Mercedes Road trip: The Clyde Estuary

[st4]

The weather keeps going from strength to strength and I am not in work until tomorrow. All good photographers no, its best to take your landscapes in the morning and evening. And this is what I tend to do.

I got the skips new discs and pads fitted yesterday at Merparts and whilst the garage stopped for lunch (never trust a place that doesn't take eating seriously for they are not the sort of people to do business with) I had the chance to take an amble around Port Glasgow.

Not the most salubrious of places in Scotland, but its blessed with marvellous views and scopping out good photogenic spots is something I have been doing for years, by car and on foot as I amble about.

So, I found the perfect spot, but had no Nikon SLR camera. Sadly its a spot that depends on the river being still, or the effect is lost. So, why not go back with Nikon. I had planned on doing this, then taking the Ferry over to Arran and doing a mamouth tour the next day.

But, and there is a but, sunrise is very early, and to get the best light you really need to get on the road around 4am, maybe 3am if factoring Ferries into the equation.

So I planned an early to bed and it all went pearshaped.

Why, it was a nice evening, I knew a good sunset was on the horizon and I just "wanted" to go for a drive. With a car that returns over 40mpg without even trying and 45mpg if you are not lead footed, its not like I cannot afford to.

So I did.

I drove round to Cove and parked up


_DSC1240 by [e-mail], on Flickr

Even at 8pm it was proper hot, I enjoy driving with the window down and smelling the lovely air (we have that up here) and just cruising along.

As the light started to fail, from a photography point of view things got good...


_DSC1270 by [e-mail], on Flickr

I even managed to loose of a sunset


_DSC1275 by [e-mail], on Flickr

And I waited on for the colours to develop as the sun dropped....


_DSC1297 by [e-mail], on Flickr

Boom. Job done.

Then for the drive back. The road that takes you from Coulport to Cove should be good fun, and it is but the surface is so badly scarred you cannot push on at all, for the ride is a) jarring b) you'll get bounced off.

Not so can be said for the 17% climb up Peten Hill. This is a great cheeky little section of tarmac and freshly laid. Last time I went up this was in the E320cdi and this car has the legs to hit within 3mph of the speed I got up there in the E class and its so smooth so the hard suspension feels perfect, minimal roll, smooth ride and the benefits of the sport set up shine clearer here than pretty much anywhere else I have driven the car.

Clearly, MB engineers need to a) spend more time over in the UK catering for our needs and understanding that the vast chunk of our roads aren't like the continents b) lobby the government to fix up our roads.

So, with all that said and done, what about this landmark I found in Port Glasgow. Well, I went back, warm as hell this AM, window down, a/c on, Iphone plugged into the aux port (great feature this) and I took a gentle 45mpg run down the M8 to Port Glasgow.


_DSC1304 by [e-mail], on Flickr

And because I prefer monochrome things, this ones for you corned and NW Merc...


_DSC1305 (1) by [e-mail], on Flickr

Did I ever get to Arran. Did I ****. Couldn't afford the Ferry....

[r129sl]

Crumbs, you don't half get about!

[Aquanaut]

Nice photos, as usual!

[st4]

Planning a road trip tomorrow, in Work from 9am to 2pm, so I can do a sunrise tour around Glencoe, back to Glasgow and the Dumfries castles tour I've planned for a while.