Discussion
towser44 said:
All in all though, a great trip with stunning scenery and definitely need to get back up there in the future.
Indeed. You haven't even scratched the surface yet. Turn right onto the A890 at Auchtertyre (between Dornie and Kyle) heading for GetCarter territory (and beyond). 
At this hour 3 weeks from today I'll be somewhere on the A1. My destination will be an overnight stay in Perth prior to a 1000 mile tour starting with the A93/A939.
Counting down the days...
Have to agree, I have a thing for the A82 route through Rannock Moor and Glencoe, although I've never done it when it's busy. Was up there last week and the weather was astonishingly good. For me though the scenery of Wester Ross is unbeatable and that road down through Glen Docherty is unsurpassed.
Sunday - Cirencester to Glencoe with overnight stop at Clachaig Inn
Monday - Glencoe to Applecross via Aultbea (my family are from Mellon Charles), overnight at Applecross Inn. Still snow on the tops of the higher peaks.
Tuesday - finished the loop clockwise and over to Skye, over night at Eilean Iarmain
Wednesday - from Syke via Mallaig ferry to Cirencester - that was a long day.
I did note there seems to be quite a lot of road works going on particularly around Fort William.
Sunday - Cirencester to Glencoe with overnight stop at Clachaig Inn
Monday - Glencoe to Applecross via Aultbea (my family are from Mellon Charles), overnight at Applecross Inn. Still snow on the tops of the higher peaks.
Tuesday - finished the loop clockwise and over to Skye, over night at Eilean Iarmain
Wednesday - from Syke via Mallaig ferry to Cirencester - that was a long day.
I did note there seems to be quite a lot of road works going on particularly around Fort William.
Blown2CV said:
diesel cars can get away perfectly OK without premium diesel though. It's not the same sort of thing as with unleaded.
yes yes they can but I prefer to use Shell Nitro after years of using other diesel as I found my cars perform better with it, but that's my choice to feed the car ittowser said:
Yep agree, Skye represents all that is great and awful about the highlands in one easy to navigate package.
It's probably fine as a tourist,going by the amount of them about here just now it must be This is my usual office view in Skye,has been for the last 5 months
But then this happened last week and I kind of thought about the possibility of being one of those tourists in the summer myself.It's a couple of hours drive from home for us though so we can pick a good day to come.
GetCarter said:
I was out in Gordon Murray's' new toy this morning.
It weighs nothing and has this on the back
Drove from the garage into the sea. How cool is that!
Love how it doesn't require a trailer, that will make life a lot easier. With the wheels folded up I'd imagine the three of them almost act like fenders!It weighs nothing and has this on the back
Drove from the garage into the sea. How cool is that!
Connection speed here is rubbish so not too many pics 
Today was FANATASTIC
228 Miles across the North Highlands
B9716 North for views
Up Loch’s Shin, Merkland & More on A838
Balnakiel Beach
Smoo Cave where after the 5th attempt we managed to get the tour in side it
Sango Bay beach & the Oasis for lunch (about the only place in Durness!)
Tongue with obligatory pics on the causeway
A836 south - my FAV A road
B9716 South
Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal
A couple of pics from Tongue Causeway (we always take photos here when we come up
)
DSC01084 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr
DSC01085 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr
Today was FANATASTIC
228 Miles across the North Highlands
B9716 North for views
Up Loch’s Shin, Merkland & More on A838
Balnakiel Beach
Smoo Cave where after the 5th attempt we managed to get the tour in side it
Sango Bay beach & the Oasis for lunch (about the only place in Durness!)
