Day 6 Downhill from here

The day starts as usual with a good breakfast at the Braemar Hotel, plenty to eat and loads of coffee. Say goodbye to Ronnie and his wife and set off.  But from here I`m afraid it starts to go downhill. The road down Glenshee is being resurfaced, and about time too to be honest as it`s pretty dire in some places with potholes a plenty. A few miles down the road there is a long stretch of closed road and the traffic is diverted onto a compacted dirt track with traffic lights at each end. Nige stops at the red light and Steve pulls in behind, from about 4 cars behind Steve some prick in a white van ( Why are they always white ? ) decides that waiting behind a red light isn`t for him so he pulls out, drives towards the oncoming cars, over the new section of road and then up onto a grass hill and disappears over the top! Part of me wishes there will be a few hundred feet drop over the other side but I know there isn`t, pity.

We then head for Arbroath but to cut a very long story short we lose each other as our sat nav`s must have different preferences set. An hour later we meet up in a Tesco`s/Asda car park.

Anyway the more we head South the more the roads become busier, traffic lights, speed camera warnings and such. After 5 days of carefree riding in peace & quiet the built up areas and traffic congestion are a real pain.

We eventually arrive in Moffat and the Buccleuch Arms, the place has had several good reviews on the net and as it`s the most expensive accommodation so far on this trip were expecting some decent quality gaff.

The initial welcome from Clint at the rear of the hotel is promising, secure lockup for the bikes, jetwash, cleaning products etc, Steve is drawn to them and before I have chance to remove my helmet the jetwash is doing it`s stuff on the big 1200gs. Once booked in however the room we are shown to is much less impressive. Dirty and loose wallpaper, a hole in the plaster above the radiator, and the ceiling paper hanging off. The onsuite bathroom is dark and dingy with tacky fittings. The whole place looks as though it`s not seen a decorators brush since the seventies.

After all the quality and very good value for money spots we have stayed at this last week this is by far the worst, did I also say the most expensive? Because of the faulty towers appearance we decide to eat elsewhere so over the road to the Balmoral. Now Al & Nige have eaten here before so we know the food is very good, we both settle for chicken in ginger & chili sauce with chips, tasty. A few pints later we amble up the road to errr, the pub at the top of the road......4 yes 4 games to nil of pool later Nige leaves smiling whilst Hurricane Steve  says it`s all a fix!

Back to the Balmoral for a couple more then off to kip.

Breakfast next morning is no better, as despite there being plenty of free tables in the main dining hall we are ushered into a corner facing a dumb waiter lift and some stuff left by the cleaners. The cereal bowls are empty as are the fruit juice jugs. By now your getting the picture, this isn`t the best service wev`e received this last week or for a long time and we cant wait to leave. I`d come to Moffat again but not here..

Incidentally while in the Balmoral the night before the barman told us that all the rooms there have just had a fortune spent on them and all the fittings and beds are brand new. Maybe next time.

We say our goodbyes for now and both agree that we have had a brilliant week, enjoyed each others company, eaten well, met some nice people, seen some fantastic scenery and had a bloody great laugh into the bargain. We can`t wait to do it all again. Roll on the summer trip.

Nige has 1,464 miles door to door and Steve at least another 150 on top of that.

Happy Days.

Day 5 Inchy to Braemar

Another good nights sleep in our private room, not surprising given the amount of sleeping tonic we downed the night before! After breakfast we start a leisurely ride in good weather up towards Kylesku bridge

 on to Scourie and then Durness . The roads around here are great fun and on a good day like today the scenery is excellent.

We fill up at Durness which always reminds me of the film Local Hero? The one where Denis Lawson runs the pub/post office/accountants etc. Here the same people have the shop opposite the garage and when you pull up for juice someone comes out of the shop and yells "Help Yourself" You then go into the shop to pay, and the chap says "How much did you put in?"

