Highlands

[gred]

Help! Does anyone know the route from Dumfries to Castle Douglas? There appears to be a single lane 'Old Military Road' (not the EVO Balmoral one) - is it a reasonable road for a bunch of 911s (no GT3s) so reasonable ground clearance. Or are the A75 or A711 better options?

[ianrb]

gred said:

Help! Does anyone know the route from Dumfries to Castle Douglas? There appears to be a single lane 'Old Military Road' (not the EVO Balmoral one) - is it a reasonable road for a bunch of 911s (no GT3s) so reasonable ground clearance. Or are the A75 or A711 better options?

The A75 is a bit of a nightmare; it's the main route to the ferry port at Cairnryan, so is a mix of HGVs and holiday makes, all of whom have left insufficient time to get the ferry and so drive like nutters. You will witness some mad overtakes. As a result the road has a poor safety record and is quite heavily policed. On the map it looks as if it should be a great road to drive, but it's not.

The A711 is reasonably quiet as it's more or less just the local route between Dumfries & Castle Douglas.

It's a long time since I've used the old military road, but it's more suited to a gentle drive in the country, ie a very slow one, rather than being a 'driving road'.

I'd pick the A711.

[Lancs Dave]

sjabrown said:

If anyone is travelling through Lochaber there has lately been an increased traffic police presence, mainly due to a new station opening in Fort William with a dedicated traffic unit. Beware.

Good shout. Thanks for the heads up :-)

[gred]

ianrb said:

The A75 is a bit of a nightmare; it's the main route to the ferry port at Cairnryan, so is a mix of HGVs and holiday makes, all of whom have left insufficient time to get the ferry and so drive like nutters. You will witness some mad overtakes. As a result the road has a poor safety record and is quite heavily policed. On the map it looks as if it should be a great road to drive, but it's not.

The A711 is reasonably quiet as it's more or less just the local route between Dumfries & Castle Douglas.

It's a long time since I've used the old military road, but it's more suited to a gentle drive in the country, ie a very slow one, rather than being a 'driving road'.

I'd pick the A711.

Thanks, very helpful. A711 it is then.

[Datsun_Zed]

Red Devil said:

s2kjock said:

The A836 from Tongue to Lairg is my favourite road in Scotland, and I have driven most of the tarmac up.

Stunning scenery, negligible traffic, corner after corner after corner, elevation changes, open corners, and the sheer length of the road (unlike other gems such as the Dukes Pass and Bealach which are over so quickly). If you are in a half decent car and don't enjoy that road on a even a half decent day weatherwise you need your "petrolhead" examined IMHO.

The Loch Hope detour is also fun, but slower as it is much narrower and with very poor surface in places - perhaps not one if your car is a garage queen or has poor ground clearance - ultimately not as entertaining as the A836 from Tongue, and I would prioritise that unless you have the luxury of doing both.

Absolutely the A836. Did it in April. The loop east from Tongue via the B871/B873 back to Altnaharra is quite entertaining too.

DonkeyApple said:

After Bonar (fnar fnar) the B9176 to Alness is good.

Did that one too. Struie Hill.


Given a choice, stay away from the A9 as long as you can.

The Struie is EPIC!!!

[justin63cc]

Hi folks

Great topic so far, enjoying the musings & Steve's pics.

I help this crowd (http://www.heroevents.eu/) run classic car rallies across the UK & our next event is the Scottish Malts, 28 Apr to 2 May with some awesome entries (65 cars inc a Bentley, XK140/150s, Porkers, Pagodas, 240Z, DS21 & a Dolly Sprint!): http://www.heroevents.eu/Events/ScottishMalts/scot...

Being a navigational test (cars run at minute intervals), the route is confidential but if anyone is in the following rough areas gimme a shout & I can tell you where to watch & timings:

Day 1 - Gleneagles, Dunfermline Bus Museum, Loch Lomond
Day 2 - Lomond, Rest & Be Thankful, Inveraray, Oban
Day 3 - Skye, Applecross, Ledgowan, Strathpeffer
Day 4 - Strathpeffer, Culloden, Speyside, Strathpeffer
Day 5 - Strathpeffer, Aviemore, Loch Tummel, Rannoch, Gleneagles.

Steve, can you message me please if you would, always handy to have a local contact: justin63ccatyahoodotcodotuk.

Next is the 20th running of the Lands End to John O Groats 6th to 9th Dec. Snow, maps & timecards, open top cars, December!

Cheers!

Justin

Edited by justin63cc on Tuesday 1st April 14:47

[GetCarter]

justin63cc said:

Hi folks

Great topic so far, enjoying the musings & Steve's pics.

I help this crowd (http://www.heroevents.eu/) run classic car rallies across the UK & our next event is the Scottish Malts, 28 Apr to 2 May with some awesome entries (65 cars inc a Bentley, XK140/150s, Porkers, Pagodas, 240Z, DS21 & a Dolly Sprint!): http://www.heroevents.eu/Events/ScottishMalts/scot...

