Short Highlands Tour Proposed Route

[ukkid35]

I'm planning a short driving holiday in for early June, suggestions for roads or places not to be missed are very welcome. Plan so far is:

Starting Cheshire
M6 to Kendal
A591 to Ambleside
Eskdale via Hard Knott Pass
A595 to B&B near Workington

A595 to Carlisle
A75 to Dumfries
A712 to Newton Stewart
A714 to Girvan
A77 to Glasgow
A82 to Loch Lomond
A83 to B&B at Cairndow

A83 back to A82
A82 to Fort William
[possible detour via A890]
A82 to B&B in Inverness

A9 to Perth (is A939 a better option?)
M90 to Edinburgh
A68 and A696 to B&B near Newcastle (is it really the best road in the UK?)

A1(M) back to London

I will be studying the sticky threads earnestly but other than the A1 and a few roads in the Lake District this is all new to me, so any and all suggestions very welcome.

[jock mcsporran]

Here's what we did, more or less, last year. We had similar the year before but this should hopefully give you a few ideas. Disregard the fact that the routes may start/finish in Strathpeffer. It was st and we moved to Inverness to spend the nights.

Starting in Leeds, took the easy route to Glasgow to get the slog out the way. then from there headed north to spend the night at Clachaig.



Day 2, took the ferry across (Corran Ferry) and took the long way round to Fort William. Headed up A82 and then the back roads to Inverness. You can easily stay on the A82 if you've never driven it. Decent road outside of the tourist season. Be careful on the ferry ramps if you have a low car, I ripped off my number plate.



Day 3, out to Applecross for lunch. This route, or a variation of it, has become an annual event for us. We prefer going from Drumnadrochit side and going clockwise. Don't ask why, we don't know.



Day 4, we didn't actually get to do this route as we had an emergency come up that meant we had to get back home. It's on the cards for this year at some point.



Day 5, simple answer, A9 is rubbish so we went this way as far as Perth then joined up with the motorway. You could also go back down via the A82. It a good drive in both directions.



Chop and change as you like, if you've got Autoroute or Tyre I can send you the files to load up and you can play about with them to find something that works for you.

Edited by jock mcsporran on Saturday 21st April 10:14

[ukkid35]

Thank you!

A9 is now crossed off, A939/A93 it is instead.

Unfortunately you suggested Applecross and Bealach na Ba which I was seriously thinking about, but it seemed impractical, now your Day 3 route looks like it has to be copied.

[whirligig]

Definitely don't bother with the A9 unless you have to.

I would head up to Fort William, then on to Dornie, Lochcarron, Torridon (with a turn into Applecross if you have time en route). I'd aim to overnight in maybe Torridon/Kinlochewe or even Gairloch if you're making good progress. Then up to Ullapool (Lochinver if you have time) then maybe back to Inverness via Garve then back down to FortWilliam via Loch Ness side. That way you'll get the scenery and the best of the driving roads.

[Who me ?]

IF you're not planning on going Applecross way, then look at getting to Inverness via Fort Augustus ,and then the east side of Loch Ness. Take the B862 at Fort Augustus ,and then any other combination of the B roads to Inverness. All great drives, but be prepared for narrow ( at times single track) roads .

[stevoknevo]

ukkid35 said:

I'm planning a short driving holiday in for early June, suggestions for roads or places not to be missed are very welcome. Plan so far is:

A83 to B&B at Cairndow
A83 back to A82
A82 to Fort William

For this section, instead of heading back along the A83 to pick the A82 up, I'd continue on the A83 to Inverary from Cairndow then pick up the A819 to Dalmally. Turn right onto the A85 until you're back at the A82. Going back the way to get on the A82 at Tarbet isn't worth going back on yourself. The A82 in June at the Tarbet cut off round the top of Loch Lomond can be a right PITA with traffic. Also Inverary is very picturesque and worth a brief visit, the 10 miles of the A83 from Cairndow-Inverary is a great road, lots of bikers in the summer as it's only an hour from Glasgow.