From here we take the road out and on to Loch Eriboll and past a spot we call Ponty Cafe. This is a place where we once stopped for a cuppa and it`s run by a bloke from Pontefract, now exiled to the North of Scotland for probably taking far too long to heat a pan of beans, don't ask!

Following the road to Tongue we then head South on the A836 past Loch Loyal and Altnaharra and down to lairgs where we meet 2 blokes from Lincolnshire. After a bit of a chat about the state of the nation/fuel prices, BMW`s, the 1972 Munich Olympic games,dogs & caravans on boats! We set off again to Steve`s preferred eating destination the truckers cafe at Tore, the well known purveyors of all things fried. Steve asks for a filled baked potato but they haven`t got one, apparently they haven't realised that these too can be deep fried. Nige is starving and just asks for the all day breakfast. The ensuing oil laden super cholesterol heart stopper arrives and whilst it fills a gap Nige realises that he prefers a salad. Steve gets some scrambled egg & bacon and a good deal less Exxon.

From here it`s a short trip to our digs at Braemar hotel. Nige has booked 2 places in the bunkhouse but when we arrive there are a good number of bikes already in the car park. One group is the AJS owners club who are here on a John O Gaunts to Lands end run and the other is a party of about 9 bikers travelling around similar to ourselves. The upshot of this is that even though Nige booked in January there are now no places left in the bunkhouse, Soo.........." I`ll just have to give you a lodge for the same price" says Ronnie's missus, ( See previous blogs for a breakdown of characters ) Now a lodge costs £75.00 a night but we get one for £36.00! Not only is it a good deal cheaper but it is much quieter and more private. Steve is impressed, he can now throw all his belongings into his own room and run around naked...................Which he does.

After last nights frivolities we decide a quiet night in at the Braemar hotel is the order of the day,

 so after a very nice evening meal of fresh cooked salmon and spinach topped off with sticky toffee pudding it`s into the bar for a few jars of Guinness & cider, a chat with a nice couple of retired teachers from Middlesborough, and earwigging the AJ owners anorak club arguing about technicalities and dates set by the Manx Grand Prix club being all wrong! and then bed.

Day 4 Back the way we came

Over breakfast this morning we decided to travel back up North on the same road that we travelled down yesterday. We don`t normally do this, in fact we try to plan our routes so that we never ride the same road twice in one trip. Because some of the more scenic parts were spoilt by the weather yesterday and because we didn`t want to go anywhere near congested roads we made an exception. So after filling up in Kyle and resisting the temptation to nip over to Skye we set off back and boy are we glad we did. My little Casio compact camera never does the Scottish scenery justice, it just cant capture the scale and beauty of the place, but here you go.

We rode on the A890 and turned back towards Ullapool on the A832

I couldn't` resist tarting this shot of the bike up a bit. A bit more contrast and warmed the colours a bit.

Steve say`s this is cheating because it`s not a true image of the day but I don`t care, I think it`s a nice pic. Anyway his camera`s better than mine so I need a little help.

Back in Ullapool we went back to the Arch pub for a coffee and a sandwich but although the pub was full of customers there didn`t seem to be any staff, maybe it was self service day? Anyway after standing about for 5 minutes I got bored and we just sat outside on the tables by the quay and ate some food and drink we had with us.

Heading North again on the A835 / A837 we carry on and go straight past our destination point and tonight's digs at Inchnadamph Hostel as it`s only about 4.30pm, Al would be proud of us! No slacking today no sir. ( Not Yet ) We ride up to Loch a Chairn Bhain on a little single track B road which is good fun, until you meet myopic car drivers coming in the opposite direction.

We decide another 30 odd miles of this can be left for another day so we turn back again and head for our lodging.

We had booked 2 spaces in the bunk room but Nige asks if there are any rooms free and lo and behold we manage to secure yet another little gem. This time it`s a 4 bed private room at the opposite end of the hostel, nice and private and more importantly quiet. All thanks to a cancellation.

