslaig , then onto the A832 talladale alongside loch maree heading for gairloch where we stopped for something to eat , bellys full we continued on the A832 to poolewe , round loch ewe , laide, staying on coast road to loch broom , dundonnell , and onto the A835 braemore , all these roads covered were single track and with glorious scenery and coves and beaches to match .

Ullapool was getting nearer as we had made great time despite having the hickup of fixing the exhaust , We reached ullapool in glorious sunshine, we found a campsite just outside of town with the sea at either side of it , with a pier that jutted out into the sea as we took a walk out to it the water was crystal blue and clear as a bell making it tempting to go for a swim but water temprature put paid to that !
When we returned to put up our tents we were met by one of our friends and fellow club member craig ballantyne who had riden 5 hrs to get to us and who was no stranger to touring having been to gibralta , as well as isle of elba all by scooter . it was good of him to join us for a few days .
the midges were out in force and since midges only survive for 30 days and its ONLY the female ones that bite led me to a conclusion get rid of all women and we live better lives .

A quick cuppa and we hit the sack

tomorrow we hope to make john o groats

DAY 3 FOLLOWS SOON

[stevie]

DAY 3

We woke up early at 6.30am had a bacon roll and a cuppa then got packed up and set off along the A835 passing ardmair , strathcanaird , knackan , ledmore and onto the A837 heading for lochinver this road again was single track but a pleasure to drive on .
While driving les was in front of me when suddenly a rabbit hell bent on a suicide mission ran in front of him and somehow managed to run in between both wheels without a scratch he made it to the other side .

We pressed on past peat bogs , mounds of wild heather, then a herd of deer to our left stood still plotting whether to run or stay, they did stay obviously used to tourists .
A few mile down the road the three of us got startled as we turned a bend 3 giant red deer stags stood not an arms length from us , Now these big boys were as tall as william wallace himself and as fearsome looking with antlers pointed at us like claymores were to the english in battle .

We had reached lochinver , fueled up we headed onto the B869
before making a left turn to achmelvich at the end of this road we were met by an awesome sight of clear crystal blue seas and sand as pure as the driven snow make this one on your bucket list !!
Back onto the B869 clachtoll , stoer , oldannay , drumbeg ,nedd ,every corner we turned revieled more and more little gems like old cottages abandoned in haist during the clearances by the english , these were now occupied by swallows ,sheep , and the odd big beast of scotland " the highland cow " we carried onto glenleraig where we stopped to admire another fantastic view with sheep lying on the road oblivious to our pressence we went about our buisness then joined the A894 unapool ( not to be confused with ullapool), and kylsku where we had another adventure with red deer when 4 of them decided to jump a fence at the side of the road which must have been at least six feet tall , this was not an obstacle to them though as they bounded across in front of us and were off into the distance before we had a chance to get a photograph .

We carried on past scourie , badnabay , towards laxford bridge turning left onto the A838 this single track road was a scooterists dream to drive on full of winding bends , long straights with breathtaking scenery at either side we drove past the ferry which takes tourists over the bay to cape wrath which houses the most north westerly lighthouse in scotland and is also on land owned by the MOD a mini bus picks up the tourists of the ferry and takes them to the lighthouse for scenic pictures .

Arriving in durness we would be taking the road that carries you right across the top of scotland from west to north east .
while travelling from durness we came across a sign for smoo caves , i remembered a guy in my work telling me about them and to make sure i visited them .
we parked the scooters up and made the decent down to the cave mouth after a few hundred steps we arrived at the cave mouth which was jaw dropping .
We decided to take a guided tour operated by a local wee man with a beard that housed nicotene stains with years of smoking and discoulered by the odd dram of whiskey .

We donned our hard hats and entered the cave by boat stopping in the middle the guide produced a handfull of bread to feed the scottish piranha as he told us !!
the fish in the pool were in fact brown trout but that didnt stop him telling us of the time he had american tourists on board who believed him that from a blow hole about 70 feet above a cow had managed to fall through it and into the pool below and was stripped to the bone in seconds , AMERICANS EH !!!

We then disembarked and entered another bit of the cave where the sheer grandure of it all was overwhelming with steep vertical inclines and waterfalls cascading down the limestone walls and into the pool below which inhabitated the scottish piranhas .
We made our way out paying our guide as we exited it was the best £3 we had spent so far we even gave him a tip which will probably go towards more staining of his beard .

Time for the climb back up the steep stairs which took its toll on us we were exhausted , time to get our breaths back we headed on staying on the A838 towards tongue .
We were again driving on single track roads with beautifull scenery all around us , we reached tongue and fueled up .

Onwards we went onto the A836 coldbackie , past dounray power station i swear i could see my b***s glowing .
we reached thurso then took the B855 to dunnet head the MOST northerly point in britain with views right around the coast .

We then joined the A836 towards john o groats as we arrived in john o groats i was greeted by the sight of the cyclists we had encountered before at the commando memorial at spean bridge ,
no sign off the podgy guy maybe he had ran out of puff somewhere along the road .

