Must drive roads for visitor to UK

Must drive roads for visitor to UK

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mhh

Original Poster:

1,558 posts

242 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
jackal said:
just planned my scottish tour for september

this is as good as its gets




the A87 into skye
A830 Road to the Isles
the A836 south of tongue
the 'mini nurburgring' down to Moffat
the A822/A826 Crieff to Aberfeldy
A93 Bridge of Cally to Ballater
Ulapool to Durness
the Applecross penninsula
the run up to Glencoe/Fort william
Eilean Donan Castle
Loch Ness
Kylesku Bridge


Edited by jackal on Tuesday 24th July 22:27
Would you mind posting a link to that map so I can see distances etc? It looks just about ideal. smile

t1grm

4,655 posts

284 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
mhh said:
Would you mind posting a link to that map so I can see distances etc? It looks just about ideal. smile
Ditto, also, is the Zebrugge to Rosyth ferry still going? That would make an ideal weekend driving holiday from Europe...

Shandy81

137 posts

154 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
If you're heading to Ballater you need to hit the A939 all the way to Grantown on Spey.

Has to be one of the best roads in Scotland.

birdcage

2,840 posts

205 months

Wednesday 25th July 2012
quotequote all
mhh said:
jackal said:
just planned my scottish tour for september

this is as good as its gets




the A87 into skye
A830 Road to the Isles
the A836 south of tongue
the 'mini nurburgring' down to Moffat
the A822/A826 Crieff to Aberfeldy
A93 Bridge of Cally to Ballater
Ulapool to Durness
the Applecross penninsula
the run up to Glencoe/Fort william
Eilean Donan Castle
Loch Ness
Kylesku Bridge


Edited by jackal on Tuesday 24th July 22:27
Would you mind posting a link to that map so I can see distances etc? It looks just about ideal. smile
Second that thanks smile

jackal

11,248 posts

282 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all

jackal

11,248 posts

282 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
this gives you an idea of what to expect:




























































Wayney

626 posts

206 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
Hi one of my good pals hires out his fleet of cars to Avis. So if you to cut out the middle man (Avis) message me & I'll forward you on his details.

mhh

Original Poster:

1,558 posts

242 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
jackal said:
Thank you! smile

birdcage

2,840 posts

205 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
jackal said:
Amazing pictures! Thanks

NRS

22,135 posts

201 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
mhh said:
Sandy59 said:
If you're heading up to the west of Scotland, lots of good info here :

http://www.stevecarter.com/picaday/roads.htm
Wow, great pics!
Quite a few of the pictures are from Applecross and the Bealach na Bà pass. Worth doing it.

The famous castle (Eilean Donan) was actually a disappointment to me. It's a "fake" castle, with parts of it being a normal building, and parts being made to look like a beautiful castle. From a few angles it is beautiful, but it's not the same as a real one.

BelfastBoy

779 posts

160 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
Jackal - stunning photos! Where's the little lochside village with the white, pink and blue terraced houses? Looks like something out of Balamory!

blugnu

1,523 posts

241 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
BelfastBoy said:
Jackal - stunning photos! Where's the little lochside village with the white, pink and blue terraced houses? Looks like something out of Balamory!
Portree, on Skye I think.

jackal

11,248 posts

282 months

Thursday 26th July 2012
quotequote all
blugnu said:
BelfastBoy said:
Jackal - stunning photos! Where's the little lochside village with the white, pink and blue terraced houses? Looks like something out of Balamory!
Portree, on Skye I think.
yes portree

masermartin

1,629 posts

177 months

Saturday 18th August 2012
quotequote all
Holy thread resurrection batman, and all that. Found this while researching another potential Scottish trip in late September ...

Between A and C on Jackal's route, it is missing the Glen Fruin Road, Inveraray and the B863 loop to Kinlochleven, all of which in my book are great bits of driving road, for different reasons:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=A82&daddr...

The trouble is that this takes you out of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, where you may be missing some other excellent scenery and roads. If you are pushed for time, or so desire, you can miss out the Inverary detour (though it is fantastic) on that link and cut back to the A82 either at Tarbet or by returning across the Glen Fruin Road from Garelochhead, but I wouldn't recommend missing out the other two as they are tiny detours off of that route for great roads.

I've been recommended the Glenelg Ferry road for a fun way to get to Skye, not sure how that might fit into that route though, because you should probably do the Skye bridge because scenery, and also the Fort William to Mallaig road comes well recommended. Here it is anyway, just in case:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Old+Military+...

The reality is, this is all fantastic driving country, and short of the motorways and the A9, there are very few boring roads in Scotland. Just one thing to remember is that the further north you get, "A" and "B" road designations are more for the fact that there is a route there at all, not because it's any level of quality/width. Some B roads are majority single-track with passing places and not suitable for pressing on (one from my trips particularly springs to mind, I think it was the B8074 from Inverlochy to Bridge of Orchy - you may think it's an interesting shortcut on the map but if you've anything wide or with low ground clearance it can be a bit of a stressful experience - picturesque "rickety bridge over whitewater" photo op halfway along though).

Edit to fix formatting

Edited by masermartin on Saturday 18th August 12:56

masermartin

1,629 posts

177 months

Saturday 18th August 2012
quotequote all
Shandy81 said:
If you're heading to Ballater you need to hit the A939 all the way to Grantown on Spey.

Has to be one of the best roads in Scotland.
Totally agree with this - the random appearance of Corgarff castle sitting all on its own is a bit surreal too. Stopped off at a nice little inn (Allargue Arms hotel, if Google is to be believed, it's generally a better bet than my memory) for refreshments when I was up there a few years ago.

mhh

Original Poster:

1,558 posts

242 months

Saturday 18th August 2012
quotequote all
Thanks Martin - much appreciated. smile

redchina

491 posts

261 months

Sunday 19th August 2012
quotequote all
You need to add in a section at the end to get over to Tignabruich, up the Rest and over the Leanach. You can take in the second steepest road in Scotland on the way if you're really keen.
Then nip over to Dunoon

masermartin

1,629 posts

177 months

Monday 20th August 2012
quotequote all
mhh said:
Thanks Martin - much appreciated. smile
No problem!

pistolp

1,719 posts

222 months

Monday 20th August 2012
quotequote all
M25 on Monday morning about 830am

masermartin

1,629 posts

177 months

Monday 20th August 2012
quotequote all
pistolp said:
M25 on Monday morning about 830am
Why so? Personally, I wouldn't want to inflict that on an unsuspecting visitor!