There`s been a bit of a role reversal on this trip, Nige has turned into Al and only has one bag with him and is super tidy. Steve has turned into Nige and promptly empties 2 bagfulls of clothing and gear everywhere! Not that it matters as we have plenty of room for the same price.

Next door is the Inchnadamph hotel where we eat drink and make merry. Tonight's entertainment is provided free of charge by the Glaswegian fishermen. I use the term fisherman loosely as they have brought several bottles of spirits and 14 cases of Tenants larger with them just to keep them topped up during the day until they reach the pub at night!!! An absolutely great bunch of blokes and much banter and piss taking is had as one of them had fallen in the burn on the way to the hotel, I believe they actually caught some fish as well!.....

Great food great company and another stonking day all round. The fishermen are back in September and with a bit of luck so will we.

Day 3 Off to Plockton

As the title suggests today were heading down the coast a way to the little town of Plockton. Wev`e been here before but not to stay overnight so this is a new one for us.

The day starts out pretty much as it ended last night, cold & overcast, but it dosen`t matter what the weather is doing really when your away on a trip as long as you have something to look forward to. We fill up in Ullapool and head off towards the A835. The first 20 miles or so are cold and it starts to snow again, not too heavy and weve` learnt that at this time of year it rarely settles on the roads ( Hopefully! )

 We stop at Gairloch post office for whats become a tradition every time we pass, and buy a lottery ticket. But as Al said in one of last years blogs it did us bugger all good again! Further down the road the clouds break and the sun creeps through and all of a sudden it`s a different world. We stop for some photo`s then double back a bit to return to a cafe weve` just passed,

Maggies this time. Steve settles for a mug of coffee and Nige goes for a salmon and cream cheese sandwich in wholemeal bread with a side salad, very nice it is too. Apparently Maggie ( If that's her real name? ) is originally from Manchester but has lived here for the last 16 years and built up the business, she says she could never go back and I can see why, one look out from the tea room window over the loch says it all.

suitably fed and watered we continue on and have a good ride into Plockton. We had planned to ride over Applecross but looking up at it from where we are there`s little point the whole top half of Bealach na Bà to give it its proper name is covered in dense fog so we give it a miss.

Tonight we are in a little B&B just by the Plockton Hotel right on the front. Picture postcard place this is, the sun is out and all is well.

The rooms a tad on the small side for two chaps on bikes and all their gear but it`s clean, warm and has a good bathroom so that`l do. Once spruced up we get a beer and take in the view on the front from the beer garden. Nige gets talking to an American woman who has come to Plockton with her family from California for an 8 day break! Seems that's all they could manage together but they were all enjoying the vacation so good luck to them. Another family staying in the actual hotel itself have 3 generations all on bikes, they have been coming to Plockton for the last 20 years and love the place. Steve seems to have fallen for the guys 1200RT, don`t do it, It`ll take more cleaning than the GS. I have what is probably one of the nicest meals Iv`e had for a while whilst away which is shin beef on a bed of mustard mash, lovely.

After a few beers we head off up the road to the other pub where it seems there are quite a few sailor types in, the funny thing is they sit in their bright yellow & orange waterproof gear all night all zipped up, maybe their all naked underneath or maybe it`s a fetish club?? Steve finds this funny and starts his Leslie Phillips "Ding Dong routine" I nearly choke on my Guinness. A bit later our landlady comes in looking for me and asks for my key to her house! Someone has locked the front door and she cant get in....

Back at the other pub we speak to a couple who we met earlier, Peter and his wife, he`s retiring next Friday so there on a bit of a jolly for the weekend, well Peter`s wife is, as by now and several G&T`s later she has trouble standing and goes by us at 45 degrees whilst we chew the cud with Peter and a guy on a 1000 Suzuki, he`s spent a fair bit of money on the bike to make it even lighter and more powerful.

As it`s quite late when we get back to the digs and Nige is the last man in, he drops the latch on the front door.... and locks the landlady out for the second time...............It wasn`t me the first time honest!

