Britbike forum Forums General discussion The Rod and Tappet World Tour of Scotland

As Friday's Hell Hole duties ended, I rolled the Commuter into the fettling shed, just as the Prospect showed up on the Himalayan, fully freighted and ready for our tour. Once we were all settled and had beer, I sent a text off to young James. A young Ariel owning lad that had emigrated to Dumfries from Kent, he's offer of staying with him was so tempting that we changed our plans a tad. So up nice and early next morning to get on our way North, just a cuppa to start with as there will be breakfast places on the Great North Road, I'm sure....

After a good few hours all the old haunts seemed to be closed, and the ONE place I did know was still up and running was also closed, this time down to the plague, so in desperation we dived into this fake American Diner....



The Sun was high in the sky with just Blue wrapped around it, looked to be a perfick day and it was warm out too 86f or 30c in the new money. So into the Diner we stepped, had a fine breakfast, and got back to the bikes for our ride. The touring 'plan' was to stop every 100 miles for fuel and a bum break, I'd noticed that the Interceptor was only using pennies worth more than the Himalayan. I was well surprised with that and I think that we were both up to around 80mpg at our 65mph speed, which I think is marvellous....

And so after a ride of 10hrs straight, we arrived at the lovely home of young James, and he was ready with the BBQ sat us down and filled us with Beer, the perfick host, didn't even mind him trying to Kipper me....




Scotland is a beautiful country, famous for many things, RAIN being the No1 thing. And true to form down it came, so we retreated to the fettling shed....



James was sorting out his ride, a lovely 49 VG Ariel that his Grandfather passed onto him, seems the old lad rode this very bike from Kent up to Scotland back in the day, and James was thinking he'll replicate a photo at a Loch Grandad went to all them years ago...




Next morning we hit them Scottish lanes, and started off our tour with a visit to a local beauty spot....







As a 'Local' James knew some fantastic roads, hardly saw any traffic but loads of sites like this....




Scotland has a road that they promote as the Scottish route 66, it's called the North Coast 500, 500 miles in a big circle, but it's naturally full of tourists and them that can't use a map. We'd made up our own route, the NC800 and James was doing us proud finding the wiggly tiny roads hugging the coast line, only touching the NC500 roads for a heat beat at a time, and only when really needed...

The weather was spot on for touring, although the temp had dropped to 55f or 13c in the new money, but that Scotch mist wasn't falling YET. The day was young and the bikes were great, ALL of them, all we were seeing other than great views were golf courses. Loads of people walking about with a golf bat in their paw, or a trolley full of bats as they walked about on the golf pitch. Then we came to a massive hotel sort of building in a weird style, I found out why it was weird it is owned by an Orange man....





We carried on to more normal views....





Then came to a strange place, it's a hill but if you take your brakes off the bike will slowly roll UP the hill....




Time to get a wiggle on....



This here tour had no plan, we were making it up as we went along, and at a tea stop we thought it a good idea if we went over to the Ilse of Arran, just a short ferry ride across. And as we can't travel abroad this year, it'll make our trip feel like we were in a strange land. Although I DID point out that Scotland IS strange and foreign, it has it's only money, it's own language, and the men wear skirts....

We got to the ferry port only to be told by the lady, you need to Pre-Book the ferry, BUT as there's only three bikes we can squeeze you on, about an hour later this was the view....

Then off the ferry on Arran and along a bit till we saw the first campsite sign, got in there and up with the Canvas Hovel for our first night....



Where we got chatting with the very friendly natives who told us a short cut to the pub, so no more riding for us then, down to get the beer....



Arran is a beautiful place with views of the other Scottish islands, people were nice and the food fantastic...





While at the pub we met a couple who were on our campsite in their campervan, the woman was moaning at the man...? Turns out they were newly retired, and were supposed to be touring around for about 6 weeks, but he bought a brand new Triumph and they had to cut their tour down a few weeks, so he could go and collect the new bike. Course we all stuck up for HIM didn't we.....

More next time.....

Outstanding

Thanks Shaun. I wish I could have joined you

You are not supposed to mention Dumfries and Galloway, its best kept a secret only the locals know about

If I meet any cars on my next ride I know who to blame.

you'uns got it made

Next morning we awoke to a few midges, rolled the tents up and thought we'd explore the island before getting on another ferry to head further North, bikes loaded and off we set, Arran is a beautiful place and I would've liked more time, but what ya gonna do...?

After a short while we stopped at a little cafe that did breakfast, just food in a plastic box really, due to the plague we couldn't eat inside...




Bloody cold today as well, but who cares....