Tongue with obligatory pics on the causeway
A836 south - my FAV A road
B9716 South
Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal
A couple of pics from Tongue Causeway (we always take photos here when we come up
)DSC01084 by Mikey K 650S, on FlickrDSC01085 by Mikey K 650S, on FlickrLoads and loads of roadworks on the A82 between Fort William and Glencoe at the moment. They're building a cycle track between Corran and Ballachulish (by building I mean widening the pavement by a few inches) which accounts for 2-3 sets of lights. And supposed the be improving the drainage between Corran and Fort William (whilst ignoring the potholes) which accounts for another 1 or 2 sets of lights. So a 12 mile stretch of A road ends up with between 3 and 5 sets of lights through the day. Marvellous.
sjabrown said:
Loads and loads of roadworks on the A82 between Fort William and Glencoe at the moment. They're building a cycle track between Corran and Ballachulish (by building I mean widening the pavement by a few inches) which accounts for 2-3 sets of lights. And supposed the be improving the drainage between Corran and Fort William (whilst ignoring the potholes) which accounts for another 1 or 2 sets of lights. So a 12 mile stretch of A road ends up with between 3 and 5 sets of lights through the day. Marvellous.
Thanks for the heads up, I'm in that neck of the woods next week.mikey k said:
Connection speed here is rubbish so not too many pics
Today was FANATASTIC
228 Miles across the North Highlands
B9716 North for views
Up Loch’s Shin, Merkland & More on A838
Balnakiel Beach
Smoo Cave where after the 5th attempt we managed to get the tour in side it
Sango Bay beach & the Oasis for lunch (about the only place in Durness!)
Tongue with obligatory pics on the causeway
A836 south - my FAV A road
B9716 South
Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal
A couple of pics from Tongue Causeway (we always take photos here when we come up )
DSC01084 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr
DSC01085 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr
Lovely part of the world and in THAT car I can only imagine! Today was FANATASTIC
228 Miles across the North Highlands
B9716 North for views
Up Loch’s Shin, Merkland & More on A838
Balnakiel Beach
Smoo Cave where after the 5th attempt we managed to get the tour in side it
Sango Bay beach & the Oasis for lunch (about the only place in Durness!)
Tongue with obligatory pics on the causeway
A836 south - my FAV A road
B9716 South
Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal
A couple of pics from Tongue Causeway (we always take photos here when we come up
)DSC01084 by Mikey K 650S, on FlickrDSC01085 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr
mikey k said:
https://goo.gl/maps/DDYjQzSSsoQ2
http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title...
mikey k said:
Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
I'm in the opposite camp. mikey k said:
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal
That doesn't surprise me. The Easter weekend was slap bang in the middle of our trip last year. I was anticipating problems but my fears were groundless. The increase was hardly noticeable. For example, on the single track section of the A836 between Tongue and the junction with the A838 we met a total of 6 cars coming the other way. Normally is only a couple at most.I reckon it is due to the following. Easter Monday is not a Bank Holiday in Scotland, so that weekend it isn't such a big deal as in E&W. Plus Easter Sunday cannot fall outside the date range from 22nd March to 25th April which is before the tourist season really gets going.
Some of you may have seen my post back in September about my last trip upto the highlands. I'm looking to go again, but leave at work is going to be difficult until mid may. What is the traffic like around this time? I'm looking to do the north west (Ullapool, Durness) this time round.
Will it be okay going in May (avoiding half term), or am I best waiting until Autumn? I'm guessing it'll be okay, but just wondering if anyone with more knowledge can advise.
Will it be okay going in May (avoiding half term), or am I best waiting until Autumn? I'm guessing it'll be okay, but just wondering if anyone with more knowledge can advise.
James2593 said:
Some of you may have seen my post back in September about my last trip upto the highlands. I'm looking to go again, but leave at work is going to be difficult until mid may. What is the traffic like around this time? I'm looking to do the north west (Ullapool, Durness) this time round.
Will it be okay going in May (avoiding half term), or am I best waiting until Autumn? I'm guessing it'll be okay, but just wondering if anyone with more knowledge can advise.
Pretty much empty in May. Around Ullapool you'll get some traffic, but you are looking at seeing 10 cars an hour on the rest of the west coast.Will it be okay going in May (avoiding half term), or am I best waiting until Autumn? I'm guessing it'll be okay, but just wondering if anyone with more knowledge can advise.
(I'll be one of them. Wave!)
ETA, when I say 10 cars an hour, this is assuming you are driving at the busy time of day. Other times, it'll be proper quiet.
Edited by GetCarter on Monday 28th March 19:05
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