MX5 with boot rack, tent/trangia - Scotland 14 days in July
Discussion
So I'm in the process of buying a very nice low mileage 2022 Mazda MX5 and hope to get the car in early July. The missus and I have 17 days off from 10th July and I figure a 14 day road trip from Haslemere to Scotland would be epic in that car!
I've had a lifetime ambition to take my TVR Griffith up to Scotland to tour the Highlands, Islay (huge fan of the malts from there) and to drive the A82 and also the Skyfall road. I've never managed it and the Griffith is going after 29 years and being replaced by the MX5. We're contemplating camping at least some of the time to keep costs down, although I'm not sure how much of a problem the midges are up there in July - will that likely force us into a hotel every night? If it's just a case of avoiding dusk and dawn then we can probably cope. I'd love to do it in hotels all the way but frankly I find hotels and eating out has become really expensive in the UK of late and my thinking with the tent was it's cheap to stay and we can cook for ourselves saving a fortune. A quick look for example at hotel/B&B prices on Islay shows it's around £440-£550 for two nights on Islay for two people in July and when you add in say £150 for dinner and drinks that's £600-£700 just for two nights on Islay (the price of a cheap week in Spain!)
We plan to take a compact tent and trangia and sleeping bags and mats in a boot mounted rack leaving the boot for a couple of soft bags for clothes and some camera gear.
I would really appreciate some guidance on best roads and route planning. I was thinking that breaking the journey in the Lake District on the way up and Liverpool (my home turf) on the way down would make sense (in a hotel).
Advice and route guidance would be greatly appreciated from those who have done this kind of thing...
Saxon
I've had a lifetime ambition to take my TVR Griffith up to Scotland to tour the Highlands, Islay (huge fan of the malts from there) and to drive the A82 and also the Skyfall road. I've never managed it and the Griffith is going after 29 years and being replaced by the MX5. We're contemplating camping at least some of the time to keep costs down, although I'm not sure how much of a problem the midges are up there in July - will that likely force us into a hotel every night? If it's just a case of avoiding dusk and dawn then we can probably cope. I'd love to do it in hotels all the way but frankly I find hotels and eating out has become really expensive in the UK of late and my thinking with the tent was it's cheap to stay and we can cook for ourselves saving a fortune. A quick look for example at hotel/B&B prices on Islay shows it's around £440-£550 for two nights on Islay for two people in July and when you add in say £150 for dinner and drinks that's £600-£700 just for two nights on Islay (the price of a cheap week in Spain!)
We plan to take a compact tent and trangia and sleeping bags and mats in a boot mounted rack leaving the boot for a couple of soft bags for clothes and some camera gear.
I would really appreciate some guidance on best roads and route planning. I was thinking that breaking the journey in the Lake District on the way up and Liverpool (my home turf) on the way down would make sense (in a hotel).
Advice and route guidance would be greatly appreciated from those who have done this kind of thing...
Saxon
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