Have a great trip

EDIT: I should have checked Jock's map

Edited by stevoknevo on Monday 23 April 05:29

[GetCarter]

Your original route manages to miss most of the best roads in Scotland. Do another day to get to the good roads. (You're doing all the hard work getting here, then missing all the fun).

http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm

e Mail me if you'd like any more info

[ChrisBMW]

Heading up this direction at the start of June myself, I have already booked and paid for accommodation about 20 minutes north of Inverness. Any suggestions for the best routes that can be done in a day which will finish near Inverness.

I will have a maximum of 3 full days.

Day 1 cairnryn to loch lomond to Stirling

Day 2 Stirling to Inverness

Day 3 unplanned but probably around loch ness area

Day 4 unplanned

Day 5 unplanned

Day 6 Inverness to cairnryn

Cheers all.

[GetCarter]

ChrisBMW said:

Heading up this direction at the start of June myself, I have already booked and paid for accommodation about 20 minutes north of Inverness. Any suggestions for the best routes that can be done in a day which will finish near Inverness.

I will have a maximum of 3 full days.

Day 1 cairnryn to loch lomond to Stirling

Day 2 Stirling to Inverness

Day 3 unplanned but probably around loch ness area

Day 4 unplanned

Day 5 unplanned

Day 6 Inverness to cairnryn

Cheers all.

Head west.

[Aur]

ChrisBMW said:

Heading up this direction at the start of June myself, I have already booked and paid for accommodation about 20 minutes north of Inverness. Any suggestions for the best routes that can be done in a day which will finish near Inverness.

I will have a maximum of 3 full days.

Day 1 cairnryn to loch lomond to Stirling

Day 2 Stirling to Inverness

Day 3 unplanned but probably around loch ness area

Day 4 unplanned

Day 5 unplanned

Day 6 Inverness to cairnryn

Cheers all.

Head into the Cairngorms http://g.co/maps/5w429
Do all or part of it dependant of time.
Alternative route with east side of Loch Ness http://g.co/maps/vmg8r

[ukkid35]

Many thanks - I will definitely be heading south from Inverness via the A939.

[ChrisBMW]

Cheers all as well, will definetly head up the A939 myself on the way to Inverness from Stirling.

[Red Devil]

Have recently returned from 900 miles on many of the roads mentioned, starting in Dumbarton.

I agree with the A83/A819/A85 route back to the A82. When going up the A82, after heading down Glencoe do the B863 loop via Kinlochleven. Superb twisties aka the 'Scotsburgring'.

Definitely the A939/A93 from Inverness to Perth not the boring and traffic choked A9. Dava, the Lecht and the Cairnwell are unmissable. However, unless you have a specific reason to go to Nairn don't bother with the A96. From the Raigmore roundabout take the B9006 to Culloden and Croy, then B9091 to Clephanton, right onto B9090 via Cawdor, then B9101 to the A939.

Garnshiel Bridge on the A939 is currently closed, so you have take the long way round via the A944/A97 then B9119 (optional) and A93 via Ballater to get to Braemar. The bridge is due to reopen on 31 May but may overrun so check on the Roads Scotland website nearer the time. If it the bridge is open again I would also suggest taking the B976 from Garnshiel to Crathie on the A93.

From Edinburgh as an alternative to the A68 we returned via Peebles, Innerleithen, Selkirk, Hawick, Kielder Water, and Hexham, From Corbridge the A69 is d/c all the way to the A1. We were heading further south so continued over the fells from Hawick to Blanchland and Stanhope then the A689 to the A68 south of Tow Law.

Edited by Red Devil on Sunday 29th April 11:38

[ukkid35]

A huge thank you to everyone for your advice. We had a brilliant time on the trip despite a couple of car issues. The weather was mostly good, although somewhat overcast. The midges were a pain, but the Smidge helped. Here are a couple of short videos for anyone who's interested, and I'll post a few snaps in due course.

Highlands 928 Tour - Loch Kishorn to Applecross - Bealach na Ba

Highlands 928 Tour - Argyll Forest Park - Old Military Road (A83)

Edited by ukkid35 on Thursday 21st June 17:47

[ukkid35]

Here's one more video, much brighter and sunnier this time

Highlands 928 Tour - Old Military Road - Shielbridge to Glenelg for Isle of Skye Ferry

Hope you like it, and don't mind our inane conversation!