After a while we arrived at the ferry, loaded straight on and paid the man after the back end of the boat closed up....







Off the ferry and straight into the wiggly lanes again, fantastic stuff, couldn't take any *Action* shots too bloody cold in the height of the Scottish Summer. And as the cold started to penetrate coffee time was called for, so we pulled into this place...



And the road that we took to get there....



We were on our way to Glen Coe and a campsite somewhere there, which we found, placed the tent near the river and had a nice relax....










The weather took a turn for the worse over night, it rained and rained, till the morning. Rolling the tent up was exciting as the midges came to join us and feast on me Ale soaked body, but only to be expected so carry on eh...?

Once the bikes were loaded we were off again, searching down the road to the Applecross pass....











Once we found this pass we headed over it, and WOW what a road...!

Wonderful stuff despite the weather, I think we even had some snow at the top, certainly cold enough up there. But once down it started to warm up a tad, and we carried on to a beautiful little place called Torridon, we came upon a nice Cafe and had some lunch, asking if they knew of a campsite...? Turns out there was a disused site a few hundred yards away, just had to climb over the locked gate, throw up the canvas hovel and that was that. The public toilets we a stone throw away, and they had HOT water in there, along with paper...! My flabber has never been so Gasted, no vandal had visited and it was nice and clean in there too, all for FREE. Best of all the youth Hostel up the road had Ale, and the Sun was getting nice and warm to make our evening perfick...

















During our evening the midge population came out for a feast, but we were prepared with our net head coverings and long sleeve tee shirts on, they were only a slight inconvenience...

Next morning we were off, after a hearty full Scottish in the cafe, delicious...






Right smack in the middle of this photo is a deer stag, look good and hard cos it's there....





Then we came to a bloody traffic jam...! Can you believe it...? The council were repairing the roads, which is wonderful as the roads were great not full of pot holes like here in Kent. And the lad driving that White car came out for a chat, the old boy knew about the Ariel and once we got talking, it turned out he used to work a the BSA factory in the stores department, he moved up to Scotland when he retired and was still loving it....

Then the road work people gave us the nod, and off we set once more...

It was here that I had to get me tools out, the Interceptor needed repair....! So out with me metric adjustable, and two minutes later the left hand mirror stalk was nice and tight all set for more of the same....




More later.....

OK Diner = free coffee refills, four being my record, repeated on several occasions, albeit generally feeling a bit unwell afterwards.

@ Shaun, If you're travelling in small numbers on the A14 and the A1 then some nearby garden centres offer food and facilities.

Looks like a lot of fun; I was out riding and rallying on the Guzzi all weekend, very pleasant with campfires, lots of good company, and lovely mountain roads, but you're off into another world that few get to see and experience.

Thanks for the pics and travelogue!!

Lannis

great ride report!

Doesn’t look terrible, Shaun- nice to have a local who knows the tiny lanes to guide you tho, eh?

Thanks fer postin, brother man. Look forward to more more more- hard to get enough of Scotland.

[quote=Kent Shaun] so in desperation we dived into this fake American Diner....



The Sun was high in the sky with just Blue wrapped around it, looked to be a perfick day and it was warm out too 86f or 30c in the new money. So into the Diner we stepped, had a fine breakfast, and got back to the bikes for our ride.
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That place is on the A1 (Great North Road), north of Newark Nottinghamshire, at a little old village called Cromwell.

As the occasional change from the normal Derbyshire/Cheshire/ Yorkshire rides we would treat ourselves to a gentle Nottinghamshire amble for to have a greasy plateful, not bad actually, but not for 18 months now thanks to that covid shyte.

Happy Haggis Hunting Shaun
Thanks for the words & pics

Good to see you out with your son... Looks like a fantastic time....

Had a big ride today, all of it on fantastic wiggly coastal roads, with a few mountains thrown in. Eye popping scenery to make ya brain flood with colour, completely brilliant stuff. In fact I have moved all my previous rides down a notch, and made Scotland the No1 best riding I've EVER done....

Our final destination seemed to get further away, but it made not one difference, before we left the keyboard riders where saying we'd never get anywhere, what with the plague, and no one being off on a jet somewhere, but here we were in the heart of it all. And when we wanted to camp, we camped, which is what we were about to do today, but first some look see stuff to do first....





















Pulled into a lovely campsite late afternoon, and being tighter than a Crab's chuff at 50,000 fathoms, I shared a tent with the Prospect leaving my Teepee rolled up on the bike, it made sense leaving tent money for Ale....














Strange fact time, as we were going further North the daylight stayed longer, at 23.00 you can read a newspaper in the middle of a field with no extra lights needed. So Ale helped us sleep.....

