Not Quite an Aston in Jockland

[mikey k]

Got back from our annual tour of Jockland which I had planned before I ordered the Vantage S to be done in the old roadster. Unfortunately the S it didn't turn up in time
The weather lived up to its reputation and rained for 7.5 of the 9 days we spent up there.
Tinto Hotel near Bigger screwed the last day up as well (more on that later).
Here's the plan!

Day 1 – Saturday 10th September (239 miles)
Dip into Lakes up Kirkstone pass
A686 Penrith – Haydon Bridge MCN’s 5* route Hartside pass (great road highly recommended!)
Afternoon & overnight on Holy Island (interesting place!)
Stopped in Bamburgh View B&B, Fenkle Street, Holy Island, TD15 2SR
very nice and her sister owns the Bean Goose Restaurant on hte island which was also great!

Day 2 – Sunday 11th September (251 miles)
Leave Holy Island on 1st Tide
Seacliff – smallest UK harbour, nice beach, Tantallon castle & house ruins (a well kept secret )
Falkirk Wheel & boat ride (underwhelmed so passed on the boat ride)
Jukes Pass in the Trossach (good as ever! )
Dochart Falls near Killin (amazing after the first lot of rains!)
Ben Lawer Road & Lawer Dam (Killin - Bridge of Balgie)
Tommel Loch & Bridge
West Freuchies, Kirkton of Glenisla, Blairgowrie, PH11 8PG
Nice place with a good self catering mill conversion as well

Day 3 – Monday 12th September (305 miles)
Loch Tay & Crannog Centre (whats a Crannog )
A9 scenic drive out
A86 past Loch Laggan & back up to Kinguissie
Loch Morlich & Cairn Gorm (railway was closed )
Loch Garten Osprey Centre (this was also closed )
A939 to Grantown on Spey & back to Cockbridge
A93 Braemar to Spittal of Glenshee
West Freuchies again, ate at Cargills Bistro in Blairgowrie - very very good!

Day 4 – Tuesday 13th September (259 miles)
A827 past Loch Tay
Dochart Falls (alomost over flowing after nearly a week of rain!)
A82 - Glencoe Valley (Crianlarich - Glencoe)
Round Kinlochleven
Corran Ferry
A861 - Ardgour – Strontian
Ardnamurchan Point western most point of mainland
B8008 Arisaig to Morar Portnaluchaig & Camusdarach beaches
Malliag ferry to Syke
Stayed at Allt A' Choire, Old Corry, Broadford, Isle Of Skye & ate at Red Syke both excellent!

Day 5 – Wednesday 14th September (288 miles)
Over Skye bridge
Eilean Donan Castle
Applecross Pass
Wester Ross coastal road
Glen Docharty & Get Carters “fast road”
A896 : Annat - Incheril
Wester Ross coastal road
Mellon Udrigle (beaches)
Corrieshalloch Gorge near Ullapool 1mile natural gorge suspension bridge & viewing platform
A835 across the Highlands
Dornoch Castle Hotel, Castle Street, Dornoch, IV25 3SD Interesting place with excellent food and scotch

Day 6 – Thursday 15th September (315 miles)
A837 : Inveran - Ledmore
Achmelvich beaches
Ardvreck Castle
Kylesku bridge & maybe hotel for lunch (hotel was also closed )
A838
Smoo Cave
Tongue
A836 Lairg – Melvich
Carn Liath
Golspie beach (award winner)
Dornoch Castle again

Day 7 – Friday 16th September (283 miles)
Urquhart Castle (didn't bother too touristy)
Down Loch Ness (waste of fuel & time )
Loch Oich
Loch Lochy
A82 South bound to Oban (Stalker Castle)
Kintyre peninsular
A816 to A83 & Tarbert ferry
A886 up to Loch Lomond
South down Loch Lomond
Tinto Hotel, Biggar Road, Symington, near Biggar, ML12 6FT
This place was a shambles - mould, hairy beds and dirty towels were just a few of the issues. We left with out brekfast or the second night. AVOID!

Day 8 – Saturday 17th (376 miles)
B743 Strathaven to Muirkirk PH “rally” route
B797 Mennock to Wanlockhead
A702 down to Carronbridge
A701 Moffat to Leadburn
A703 & A72/707 to Selkirk
ALL cancelled due to the shambles at Tinto

Day 9 – Sunday 18th
Was to be a slow drive home but we got home at 1PM on the Saturday

Pictures and comments to follow

[mikey k]

Day 1

Never been to Holy Island so we decided to stop off there for an afternoon and over night stop.
Very interesting place but a bit too "spiritual" for me.

View up the path from the bay to the castle

Jocks 2011 024 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

I never knew it was a port quarrying, making and exporting lime!
I love this shot of the lime kilns under the castle.

Jocks 2011 048 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Nice shot of the castle from the current church through the priory, those vikings left a right mess

Jocks 2011 069 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

We made it over the causeway in the morning (just) unlike the Aussies in a hire car a couple of days earlier who were airlifted from semi submerged car

Jocks 2011 080 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

The poor old walkers have an even harder task!

Jocks 2011 122 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Edited by mikey k on Sunday 18th September 20:50

[Jockman]

Decent itinery there Mr K.

