Scottish Roadtrip blog from this summer!

[Swinblink]

Well PH, seeing as i haven't made many posts on here, i figured i would make a "diary" of the roadtrip me and a few friends made in the summer. I will warn you now, my grammar and spelling are ste. Also im no J.K Rowling. Be aware i can't remember the route, only bits of it.

So lets get started, little bit of background all of us were 17 at the time, so don't expect any TVR's going broadside etc, expect dodgy parking, 2 Skoda's, and a badly modified fiesta! I'll also say, i wasn't driving at the time

So we started off heading towards Pitlochry from Neilston, just outside Glasgow. On our way up, stopped in at the services for 5,and got the first photo of the trip.
Although nothing special, I'll introduce the cars, we have a 1.3 Ford Fiesta in Faded Red, a silver Skoda Fabia, for some reason the owner has called Furby. Last but not least in the middle, a Skoda Favorit, this car my friends bought as a project when they were 16, and totally rebuilt, at home. Yes that is a massive PH smiley. They aren't even members here but asked what to put on the bonnet and i told them that. How's that for advertising.

We then got to Pitlochry at about 10:30 and the hostel staff were friendly seeing as we had missed check-in time by about 3 hours. Had a laugh and went for a kip, woke up at 6am because some fker opened the curtains, oh yeah that was me. Had a check on our cars and set off for the day.

The route was, as far as I remember, a drive to Rannoch Station in the middle of nowhere and back along then up to Fort William. The road to the station was excellent, no traffic and brilliant sweeping bends, with no PoPo. When we got to Rannoch, we went for lunch and paid about £7 for a roll and sausage.

Yes, the fiesta's bonnet is up, that thing drank oil, and i really do mean drank. Heading back along to go to Fort Bill we stopped off at the side of a loch we noticed on the way in for a 5 minute break. This quickly turned into a lets just go to sleep but a few photos later and we were on the move again.


Midway along my tall ginger friend needed a pee break and as we were on an empty back road, we pulled over and he went to do his business.

Fate being fate about 15 seconds after this photo was taken a police car rounded the corner. We all shouted on him to tell him to pause because the police were here, but he thought we were kidding and laughed it off, and then a police car (containing a very nice looking lady) drove past waved at us, and then saw him. He turned round mid piss and was completly mortified. What then followed was sheer brilliance. He shouted at the top of his voice while laughing it has to be said:
"CAN A NOT GET ANY fkING PRIVACY!"
The Police laughed, winked at the rest of us and drove on, so that was always a plus.


We were on our way to Glenfinnan to stay at an old railway carridge, and at £14 a night you couldn't go wrong

Yes it does look creepy here but it was a fantastic place to stay. Excellent owners who didnt mind 5 17 yearolds stay a night.
Also you are right infront of the station so you can see the steam train


So after our night there, we headed north for Applecross, to do the infamous "Pass of the Cattle" on our drive there we stopped at the Glen Garry view point, and if anyone hasn't seen it or heard of it, i urge you to go. It's a viewpoint that makes Loch Garry look like an outline of Scotland, and well it really does just that.


After a while we drove on and decided to ignore the maps for a bit, and took a few random turns, which lead us to a brilliant piece of road, we didnt get many pictures of it but heres one, was fantastic fun.

If only i knew where it was.
We were also stopped in a random Glen, to have a fighter jet round the corner, fully banked, no higher than a house scream right over us, was one of the best moments of my life if im honest. Theres nothing quite like the feeling of your chest about to blow up from the noise of a jet.
if anyone recognises this area, please tell me.



We carried on towards Applecross. and started the Pass. Without trying to sound like a cheesy film, fog was rolling in and we were loosing light, so this would be an interesting drive. Just to give you an idea, this was about 5 minuites in


However as soon as that photo was taken, the fog buggered off and allowed us to see again. The road was great fun, quite challenging for the drivers i would imagine, has some nice turns on it.




As we neared the summit, the fog rolled in again, and we parked up and let it pass.



So we got to the campsite, set up our tents and hit the hay.

The next day we headed to Skye, and for some reason i cant find any of the photos we took on it.
so thats pissed me off
However Skyes roads were awesome, we went the full legnth and breadth of the island and were gobsmacked by the scenery and roads.
An absolute must on a Scottish Road Trip.

So after an interesting night on Skye, and by interesting i mean sharing our caravan with some Australian stoner who invited us back to Sydney to stay at his house under the Sydney Bridge we headed off, going to Inverness up one side of Loch Ness down the other. Brilliant scenery again and we couldnt resist going for a swim


So we got to the bottom end of Loch Ness, and parked up, now remember at the start i said to expect some dodgy parking...

