Day 5 - heading south

Staying in a B&B tonight in Langholm down in the borders. Nige has been before and its run by a guy with a bike who lets you stick your own bike in his garage - Border House.

But we've got to get there first so its through Glencoe and down to Tyndrum, stop for brekkie at the Green Welly then down past Loch Lomond and back over the Erskine Bridge. We trace our steps from the way up, but this time cut across east just after Sanquhar to go over the top through Wanlockhead. We pick up the 'old' road that runs parallel to the A74(M) and get to Moffat for tea time. Get talking to a couple of Irish lads as we park up who recommend the Balmoral Hotel - they weren't wrong and its some decent snap to see us through.

Minor roads to Lockerbie and across to Langholm. After awash & brush up its out for a pint or two and some more eats for Nige - Al is cheap to run and only requires feeding once a day or so.

Across the road from the B&B is the Buck Hotel - football on the tv, its a local boozer but just us in tonight so we only have the one pint and then off to find some more life, but we find the Douglas Hotel instead- which is ok and has food on. Couple more pints, watch more footy then back to the B&B and kip.

Up the next morning and A's gone by 09:00, Nige taking it more leisurely as he only has to get to Heysham.
Al plans to avoid the motorway as much as possible and follows the A7 to the M6 and soon get off at J42 to follow the old A6 all the way down through Penrith, but back onto the M6 at Shap, quick fuel stop at Tebay services and off at J36 to get home in Lincoln via Skipton, Halifax,M62, A1. Not and enjoyable route, but there you go.

So, another 1500 mile or so trip. A lot of wet weather, and the highlight being the stay in the lighthouse. We averaged about £20 each per night overall for rooms - 3 out of the five providing breakfast as part of the deal, with the B&B in Langholm being the most expensive at £30 each!!!(still not a bad price to be honest)

Plans afoot for next years trips - annual trip to Scotland, maybe one to Spain and maybe one to Norway later on, plus the Round Britain Rally again. Just got to wait the 12 weeks or so until the crappy weather finishes.

Day 4 - the little ferry, Neptunes staircase, and a ferry to the pub

Self catering for breakfast - so its a coffee, oatmeal bars and a mars bar, with the option of packet soup! We're on the road for nine-ish and follow the coast north and around. Its only then that I think that the road looks familiar and if theres a folk museum around the corner then I must have been here before when I came up in 1986 on the old Norton. Sure enough, thatched cottages appear on the left!!
Heading south, and time for a breakfast stop at a cafe in Broadford. At the petrol station we chat to a French guy who's on a scooter - lambretta or some such. Its wet, he's wearing a sort of anorak,open face helmet, waterproof leggings, suede ankle boots and has knapsacks hanging off the scooter all dripping wet, but he's grinning ear to ear as he tells us it's taken him 5 days to ride up from Dover!!
We decide to get off Skye by way of the little Kylerhea/Glenelg ferry as the road to it and after it is very scenic. The ferry itself is an experience on its own and deserves support.
From Glenelg to Glen Shiel, past the Cluanie Inn and along to Invergarry before heading towards Fort William. However, we turn off at the Commando Memorial to pick up the route of the Caledonian Canal and follow that to Banavie to have a look at the series of 8 locks known as Neptunes Staircase, apparently the longest series of locks in the UK and finished in the 1850s.

Getting near to lunchtime and so we decide to head along the 'road to the isles' towards Mallaig and pop into the Glenuig Inn for a bite to eat and to check out the newly finished bunkhouse and refurbishment that had been going on last time we stayed. Must say that its been done to a very high standard and a few bob has been spent. The owner recognised us and let us have a look at the accomodation - I think he thought we were going to stay, but we were just passing through heading for Corran tonight.

We've stayed before at the bunkhouse at Corran Ferry about 3 years ago - its excellent with all rooms ensuite with TV etc and only £16 each. Last time we were there, the pub next door was crap so this time we go back across on the ferry to the Ardgour Inn for a meal and a drink. The ferry is free for foot passengers but the last one back is at 21:30ish, so we come back over and give the Corran Ferry Hotel another go. The bar is a lean to tin shed built onto the back of the hotel, but its a nice liitle boozer. According to the barman (who we couldn't shut up) theres been a change of owner, but apparently the last one pissed off the locals big style and some are still not coming in. The beers cheaper and the foods cheaper than across the water at the Ardgour so with hindsight we should have given it a go first.

Day 3 - Around the coast to Skye

A leisurely breakfast and a steady start to the morning - I suspect more than expected amounts of emergency wine found its way outside of the box and inside of Nige. We aim to be at Applecross for lunchtime and are following the road around the coast to get there rather than going over the Bealch na Ba - we'll do that from west to east for a change. Weathers not the best as its overcast and drizzling, which is the worst kind when on a bike as your visor doesn't clear very well and you end up riding with it up. The best kind of rain to ride in (if there is a best!) is proper rain drops which seem to hit and break up, the wind flow keeping your vision reasonably good. All my other wet gear is keeping me dry, even the gloves which is just as well as I haven't brought the lobster claws (rainoff overgloves that steve finds so funny - "they're not right"). Nige is getting pissed off with the drizzle as its getting into the inside of his visor and helmet - and he doesn't like a wet helmet.......apparently. Applecross appears as the weather clears and dries out and its a stop for fish & chips in the Applecross Inn. It's a day out for the Jaguar Owners club as well today as there's more than a dozen or so parked up and more keep coming & going. Couple of £100K in the car park I reckon if you add it all up.