Next morning we were on a mission, the final push to get to the top of the UK. But first we needed some breakfast, as the campsite didn't have any due to the Plague. So ANYTHING was needed, and we found a lovely little place that had coffee and Pain Au chocolate as them French lot call these things....




While munching away on me pastry, I took a peak at the folding satnav, and realised we weren't too far from Tongue, a place I'd NEVER heard of until Tom bro dude went there with his Sister, and that was just plain wrong. I mean I LIVE on this island and can ride to the place, Tom had to make an effort. So off we went to have a look see....








I sent Tom bro dude a text with proof that I had made it, only for him to say, that's the right place but NOT exactly where they were....

BUT, due to us being where we were, we found a fantastic little shop that done some wonderful sausages in a bread roll, and met a couple from Kent who had a holiday home in Tongue, seems their best and fastest route takes them 13hrs to get there. And as the place is out in the Boonies, they make sure they have everything they need, cos to get anything is a 6hr drive to civilisation....

After filling our bellies, and saying our goodbyes, this was it. We were going to make our goal, the furthest place North in the UK, Dunnet Head....






The place was full of wildlife, and how fantastic was it to see Puffins flying about, only ever seen them on a TV screen, and here they were flying over me head and landing on the cliffs in front of me. Course being an Olde GORMLESS bugger I didn't take a single photo of them, but what ya gonna do...?

Get a wiggle on that's what, to the next Northern land mark, the one that everyone heads for....

Great report Shaun, Failte Gu Alba, I am glad you came prepared with midge nets, these little B£$!*&% can really mess up yer day.

Probably stayed here a bit longer than we should've, but I paid silly money for a tiny sticker, did all the tourist stuff and enjoyed the Sunshine, still wrapped up due to the cold, but had a lovely time up there....

And so it was time to head South along the East coast, everyone and his dog said the East coast isn't as spectacular as the West. And they are ALL without exception CORRECT, just beaches to look at and small towns, I'm so glad we went from West to East. We were looking for a campsite, and something to eat. Not necessarily in that order, mile after mile we came to signs saying Camping Closed, or Camping FULL, or the campsites only having limited space due to the plague. After about 4hrs of this we started to get a tad worried, so I got out the Crab Peeler and searched on that, found a place about 40 miles away. When we got there it was on the beach, with about 100 caravans all identical and not one human being to be seen, it was just too weird so we buggered off. Got to a village with a pub, and thought we'd get something to eat and have a think. But due to some soccer match being played that night, the pub was packed with people....

I had a brain wave, we're about 50 miles from Inverness which is the place the 1998 BSAOC international was held, I tell ya what I'll see if we can camp there that'll be a laugh. SO I called up the site at Bunchrew and they HAD space, so onto the bikes and South we continued, we went past the Glenmorangie distillery and right next door was this here Hotel....






Outside of which was a board with the legend, FOOD. So in we went and they did us proud, so proud in fact I said, sod camping let us stay here.....











Having a few Ales in the bar and trying to ignore the England V Scotland soccer match, I got talking to the owner of the place, found out that Her Majesty the Queen her Mum and Daughter Ann have stayed here...! BLIMEY this is going to be expensive thought I, still it's not proper money if I use me card....Is it...?

Next morning and after a full Scottish...




Nothing like a couple of lumps of Haggis with ya bacon & eggs, we'd been seeing road killed Haggis all the time out on the road, and it tasted just wonderful...


Outside I saw that young James had the Ariel in bits..? The petrol tap was leaking badly....






He'd been up early and over to the local shop to try anything to stop it, and nothing was working. I suggested getting some chewing gum, and after a bit of chewing he pushed the gum into the petrol tap, and after about 20mins the leak stopped and it looked like a permanent repair....


More next time....

Sod it, this photo should've been under the Dunnet Head photo....

So .... WAS the hotel and full Scottish with haggis really expensive .... ? I know it's not real money when you just shove a card at them, but on the other hand it's past the time when you can buy the Outer Hebrides for fourteen shillings and sixpence ....

Lannis

Sutherland has some of the best beaches in the world, but don't tell everybody.

Good breakfast!

Where were the local sheep? Eaten by the midges?

This simple portion of a statement sums up my experience in Scotland really well. Maybe its the air up there but you can see a thing (mountain, water, rock, anything, name it) and it appears to be "just over there"... walking for hours on end and after however much time and across whatever distance, that "thing" is STILL "over there". And yet... it doesn't suck.

It's like everything is an illusion and exists as the end of a rainbow exists: you can see it but you'll never reach it or touch it.

Scotland seemed a land of extremes.

