Just done a ~1000mile return trip on the BMW R1150R to Isle of Skye over four nights. First time in ten years. SWMBO said I was mad.
Fantastic scenery despite the rain in the Highlands.
What journey would other Backroomers do for similarly selfish reasons?
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Now I have a Sat Nav, I intend to do Lands End to John O' Groats
Not using any motorways at all.
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You can do that with a compass...
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You can do that with a compass...
It'll be more comfortable to use the car seat though.
::reaches for coat::
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Now I have a Sat Nav, I intend to do Lands End to John O' Groats Not using any motorways at all.
Can't understand the facsination with Satnav, it can be useful to find a back street in Solihull etc though why use it for Lands End to John O'Groats.
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GWS , what route did you take? I recently went over to Skye from my base at Spean Bridge. Took the old Glenelg ferry over then went as far as Portree before returning via the Skye Bridge.
Again, I had the rain and mist but still a great day out and a great journey.
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Skye is fantasic along with Mull etc.
In fact anywhere in Scotland is magic.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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So why did so many of the locals emigrate? There's a very Scottish flavour to Otago and Southland in New Zealand, and the scenery is similar to Scotland. Great empty roads (motoring link) and friendly people.
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"So why did so many of the locals emigrate?"
To get away from other Scots?
(I know the feeling.)
Still, in respect of real motoring, there are still one or two unpolluted straights in Scotland, which shall remain under security wrap here.
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Scotland's scenery has been unchanged for the last 50 years. And the majority of the inhabitants views are the same.
I emigrated 33 years ago.
Going back is like being in a time warp.
Decay, population decline and terrible football.
madf
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madf, thats a pretty widespread scathing comment. However, I won't rise to the bait.
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If I had the time, I would quite happily go to Scotland every month for a weekend break. Fantastic roads, friendly people, wonderful scenery. What more do you want?
(I did rise to the bait!)
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Adam
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"What more do you want?"
Hot chicks
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I knew a girl from Scotland once....
::looks out of the window dreamily
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Adam
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"I knew a girl from Scotland once..."
You have to be careful up there. Might have just been a bloke in a kilt.
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"I knew a girl from Scotland once..." You have to be careful up there. Might have just been a bloke in a kilt.
At least if you find a quarter pounder up there you will know he is a McDonald!
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He is right about the footie tho BobbyG
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RF, don't get me started on the footie!!!!!!! The Top Two would hold their own in the Premiership just now, and would be up there challenging if they had the TV money you lot get!!
In fact, take Man U, Chelsea and arsenal out the equation and I think you would have Scottish winners in the Premiership.
[runs for cover]
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Surely there's a football forum where this can be debated?
And even if there isn't, this thread is thin enough on motoring already so let's not do it here please...
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So why did so many of the locals emigrate? There's a very Scottish flavour to Otago and Southland in New Zealand, and the scenery is similar to Scotland. Great empty roads (motoring link) and friendly people.
Lot of them were forced to go. Landlord got a better return on sheep.
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A68 to Edinburgh, great road apart from cameras and then to Dundee for the night.
Coupar Angus, Dunkeld, Dalwhinnie, Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge, Invergarry (lunch), Cluanie Inn and free Skye Bridge. Wet all the way from Dalwhinnie but enjoyable all the same.Stayed at B&B in Broadford and had a mosey around Portree between showers.
Same route in reverse as it was too wet to enjoy the ferry.Torrents pouring off the mountains.
New waterproof gloves were not!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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GWS, that sounds good. I was actually staying just along the road from Roy Bridge in farm cottages. If anyone else is looking for a base to tour North of Scotland, you would be hard pushed to better this
www.tullochfarm.co.uk/
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My wife and I took a long-weekend driving holiday in Scotland when she was 6-months pregnant so it must have been 3 years ago this bank holiday weekend. I was still in London at the time so we flew up to Glasgow and rented a car, never even thinking that we might have to reserve a B&B. I have this enduring sound in my head of her repeating "vacancies nie, vacancies nie, vacancies nie" as we drove past thousands of fully-booked B&Bs. The first few nights we got lucky but on the last night, somewhere in the South of Skye it got to about 10pm and in desperation we knocked on a small farm door. They saw she was pregnant and let us sleep in the barn (they?d converted part of it into a little den when their own kids were younger).
There is no biblical end to this tale though, no guiding star or babies in mangers, just me (a wise man perhaps) and my beautiful wife (certainly no virgin) but it was one of the most romantic nights we?ve ever spent together.
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So who was the father then wavey? ;)
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Whilst I was up North at beginning of August, every second car seemed to be an 05 plate new shape Focus. Obviously the hire companies have taken a massive order of these. There were also loads of camper vans , some of them more luxurious than my house!
As I said before, took the quaint Glenelg ferry which is reached by a cracking single track road with passing places, both from the mainland and island side. I had the misfortune of following one of these 05 Focus obviously driven by a foreigner and it was a very amusing experience.
I thought being single track, they would not need to worry about which side of the road they were on! Wrong! Of course, these roads are twisty and you can't see round the next bend so don't think they got out of second gear the whole way. However, the passing places is where the real amusement came. The foreigner obviously thought that you had to pull into the passing place to let cars pass, no matter what side of the road it was on! So he would regularly see an oncoming car and then swerve in front of it to get into the passing place on the RHS!
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That might explain the puzzling notices telling foreigners to drive on the left. Do they come up to Scotland by flying saucer then hire a car locally?
Never seen the notices in Glasgow or Edinburgh!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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GWS
As I understand it, the very specific reason that these notices are located precisely where they are is to deter "foreigners", particularly in the event of an emergency when instinct takes over, from swerving to the side of the road on which they are most used to driving, namely to the right in the case of real "foreigners". For those with a natural tendency to swerve to the right, particularly if they are driving a left hand drive car, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that when driving on a single track road,they may well be lulled into a false sense of security and even more likely to swerve to the right in an emergency. Hence the notices ......
The situation is therefore rather more serious than an earlier post implied and I am sure that there are several well-documented cases to confirm that this tendency - both in Scotland and in countries where we are the "foreigners". I have certainly seen the aftermath of two such accidents in the Highlands - one fatal.
On a lighter note GWS, and as another exiled Scot, I have to admire your choice of nickname in view of how it translates into English .....!
Jack (or should it be Jock?)
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