Up and over the pass and its not worth stopping at the top as you can't see 100yds because of the mist. I've been up this pass probably 7 or 8 times and only twice could I see anything from the top, and one of those times it was so windy you could hardly stand up.

The mist cleared as soon as we started going down the hairpins and you could see clear down the pass to Loch Kishorn - the father-in-law worked on building oil rigs in the early eighties at Kishorn and used to regale us with tales of the 'wacky races' down to Fort William in his 3ltr Granada when they went home on leave on a Friday - did a full days work then home to Newark in one, then did the same in reverse on Sunday evening.

Final destination today is Flodigarry up on the north Skye. Nice steady run to Portree even allowing for crazy white van man tailgating us at 80, passing us a 90+ and then getting himself stuck behind traffic, which we pass no bother and which then seems to send him even more crazy as his passing antics in my mirror are anything to go by. he doesn't catch us up again but I'd already decided to slow and let him go if he did - the further away nutters like that are from me the better. North from Portree we're on the Trotternish peninsula and at Flodigarry, the hostel is right next to a posh hotel overlooking Staffin Bay.

The couple running the place are very welcoming and friendly - its a big place very reminiscent of Inchnadamph and only half a dozen of us in there tonight. Shower and changed, and across the field to the hotel next door for some food and a drink - very expensive and full of americans. We get talking to one group on the balcony outside, and as it happens you can see the light from Rubha Reidh lighthouse to the north east across about 25 miles of water. The yanks are grateful for the inside info on what to see and recommendations on where to go, but less so when they find out that what we've paid for five nights is less than what they've paid for one night in the hotel!!! Jaws dropped even further when we told them that we stayed in the lighthouse that was winking in the distance and it cost us less than the price for two steaks - photos on iphone to prove!!

Back to the hostel and we break out the emergency wine box again as we get chatting to a Kiwi couple on a round the world trip - Ally & Bryan, 3 months or so into a 7 month trip having done the US and South America and now doing Europe.

Day 2 - Hairy Coos, fishladder and a lighthouse

Cooked breakfast included this morning and Nige has planned the route and activities for today. First off its to the Falls of Dochart at Killin, then up and over Ben Lawers and Glen Lyon, ending up at Pitlochry to have a look at the fish ladder and hydro station followed by a spot of lunch in Pitlochry itself.

Going over Ben Lawers, it gets a bleak and you expect sheep wandering around who look harmless and generally dont cause a problem. However, when you notice cowpats on the road, you start to wonder what's around the next bend. We expected a few cows - but this is Scotland, and the cows in the highlands have long shaggy coats, big long horns and like the feel of tarmac under their hooves. Threading your way past them was interesting to say the least.

We make Pitlochry, check out the fishladder at the hydro station and then head into town for lunch. The plan is then to bang on up the A9 to Inverness and then head west along Strath Ban and along to Gairloch where we head North for 12 miles to Rubha Reidh where we're staying at the lighthouse for the night. The rain catches us up on the A9 and stays with us for 140 miles all the way to Gairloch, when it suddenly clears and its a lovely evening!!

Its the usual single track road towards the lighthouse for 8 miles or so, and then theres 4 miles of even smaller single track to the lighthouse itself which is interesting with some blind 1:3 ramps to launch yourself up hoping nothings coming the other way.

But its well worth the trip as the lighthouse is stunning and by far one of the most interesting places we've stayed. Its a working light, but the keepers accomodation block is now a hostel.

As it happens, there was a group on bikes from Elgin staying as well and they were good company. Mostly couples and they had arranged a murder mystery weekend to occupy themselves for the night complete with dressing up, wigs, props etc. There isn't anything else except the lighthouse for 12 miles so we brought our own beer and food. The place will cater if you ring ahead, but your own booze is essential and Nige had to break out his emergency wine box. Incredibly, a night in this place only cost £34 for both of us including a full cooked breakfast.

Scotland..........again!!

Up to the North West of Scotland again for a last fling before the really bad weather and lack of holidays from work curtails the bike riding.

We're a man down as Steve has just got a new bike and is not going to put the first 1500 miles on it in the wilds of the far North - his last new bike needed a new gearbox after 1000 miles.

So its the usual routine, meet Nige at Southwaite then up to Crianlarich for the first night. We decided to head north and avoid motorways were possible choosing to cut across to Dumfries and take the A712 and A713 to Ayr, then Irvine , Dalry, Paisley, over the Erskine Bridge and along Loch Lomond to Crianlarich where we are staying at the Ben More Lodge.

Now we've stayed in better, but not any worse than this bunkhouse. To be fair, the adjacent bar was o.k - locals & live music - but the bunkhouse was a shed....literally. The new owner was so embarrassed at its condition that he gave us some free beer. I said not to worry too much, he could put his lawn mower back in it when we had gone.