It doensn't look too bad in the photo but the fiesta was inches from meeting Nessie.

We headed back towards Fort William and went to Nevis range, where 3 of us had worked a few weeks previously and the Mountain Bike World Cup. It was eerie to see the least seeing the place empty instead of having 10,000+ bike fans there. Took a trip up the gongela as it became known while working there and saw another fighter fly by, below the height of our gondola.


When at the top we got some really nice views of Fort Bill
.

Got back down and that was the trip over, not before passing through Glencoe ofcourse.



Home.


Now i know my spelling and grammar are st, and i can't remember the route, but i wanted to share because it was such a great few days.

This photo is my personal favourite.

That would be my fatty arse to the left and my best mates arse to the right.


Cheers for reading folks!
Ross

Edited by Swinblink on Wednesday 22 December 01:48

[Laurel Green]

Looks like you had a good time - did a similar trip last year. Well I say similar but, started from London, down to Lands End, then, without using motorways, through North Devon across the bridge into and through Wales. Then across into the Lakes and up into Scotland. Took the West Coast route and, like you, over the Bealach na Ba. Coast road out and up, then across the top to John O'Groats and, back down the East Coast to London. Next time I will take in some of the islands. Fantastic roads and, if ever God had a chariot then would say 'Gods own roads'.

[skatty]

The first sighting of the fighter jet was at the old quarry down the bottom of Glen Shiel on the A87

The other one has me stumped

Edited by skatty on Wednesday 22 December 17:03

Edited by skatty on Wednesday 22 December 17:04

[Swinblink]

skatty said:

The first sighting of the fighter jet was at the old quarry down the bottom of Glen Shiel on the A87

The other one has me stumped

Edited by skatty on Wednesday 22 December 17:03

Edited by skatty on Wednesday 22 December 17:04

YES! thank you thank you thank you!

[JM]

Swinblink said:

After a while we drove on and decided to ignore the maps for a bit, and took a few random turns, which lead us to a brilliant piece of road, we didnt get many pictures of it but heres one, was fantastic fun.

If only i knew where it was.

That picture is from the unclassified road that goes from the bottom of the dual carriageway section of the Drumochter Pass on the A9 , (Dalnacardoch)to Trinafour on the B847 from Calvine to Dunalastair Water near Kinloch Rannoch.

I doubt you did that road at the at point of your trip though, or else you did a big loop or nearly tracked back to Rannoch Station.

There are a couple of hairpin bends on that road.

[skatty]

B847 ..... Good work there that road looks pretty awesome. must give it a try in 2011 at some point .

[Swinblink]

JM said:

Swinblink said:

After a while we drove on and decided to ignore the maps for a bit, and took a few random turns, which lead us to a brilliant piece of road, we didnt get many pictures of it but heres one, was fantastic fun.

If only i knew where it was.

That picture is from the unclassified road that goes from the bottom of the dual carriageway section of the Drumochter Pass on the A9 , (Dalnacardoch)to Trinafour on the B847 from Calvine to Dunalastair Water near Kinloch Rannoch.

I doubt you did that road at the at point of your trip though, or else you did a big loop or nearly tracked back to Rannoch Station.

There are a couple of hairpin bends on that road.

Like i say we didn't really have anything set out, so we might have done it, but if im honest i can't remember, but the corner you posted looks familiar.

[Lancs Dave]

Nice one lads

[magpies]

Looks like you had a brilliant time

Great Roads

[Mostro]

Looks like a great trip, unplanned is brilliant when it works out. I think the two forgotten locations have been correctly identified but you just visited the second one before the first.

JM said:

Swinblink said:

After a while we drove on and decided to ignore the maps for a bit, and took a few random turns, which lead us to a brilliant piece of road, we didnt get many pictures of it but heres one, was fantastic fun.

If only i knew where it was.

That picture is from the unclassified road that goes from the bottom of the dual carriageway section of the Drumochter Pass on the A9 , (Dalnacardoch)to Trinafour on the B847 from Calvine to Dunalastair Water near Kinloch Rannoch.

I doubt you did that road at the at point of your trip though, or else you did a big loop or nearly tracked back to Rannoch Station.

There are a couple of hairpin bends on that road.

I reckon that was on your way from Rannoch Station to Fort William, which you presumeably did via the A86 rather than the shorter route straight over Ben Nevis!

Then from Fort William past Loch Garry through Glen Shiel A87 on your way to Applecross.

I have many of those roads planned for a route I want to do this year as soon as the weather improves. Thanks for sharing.

Edited by Mostro on Saturday 8th January 12:26

[RainerM]

Thank you, too, :-))
Gives us some ideas

Rainer-Switzerland