Being a navigational test (cars run at minute intervals), the route is confidential but if anyone is in the following rough areas gimme a shout & I can tell you where to watch & timings:

Day 1 - Gleneagles, Dunfermline Bus Museum, Loch Lomond
Day 2 - Lomond, Rest & Be Thankful, Inveraray, Oban
Day 3 - Skye, Applecross, Ledgowan, Strathpeffer
Day 4 - Strathpeffer, Culloden, Speyside, Strathpeffer
Day 5 - Strathpeffer, Aviemore, Loch Tummel, Rannoch, Gleneagles.

Steve, can you message me please if you would, always handy to have a local contact: justin63ccatyahoodotcodotuk.

Next is the 20th running of the Lands End to John O Groats 6th to 9th Dec. Snow, maps & timecards, open top cars, December!

Cheers!

Justin

Edited by justin63cc on Tuesday 1st April 14:47

Here are some pics I took of the 2002 Hero run.

http://www.stevecarter.com/hero/hero.htm

I'll pm you Justin

[coppice]

Red Devil said:

Ouch! From a 36 or 41 litre tank? So what would one expect from the smaller one if pressing on - 150 miles or less?
I guess a Highland trip in one would require a detailed knowledge of the locations of filling stations and their opening times.
Or carrying a couple of jerry cans...

My car - an R400- allegedly has a 35 litre tank but will never show more than 29 litres on the gauge. Not a huge problem but a jerry can gives some peace of mind, if not quite as much as a detailed knowledge of what's open ,where and when. Rely on my memory- which can let me down when, for example , I forget that the Durness gas station is only open on Sunday mornings, not afternoons.Is there a handy website showing what where and when on the gas front ?

[Who me ?]

petrolprices.com shows where /how much/Brand and type of fuel sold ,but I haven't seen any mention of opening times .But a lot of Tesco and Asda have pay at pump outlets.Word of warning ,though, Asda'a pay at pump need a pay in advance debit card, rather than the usual pay after sale type.

[Red Devil]

Datsun_Zed said:

The Struie is EPIC!!!

Will be doing it again soon. Going the other way this time.

[jeremyc]

jeremyc said:

GetCarter said:

You know I said no snow.... before sunrise thius am on Glen Docherty:



I'll all melt though

Did I mention it's a two wheel drive Gallardo.

GetCarter said:

ETA... it was worth the tricky drive to see sunrise on the other side:

Beautiful. Though I'm not planning on being up quite that early, so I'll enjoy it vicariously through your fine photos.

We came. We Saw. We Drove. We had a great time.

Weather was perfect, not a snowflake to be seen.

[skatty]

I take it you were staying in the Dornoch Castle Hotel as i spotted the cars there, last friday morning (I think it was)..

[jeremyc]

skatty said:

I take it you were staying in the Dornoch Castle Hotel as i spotted the cars there, last friday morning (I think it was)..

That's one of the places we stayed - we had a different resting place each day.

[Who me ?]

justin63cc said:

Hi folks



Dunfermline Bus Museum.

I lived in Dunfermline some years ago, and I never knew they had a bus museum. I just assumed the busses on the road were from the depot.

[gred]

Does anyone know if the A83 Rest and be thankful link from Tarbet to Cairndow is open. I can see there was a landslip a month ago but no confirmation as to whether it has reopened. Thanks

[cat220]

gred said:

Does anyone know if the A83 Rest and be thankful link from Tarbet to Cairndow is open. I can see there was a landslip a month ago but no confirmation as to whether it has reopened. Thanks

It's open again mate.

Cheers,
C

[stevoknevo]

jeremyc said:

e came. We Saw. We Drove. We had a great time.

Weather was perfect, not a snowflake to be seen.

I passed you guys the other week half way between Ardrishaig and Tarbert when I was heading to Campbeltown (and a black Panamera in between seeing the 996 and Gallardo) Mentioned to my Brother and he had seen you previously in Lochgilphead

[stevoknevo]

sjabrown said:

If anyone is travelling through Lochaber there has lately been an increased traffic police presence, mainly due to a new station opening in Fort William with a dedicated traffic unit. Beware.

And the same has been announced for Argyll; was in the Oban times today that there were more fatalities from RTA's last year than from violence, and again, more serious injuries from RTA's than violence. I believe there was nine fatalities in Argyllshire last year (only had a quick skwizz at the paper in Tesco) as such they are re-introducing more active road policing. They already throw the book at you for speeding offences here; over the last five+ years the police tend to have their traps in 30/40mph zones so if visiting the area be vigilant in those areas as that is where most tourists get 'done'!

In the last week alone the road has been closed just outside of Fort William due to a fatality, and also between Lochgilphead and Inverary due to a serious RTA.

[gred]

Thanks chaps, also respecting limits noted.

[Who me ?]

On recent years I've visited Fort William ,and the 40 gets further out each time. Not a problem , but what is is the idiot that drops to sub 30 on a 40, then gets grumpy when folks pass him on the DC around the town. I've also been in a convoy at 20 heading south as the lead car had problems and no one felt capable of overtaking. I did get past a few cars ,knowing the road, before the lead car took the hint. Perhaps in the interests of safety, we need policing of slow speeds relative to the norm. I won't say my time from FW to Onich Hotel with no traffic ,in an ancient A40 -it might cause speed freaks to shudder.