Planning a road trip to Orkney

[LarJammer]

I have visited lots of lovely places around the world but never been to Scotland (I did make it as far as Hadrians wall once) and would quite like to take a road trip up to the Orkneys - my ancestral home. The idea is to take a leisurely drive from Buckinghamshire up to Fort William on day one, then take in some Loch scenery and on to the islands on day 2. Clarkson has put me off taking the A9 after his comments about speed cameras - should I be listening or is it nonsense?

I'm wondering if I should spend an extra day in Scotland and if Fort William is the best place to stop, any locals offer any advice and decent places to visit? I'm not really into the whole NC500 thing but would like some culture/historic sites/beer drinking.

[BazMV6]

Buckinghamshire to Fort William is quite a lot to do in one day - certainly not what I would call "leisurely". I've done Northants to Oban/Mull in a day, but wouldn't want to do much driving the following day... Of course, if you can share the driving that might be easier.

Try to take a bit longer - there is plenty of spectacular scenery to look at along the way - well, once you get past Glasgow...

[SrMoreno]

Fort William is never the best place to stop.

[Peanut Gallery]

Avoid the A9, yes, it has its uses, it eats the miles up, but you are just sitting staring at the back of a truck waiting for a passing place.

Have a read over this thread - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... - there are some amazing routes / pics up there. A note that some of the amazing pics from Get Carter in there are not from the NC500 (he explains roughly where things are!)

I have heard good reports of the ferry that leaves from close to John O Groats up to Orkney, less so from Orkney up to Shetland.

Also repeating not to spend too much time in Fort William.

[CO2000]

I'd def go up the left and take a bit more time esp to take in bealach na ba

[750turbo]

BazMV6 said:

Buckinghamshire to Fort William is quite a lot to do in one day - certainly not what I would call "leisurely". I've done Northants to Oban/Mull in a day, but wouldn't want to do much driving the following day... Of course, if you can share the driving that might be easier.

Try to take a bit longer - there is plenty of spectacular scenery to look at along the way - well, once you get past Glasgow...

It all depends though - Maybe the OP is used to driving 500 miles in a day - I am.

OP, plan it, get up early, get yourself North of the M55 (Blackpool) junction, and enjoy the drive - You are entering a new world

Do not go over the limit when you hit the border, Dumfries & Galloway Police are always kicking about, despite the A74(M) being a fabulous road. Just enjoy the view.

Glasgow gets a wee bit messy - compared to down South, it will be easy - Maybe take advice ref Fort William, there wil be loads of places not too far away to stay.

And, most importantly? PICS

(We are mostly a friendly bunch up here)

[LarJammer]

I'm glad I asked about Fort William! So how do Ayr or Irvine stack up for an overnight stop? The west coast is quite appealing so will plan a route up that way, the links are very useful. Is end of May a good time to go - I'm pretty flexible.
Yes, I will be doing a write up / pics and driving something cool.

[peterperkins]

You will need a lot longer than that to do Orkney and the North of Scotland justice.

Allow yourself 4-5 days on the main island, and a couple of days each way to get up there.
If you want to do the other biggish islands in the group allow a day each for those..

Soak up the great roads, friendly people and abundance of history.
Remember it may be Stonehenge was inspired by Orkney megalithic sites rather than the other way round.

[cambuscat]

You will find that Ayr and Irvine are really going out of your way. Other posters are only referring to Fort William itself, plenty of other nice places to stop for an overnight. Following NW500 up the West Coast is beautiful. How long are you planning staying in Scotland because Orkney is a long way with plenty of breath taking areas you will miss if you have arbitrarily picked going to Orkney. I know you have a connection but, including ferry times, a week would barely do it justice.

[LarJammer]

The time frame is starting to dawn on me... I think I need to choose - Scotland vs Orkney.

[TartanPaint]

LarJammer said:

The time frame is starting to dawn on me... I think I need to choose - Scotland vs Orkney.

Indeed. You're rushing past a lot of good stuff. Orkney is amazing, but if you want to see it then fly up and hire a car. If you want a driving holiday, don't try to get to Orkney. If you want both, you need a longer trip.

[mon the fish]

And don't go to Irvine. It's a dump.

[phoenixz]

been thinking about doing a road trip round Orkney in the summer (i think the scrabster ferry works out slightly cheaper than the JOG)

has anyone done this before and can answer a few questions?

such as:
condition of the roads?
do petrol stations have super unleaded?
best time to go?
how busy are the roads?
are they single track?
any particular spots to stop at?

etc...