Agree with comments on Loch Ness.

Still have to pay a toll on the Skye Bridge or have they scrapped that now ?

[George H]

Looks a decent road trip, but judging by the weather recently it seems a good job you didn't take a roadster. What car did you take?

[mikey k]

Jockman - Syke bridge is now toll free, Malliag ferry to Skye is £30!
George - we both agreed it would have been a baptism for the S took the Volvo.
I'll post up some more pics and comments later

[verminator]

Love the pictures. They really brought back some good memories of when I was there touring in my E type along with my mate in his SP250 Dart. Must save up enough for petrol so I could do it again in the Aston.

[mikey k]

verminator said:

Love the pictures. They really brought back some good memories of when I was there touring in my E type along with my mate in his SP250 Dart. Must save up enough for petrol so I could do it again in the Aston.

Ironically I saw a couple of E types and a Dart on Kintyre pas prt of a Classics Rally that was going on. Also saw a DB7 Volante.

Now for some more pics!

Day 2

Seacliff beach/harbour & Tantallon Castle are tucked away East of Edinburgh. The "harbour" there is said to be the smallest in the UK. I wouldn't argue with that The beach is nice and popular with horse riders for some strange reason!
Watching the Gannets off Bass Rock diving for fish was spectacular.


Jocks 2011 147 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 148 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 153 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 133 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

We decided to have a mooch at the Falkirk Wheel, amazing bit of engineering but the weather put us off the boat trip

Jocks 2011 163 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

The first pass of Dochart Falls at Killin was spectacular after all the rain

Jocks 2011 194 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

It was starting to look like a flood risk a couple of day later after hurricane Katia landed!

Jocks 2011 237 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

The trip over Ben Lawer Road was spooky with the cloud covering the hill tops, it made Lawer Dam look like a horror movie set!

Jocks 2011 202 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

[mikey k]

Day 3
Decided to find some culture today and went to the Crannog Centre on Loch Tay
These things are log and bracken huts built just off shore of a Loch some 2.5k years ago!
Didn't fancy the butter they recovered
They were very good engineers considering it was 2.5k years ago!
Apparently 95% of the "islands" you see in Lochs are actually the remains of these houses!


Jocks 2011 214 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 208 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

We were surprised to find much of the tourist stuff closed down for the end of the season in the 2nd week of September
No Cairn Gorms railway, Ospreys had flown way (how do they know it's end of the season? )

[mikey k]

Day 4
Heading over to Skye
This was the day hurricane Katia "landed" it pissed with rain and blew a gale all day. And we decided to go for the western most point on UK mainland (Ardnamurchan Point)
Hell of a trek to get there but worth it even with the weather!


Jocks 2011 286 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 289 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

[mikey k]

Day 5
Our first bite of the Highlands and doing the usual suspects
Any one know the Aston link with this place?


Jocks 2011 303 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Applecross pass ( or Bealach na Ba to the locals!) was looking a bit bleak!

Jocks 2011 338 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

The weather started to clear on the other side as we ambled round the Wester Ross Coastal Trial

Jocks 2011 354 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

It was looking OK when we got to my fav beach

Jocks 2011 405 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 414 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Then the heavens opened and soaked us to the skin
We had dried out by the time we got to out next 2 night stop - Dornoch Castle. If you like food & Scotch you NEED to visit this place!

Jocks 2011 419 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

[mikey k]

Day 6
This was a deep excursion in to the Northern Highlands!
And the only full day of dry weather!
So we headed off in to the "Geo Park"


Jocks 2011 442 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

I found my perfect house!

Jocks 2011 463 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

And another place with Aston links (anyone know this one?)

Jocks 2011 511 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

At that point Tom Tom threw it's toys out the pram and the brakes started making some very very worrying sounds
I stopped and ended stripping the nearside front brakes whilst LSB took pictures Turned out I had a large stone wedge between the back of the disc and the heat shield tuck up near the centre of the disc, I eventually managed to get it out and all was well again!

Jocks 2011 500 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Another Aston link for you

Jocks 2011 542 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

Then on to our new favourite place Smoo Cave (even the name is great! )

Jocks 2011 551 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 564 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 565 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

you can actually take a "boat" ride through it, but Katia had dumped so much water the tunnels were all under water!

We only got ambushed by the Wooly Bollards once!

Jocks 2011 597 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

The approach to Tongue and the causeway is great.
Luckily the camouflaged wooly bollards was not quick enough, we spotted the cunning disguise!


Jocks 2011 604 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 608 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

I thought this boat house was rather good!

Jocks 2011 624 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

We then meandered over to the East coast to try a bit of dolphin/seal spotting from Cairn Liath.

Jocks 2011 645 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Jocks 2011 655 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

No luck! So we went down to Golspie Beach for fish & chips and a stroll.

Jocks 2011 685 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

More tomorrow!

[verminator]

Thats spooky, I no longer have the E-type, but do have a DB7 VV.

[f1ten]

absolutely superb photos.
Ive done many of the roads youve just done in the last 3 years (as you would expect as Im Scottish albiet live in the south).

the A9 north of Perth is fanastic, the back roads going north west out of Callander are amazing, drive to Oban is very good, the cairgorm road towards Fort William is suberp etc.