Extreme light,



wind,



distance,



scale.



Where even the tiniest things are hugely impactful and where nothing is understated





We were on the North Coast of Scotland in November 2011 for something like 10 days and the weather was surprisingly warm AND dry (relatively speaking of course). Daytime temps around 50 (ish +/-) and close to no actual rain- except for my first day there, running around Glasgow with Graham Ham who drove 8 hours with his wife to collect me at the airport- and then hang out just for the day!!

My sister and her son and I stayed at a small house across the water from Tongue proper- out on the Kyle Of Tongue. Each village no matter ho tiny had a store where one may buy much of what one will need for a week's stay. Fresh bread arrives on day X. Another day, the fishmongers out of John O' Groats or Thurso travel around bringing fresh-caught fish to the stores and you may put in an order then go pick it up on the appointed day. Sausage and bacon sammiches are also available and some villages have hotels or pubs. I can only imagine that in full tourist season it's kind of crazy up there, Shaun but you guys no doubt did the right thing in hustling up there immediately after everything opened back up.


EDIT: hey so not to hijack Shauns thread (very much) but anyone who wants to may view my SLIDESHOW OF SCOTLAND PIX by clicking here.

Eventually the Ariel was all back together, and a kick got it up and running, me and the Prospect pushed buttons and we were all off out on the road again, riding alongside Loch Ness.....










Young James suggested that we hook up with the Scottish Ariel lot, seems they were having a weekend Rally not too far away, so off we went to their campsite. Just a stone's throw from Loch Leven, got to their campground to find it was ONLY for Caravans and motorhomes....

The lady running the place said it was closed to tents due to the plague, no showers or toilet block for the tent crowd. We COULD camp there if someone would let us use their facilities in their caravan, but none of us wanted that. So we headed off about a mile away, and found a fantastic place overlooking the Loch, to 'Wild Camp'....

Once the tents were up we went to find the end of the Ariel lot's run, a place that was used in one of the Harry Potter films....











Then I suggested we ride a bit further up the road to visit the place where the Commando's had their memorial....








Then we went to the pub where the Ariel lot were having a meal, and joined in the fun, although they were a small group, they made us feel most welcome. But all that riding was taking it's toll, so back to the tents we did go....





Whilst there the rescue helicopter came to the next door mountain, and hung about for a bit, didn't see anyone being rescued but then who knows what they were doing....




The Prospect had an axe with him so we cut down a dead tree, and made a fire. Wonderful it was too, sat out in the warm setting Sunshine over looking the Loch. We were all happy and content, especially when the beer came out....


BUT, and that's a warning type but with hob nail boots on.......


Next morning I awoke to the sound of rain, bloody typical, I hate rolling me tent up when it's wet. Opened up the tent flap to be greeted by what felt like, a very light net curtain going all over me...

Bloody Midges BILLIONS of the vicious BASTARDS, never seen anything like it, my arms had a Brown moving sleeve of them, the Citronella candle someone said would get rid of them, only lit their way to the melted wax, where they swam in the warm liquid. My attempt at a full English was covered in them, even the tea had a head like beer, only Brown tiny bodies of Midges...

Nothing for it but to retreat....

Back at James' house we all had a good shower, I found both my fleece pockets were full of what I thought were tissues, it was dead midge bodies...!

Our time in Scotland although FANTASTIC, was finally at an end, I thought about a few days touring Yorkshire, but the rain the next day put paid to that, and the forecast was only getting worse. So after over 2000 miles both Enfield's were fault free, the Ariel after 1300 miles only had that leaking petrol tap, and a missing gearbox oil cap, which James whittled a bit of tree to plug the hole....


THE END

Hi Shaun
Midges? We been there, done that, they get everywhere. How's your bum?

BeezaMarie

"Bloody Midges BILLIONS of the vicious BASTARDS, never seen anything like it, my arms had a Brown moving sleeve of them, the Citronella candle someone said would get rid of them, only lit their way to the melted wax, where they swam in the warm liquid. My attempt at a full English was covered in them, even the tea had a head like beer, only Brown tiny bodies of Midges..."

Welcome to my world.
DEET works, but is horrible to use, smoke works, fans work. Two products i reccomend, Jungle Formulae , Smidge ( Both contain DEET). if you can get it Avon Skin So Soft ( original recipe) is nearly as good and less toxic.Sadly due to a stupid court case the new recipe Skin So Soft is not effective although the military can still get the original stuff.
Midge season runs from mid May to the first frosts, the West coast is particularly bad, the East coast is pretty much Midge free.
be prepared, they can really mess up your day and are the reason why the West coast is not densely populated.