[phoenixz]

obviously it's not as much of a trek for me, but i think what everyone on here is suggesting is to either do Orkney or Scotland. don't try to do both as you will miss out on too much.

personally, if you are looking for the best driving roads (i.e. scenery, excitement etc..), i would recommend heading for Pitlochery then taking the glenshee road (make sure you find the old military road just before Balmoral)

truely one of the best roads in the UK.

[GetCarter]

Check out the Highlands thread

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

But in essence, stick to the west coast and you won't go wrong.

Can't comment on Orkney - never been.

Bucks to F.William is a long drive (about 9 hours) ... and the A9 IS a bloody nightmare at the moment... roadworks X10 - though you can miss it if you go FW..

You are seriously underestimating the time it takes to do these roads. It takes longer for me to get to Glasgow than it does from London.

F.W. to Orkney is a two day trip unless you drive through the night.... unless you do Aberdeen > .. in which case, why F. William?

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 16th February 16:02

[TartanPaint]

But that makes no sense... look how small Scotland is!

[GetCarter]

TartanPaint said:

But that makes no sense... look how small Scotland is!

[CarbonXKR]

phoenixz said:

been thinking about doing a road trip round Orkney in the summer (i think the scrabster ferry works out slightly cheaper than the JOG)

has anyone done this before and can answer a few questions?

such as:
condition of the roads?
do petrol stations have super unleaded?
best time to go?
how busy are the roads?
are they single track?
any particular spots to stop at?

etc...

condition of the roads? Pretty good compared to rest of Scotland
do petrol stations have super unleaded? No
best time to go? May/June
how busy are the roads? Quiet apart from normal workers travel i.e. 7-9am and 4-6pm
are they single track? Some are yes with passing places
any particular spots to stop at? Loads, Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe, Standing Stones - all do-able in a day. Go across to Hoy and spend a day at Lyness Naval museum and base, Rackwick Bay. North Isles then for another day - day on each of the main Islands of Westray, Sanday and Stronsay - all have great hotels and food Enjoy....

[LarJammer]

I have been listening, I promise. BUT the purpose of the trip is to go to Orkney, reading some of the other threads has got me wanting to spend time in Scotland - I have to compromise. So the current plan is:

Day1 - Milton Keynes to Glencoe (8hrs, no pissing about)
Day2 - Glencoe to Tongue (4hrs, plenty of time for tourism and the A386)
Day3 - Tongue to Orkney via JoG (2hrs including ferry)
Day4 - Orkney
Day5 - Orkney to somewhere nice, Perth, Sterling, Glasgow?
Day6 - go home with regret as I couldn't stay longer.

Roughly 1400 miles in total,
sound plausible?

[Peanut Gallery]

My opinion!

LarJammer said:

I have been listening, I promise. BUT the purpose of the trip is to go to Orkney, reading some of the other threads has got me wanting to spend time in Scotland - I have to compromise. So the current plan is:

Day1 - Milton Keynes to Glencoe (8hrs, no pissing about) Easily do-able, I do Aberdeen Manchester in "one" go, but allow 10 hours.
Day2 - Glencoe to Tongue (4hrs, plenty of time for tourism and the A386) Again easily do-able, I prefer to stick to the A82, but all roads are good! I would go via Durness
Day3 - Tongue to Orkney via JoG (2hrs including ferry) Been to JoG a few times in passing, it is tiny, expect to be under-whelmed
Day4 - Orkney
Day5 - Orkney to somewhere nice, Perth, Sterling, Glasgow? I would vote Pitlochry, coming back A9 to Inverness, (sorry, GC, I would stay on the A9 till Boat of Garten) then head west to Grantown on Spey, then on to Tomintoul, Lecht, Braemar, at Bridge of Cally turn right and head to Pitlochry.
Day6 - go home with regret as I couldn't stay longer. Head to Glasgow via the brilliant drive through the Trossachs - Kilmahog to Aberfoyle - then onto the drone of the M74

Roughly 1400 miles in total,
sound plausible?

Yes, some of those days will be hard going, but it is do-able, I have camped in Thurso on a Friday after leaving Aberdeen at 5pm.

If time allows, on day 5, instead of staying on the A9 to Boat of Garten, it would be good to head across to Elgin, then come down the A941 to Craigellachie. Note that the A96 can also drone on a fair bit.