We left john o groats taking the A99 and cut off for the sign for duncansby head and the duncansby stacks which are large protruding rocks rising hundreds of feet out of the sea .
The walk to the stacks took in some of the most breathtaking cliffs, housing puffins (the parrot of the sea ) , kittywakes , gulls and the daddy of them all the fulmer whom we witnessed trying to pick off puffins in mid flight as they were trying to get back to their nests on land as puffins dont nest on cliff edges but nest in burrows on the cliif top the same way as rabbits do .

The clifftops were a poinant reminder of how dangerous they are as there was a large cross and flowers placed at the fence on the edge of the cliff where someone had decided to end it all how sad .

Back on the scooters we headed back on the A99 passing a bikers rally which was very busy they even managed a customary wave .
we then stopped at wick for the usual greasy supper continuing on the A99 we then took the A9 coastal route which again was full of fantastic scenery ,
just outside brora les,s tyre which was showing plenty of wear due to the roads we were on decided to give up the ghost ,
with ultraseal spewing out the hole in his tyre and covering me and my scooter we pulled in to a laybye pondering our next move .
I had a tin of tyre weld and with darkness descending rapidly we put that in as well and nursed it along at 30mph hopeing to make it across the dornoch firth towards inverness where we hoped to get a tyre in the morning .

We had 87 miles to travel at that speed it would take us a few hours , we passed an unmarked police car that had pulled over a boy racer whom earlier had flew past us" result "

The tyre eventually gave in just outside alness next to an industrial estate we decided to camp here for the night as it was past the witching hour , tents up next to a tranquil little pond we got some well earned sleep .

we would see what tomorrow brings
day 4 to follow

[stevie]

DAY 4

I woke up at 5.45 my body clock still thinking it had to get up for work .
I decided to go for a walk and let les and craig sleep on a bit , as i walked round what seemed to be like a tidal basin i bumped into a lady walking her dogs .
She asked if i was one of the ones camping i said yes and informed her of our plight she was quick to point out that in alness which in all honesty had about 2 dozen shops there was in fact what was to be one of the biggest tyre retailers in that part of the country .

She was also a wealth of knowledge informing me that this basin was once a trading post for ships that came from far and wide , and had also been used during the war as a Base for the seaplane squadron up until as recently as 1986 when it was closed down .

In the middle of the estate lies a memorial plaque to those brave men who served for queen and country during the great wars once again reminding me of how good it is to be british .

I hurried back to our makeshift campsite where les and craig had surfaced from their sleep telling them of the tyre place .

I then went into alness to investigate further and found the said place which never opened opened for another hour , i did find a little bakers open and with the purchase of hot pies and sausage rolls and juice to wash them down .

I headed back to camp to give the guys some breakfast that done craig had to head home as he was due to work off shore ,
we said our goodbyes and off he went for his 3 hour drive home .

me and les packed up and i headed into town till i reached the tyre place and asked the guy if he had any in stock which he replied no but he could get us one by tomorrow my eagle eye spotted what looked like one high up in his tyre rack well we were in luck although it was a 140-70-12 rather than 130 -70-12 but it would do the job , i asked him for a price he said £44 i said cash no reciepts he told me £35 done deal i hurried back to les at the campsite .

We made our way initially riding the scooter at 2mph but then pushing it as well it was a very long mile away in the end we made it there , i decided to check my tyre due to having clocked around 900 miles it too was showing plenty of wear and as the guy only had one tyre we had a decision to make .

We agreed to travel into inverness for a tyre but were out of luck !!
We decided there and then to call a premature end to our tour missing out on the east coast of scotland , well im sure we would do it another day .

WE headed onto the A82 alongside the caledonian canal , then alongside river ness to loch ness stopping at urquhart castle for a photo , we pushed on past loch lochy to fort william staying on the A82 into glencoe which boasts some of the most breathtaking mountains on either side of the road .

Staying on the A82 to crianlarich down loch lomond side to erskine bridge and home .

to sum it all up we had travelled over a thousand miles mostly on single track roads with some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world and beaches with crystal clear turqoise waters and sand as pure as the driven snow .
i am so looking forward to the next part

stevie adair A.F.N.S.C

this write up is copy writed and may only be copied or reproduced with the owners permission

[jim1876]

Magic Stevie Sounded an excellent trip. Certainly eventful ;D

The photos were top drawer! Smashing scenery

Was up that way this weekend anaw! Got blown aff ma feet twice on a Munro up near Loch Carron, then oor tent blew doon in Glen Shiel this morning ;D But that's Scotland fur ye! Ye cannae beat it

[stevie]

cheers jim les and craig took some beltin fotis m8

[BONGO]

magic pictures

[red]

Excellent write up mate and photos.

Scenery to die for.

Makes you wonder why people decide to go abroad with this on their doorstep

Hope to do this one day

[stevie]

cheers pal we could maybe organise to do it again next year if enough interest

[Teddy]

crackingwriteupStevieboy,trustwe`llbeseeingthatinScooteringsoon

[tommy-t-]

beutifull words stevie,,ive enjoyed reading your up dates,,,absalute fantastic effort from you,,les and craig and some cracking pictures too......well done again guys...xxx

[jimmy]

Looked like a great laugh wee man. When I did it I was on my own, glad I didn,t need a welder.
Jimmy.
P.S. Great photies.