Highlands of Scotland Roadtrip
Discussion
Decided to take my newly acquired Aston out for a drive last week upto the Scottish Highlands and through the Grampian hills and Glens back to my parents house in Carnoustie. Total round trip from home in the Midlands was over 1600miles.
Basic route over 3 days
Day 1 Midlands to Roybridge
Midlands M5 and M6 schelp to Glasgow onto M8
A82 past Loch Lomand to Crianlarich.
A82 upto Fort William with a detour round Kinlochleven (B863) past Fort William and onto my digs at Roy Bridge
Crianlarich to Ballachulish was fantastic and the first time to stretch the legs of the Aston
Kinlochleven
Day 2 Roy Bridge to Ullapool
A82 Roy Bridge then onto A87 to Kyle of Lochalsh which is a fantastic section of road
Eilean Donan Castle
Continued over to Skye and then took the B8083 coastal road to Elgol which isn't a great driving road but I was just curious.
Doubled back from Elgol to head for Applecross using the A87 to Kyle and then A890 towards Lochcarron.
The pass over to Applecross was fun especially as the cloud level was low and it was chucking it down but as soon as I was over the summit and heading down the other side the sun was shining and Applecross bay beckoned
After Applecross it was round the coast road to Fearnmore and Sheildaig at Loch Torridon.
At this point I took the decision to head south on the A896 as I wanted to hook up with the A890 to Achnasheen and as GetCarter said this road is quick and the Aston devoured this section. Just brilliant
Took a left onto the A832 towards Kinlochewe and followed this road past Gairloch, Laide, Little Gruinard and back towards the A835 at Braemore to reach my final destination for Day 2, Ullapool. What another great section of road, didn't want to stop driving!
Day 3 Ullapool to Carnoustie (East coast, near Dundee)
Headed out of Ullapool on the A835 to Ledmore where I picked up the A837 then A894 towards Unapool
Carried on the A894 to the junction with A838 (Laxford Bridge) From leaving Ullapool to this junction the driving was awesome.
The A838 is a single track road with passing places. It has good visibility and only a couple of sections where caution is required, average speed down this section around 50mph. Some nice scenic spots along the way with Loch Stack, Loch More, Loch Merkland, Loch Shin
Picked up the A836 to Bonar Bridge and then B9176 to cut out the A9.
Originally I had planned to then head for Inverness but having read that the Achnasheen to Garve (A832) and Garve to Braemore (A835) were good stretches I took a detour at Dingwall to take these in.
Was this a good move, oh yes, and at some points you need serious restraint to keep the leptons down. Throughly enjoyed the 100mile detour which was in effect running each road in both directions.
Refuelled the Aston (again) in Inverness joining the A9 from the A835 and started on my last leg down to my parents house in Carnoustie.
The route for this was B9090 towards Nairn to pick up the A939 towards Granton on Spey, Tomintoul, Ballater. Then A93 to Braemar through Glenshee to Blairgowrie where it was onto the A926 to Kirriemuir and Forfar and south on the B9128 to Carnoustie.
The A939 and A93 is a real helter skelter roller coaster road and I was lucky to have a clean run down to Blairgowrie.
Was it fun, you bet, I drove 50-60mile sections without a car in sight and out of the 800 odd miles I drove from Glasgown back to Carnoustie I would say there were only 40-50miles that were slightly tedious. Everything else was just fantastic.
John
Basic route over 3 days
Day 1 Midlands to Roybridge
Midlands M5 and M6 schelp to Glasgow onto M8
A82 past Loch Lomand to Crianlarich.
A82 upto Fort William with a detour round Kinlochleven (B863) past Fort William and onto my digs at Roy Bridge
Crianlarich to Ballachulish was fantastic and the first time to stretch the legs of the Aston
Kinlochleven
Day 2 Roy Bridge to Ullapool
A82 Roy Bridge then onto A87 to Kyle of Lochalsh which is a fantastic section of road
Eilean Donan Castle
Continued over to Skye and then took the B8083 coastal road to Elgol which isn't a great driving road but I was just curious.
Doubled back from Elgol to head for Applecross using the A87 to Kyle and then A890 towards Lochcarron.
The pass over to Applecross was fun especially as the cloud level was low and it was chucking it down but as soon as I was over the summit and heading down the other side the sun was shining and Applecross bay beckoned
After Applecross it was round the coast road to Fearnmore and Sheildaig at Loch Torridon.
At this point I took the decision to head south on the A896 as I wanted to hook up with the A890 to Achnasheen and as GetCarter said this road is quick and the Aston devoured this section. Just brilliant
Took a left onto the A832 towards Kinlochewe and followed this road past Gairloch, Laide, Little Gruinard and back towards the A835 at Braemore to reach my final destination for Day 2, Ullapool. What another great section of road, didn't want to stop driving!
Day 3 Ullapool to Carnoustie (East coast, near Dundee)
Headed out of Ullapool on the A835 to Ledmore where I picked up the A837 then A894 towards Unapool
Carried on the A894 to the junction with A838 (Laxford Bridge) From leaving Ullapool to this junction the driving was awesome.
The A838 is a single track road with passing places. It has good visibility and only a couple of sections where caution is required, average speed down this section around 50mph. Some nice scenic spots along the way with Loch Stack, Loch More, Loch Merkland, Loch Shin
Picked up the A836 to Bonar Bridge and then B9176 to cut out the A9.
Originally I had planned to then head for Inverness but having read that the Achnasheen to Garve (A832) and Garve to Braemore (A835) were good stretches I took a detour at Dingwall to take these in.
Was this a good move, oh yes, and at some points you need serious restraint to keep the leptons down. Throughly enjoyed the 100mile detour
which was in effect running each road in both directions.Refuelled the Aston (again) in Inverness joining the A9 from the A835 and started on my last leg down to my parents house in Carnoustie.
The route for this was B9090 towards Nairn to pick up the A939 towards Granton on Spey, Tomintoul, Ballater. Then A93 to Braemar through Glenshee to Blairgowrie where it was onto the A926 to Kirriemuir and Forfar and south on the B9128 to Carnoustie.
The A939 and A93 is a real helter skelter roller coaster road and I was lucky to have a clean run down to Blairgowrie.
Was it fun, you bet, I drove 50-60mile sections without a car in sight and out of the 800 odd miles I drove from Glasgown back to Carnoustie I would say there were only 40-50miles that were slightly tedious. Everything else was just fantastic.
John
Edited by 993Targa on Monday 10th May 22:35
Looks and sounds great!
I know many of these roads very well - and would say you took some of the very best routes in the Highlands. Good choice to do the extra detours around Garve - maybe not the most inspiring scenery wise (being away from the coast) but then again, you don't have anything to distract you from the road itself!
I know many of these roads very well - and would say you took some of the very best routes in the Highlands. Good choice to do the extra detours around Garve - maybe not the most inspiring scenery wise (being away from the coast) but then again, you don't have anything to distract you from the road itself!
GetCarter said:
Sorry to miss you, but a great route in a great car. Good work that man.
No problem Steve, you live in a truly stunning part of the world and to have "those" roads on your doorstep just makes me jealous.It was a fantastic road trip and I managed to get fully acquainted with the Aston which was a perfect companion
I'll be going back again, the schlep up the M6 is a minor irritation to get access to Scottish Highlands.
Thanks to everyone for there suggestions.
John
Nice post! That brings back fond memories of a trip I did last year and certainly hope to do something similar again one day!
For those inspired to embark on such a jaunt, it's worth noting that however dreamy it might be to do it in a car like that, the fact of the matter is that if you are unfamiliar with Scotland and especially the Highlands, you will be spending most of your time and energy gazing at the scenery and not necessarily thinking about how fast you can go on roads that are generally quiet and of annoyingly high quality ! It really is extraordinarily stunning at times....
Best way to go about it, is to set aside a week/ ten days and just go. And keep on going and going and...................
For those inspired to embark on such a jaunt, it's worth noting that however dreamy it might be to do it in a car like that, the fact of the matter is that if you are unfamiliar with Scotland and especially the Highlands, you will be spending most of your time and energy gazing at the scenery and not necessarily thinking about how fast you can go on roads that are generally quiet and of annoyingly high quality ! It really is extraordinarily stunning at times....
Best way to go about it, is to set aside a week/ ten days and just go. And keep on going and going and...................
Nice trip 
Did something similar begining of Feb, surprisingly lucky with the weather.
Truely is a fantastic place for a tour, everybody should do it.
When you went to Elgol did you go all the way until you could go no more ??!! I don't reckon you could go more than 10mph the road was soooo twisty and undulating !!
Did something similar begining of Feb, surprisingly lucky with the weather.
Truely is a fantastic place for a tour, everybody should do it.
When you went to Elgol did you go all the way until you could go no more ??!! I don't reckon you could go more than 10mph the road was soooo twisty and undulating !!
Edited by SimonV8ster on Monday 10th May 16:25
SimonV8ster said:
Nice trip
When you went to Elgol did you go all the way until you could go no more ??!! I don't reckon you could go more than 10mph the road was soooo twisty and undulating !!
Yup went as far as I could, next stop was the sea When you went to Elgol did you go all the way until you could go no more ??!! I don't reckon you could go more than 10mph the road was soooo twisty and undulating !!
Edited by SimonV8ster on Monday 10th May 16:25
It's not a great road with probably average speed of 25mph. I wouldn't go out there again but just wanted to have a look.
John
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