So another good day and another good night. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

Day 2 Go West

After a good nights sleep and a cracking self service breakfast we head round the bottom of Loch Lomond and then West to Helensburgh, up to Faslane and Loch Long on the A814 then onto the A83 to Inveraray.
It`s a bit blustery here and the pair of slackers ( Al`s affectionate name for us ) stop again for a coffee.

The temperatures are much cooler today, nowhere near yesterdays teashirt weather.











From here we head up to the Bridge of Orchy and onto the Glencoe road, not too much traffic and we can enjoy the sweeping corners without going too mad.

Nige is hungry again so we stop for the healthy option!

Once again as is going to be the norm for the rest of the trip we strike up a conversation with a local. The woman manning both the petrol station and the burger stall is called Alley Cat and although she tells us she dosen`t sctratch wer`e not so sure! I think she fancied Steve.......She does however pass on a bit of a warning about the local police who are keen to slow the bikers down in the area as there have been four deaths in as many weeks, a sobering thought.

We fill up the bikes and carry on. Heading North to Fort William, Fort Augustus and then on the absolutely cack Loch Ness road, full of traffic, greasy surface and dismal, in future I`m going to try to avoid being on here again, it`s horrible.

We stop in Beauly for five minutes and Steve gets a phone call, it`s team leader ringing from Russia wanting to know why wev`e stopped again?? Has he got trackers on us?

The bright red brake disks on Niges bike aren`t a sign that he`s showing gixxers & blades the way to go through the twisty`s ( I wish! ) It`s the reflection of a little red car parked next, but it looks good......

Off we go again after logging in with Al and the promise that we wont stop until it`s dark....which won`t be very long as it happens..

From Here it`s up to Ullapool on the A835 and the weather really starts to change. The skies blacken, the temperature drops to 3.0c and it starts to snow, oh joy. The accommodation can`t come soon enough as I`m hungry again ( There`s a pattern here, Steve. ) We pull into our second nights digs which is the very nice Ardvreck House a couple of miles outside the town centre.

After meeting and greeting the owner, Evelyn we freshen up and gratefully accept the offer of a lift into town from Duncan her husband. The owners here are a really nice couple who keep a spotless house and we will definitely be back again. It`s Indian night tonight and then into the Arch pub for several pints of Guinness. Magic.

Day 1 Off we go

Day 1 of our first trip away to Scotland in 2012 and we are a man down as team leader is livin the dream in Russia ! So just the two of us on this jaunt.

As usual we meet at Southwaite services and then crack on up towards Largs. As we leave the services Nige tells steve to take the A75 from the motorway and head towards Dumfries. A few miles later Steve then takes Nige on one of the best biking roads he`s ever been on, unfortunately it`s heading in the wrong direction and he`s off to Stranraer...... The sun is out and we cant believe our luck as we stop at Fairlie and take a well earned rest. 20.0c according to Steves onboard computer. It`ll be like this all the way.......................A group of four locals strike up a conversation and they have been digging for fishing bait while the tide is out, they seem to be smoking some kind of strange cigarettes as they have funny grins and wobble about a lot.......Nice lads though.

We book into the Oak Tree in at Loch Lomond with Agnes who we know and get the keys to our cottage down the road, as usual Nige has blagged a bargain and we get an onsuite twin room with a full breakfast for two for the special offer price of £37.50! We like Oak Tree the place has a good feel, the meals very good and the rooms clean and modern. We get talking to a group of bikers from Yorkshire who are up here for 5 days going to similar places as us, they say that the weather is to get much colder and snow is forecast on the high roads? We`ll see.

I was going to post a picture of the room but realised I havent got one, so here`s one of Steve tucking his bike in for the night.

They've gone without me

Nige & Steve now in Scotland on our regular early season jaunt. Al missing out because he's still working in Russia - at least the weather is getting warmer.
Apparently the boys are keeping a diary and taking plenty of pics, plus are going to attempt to update the blog whilst on the move - no chance in my opinion but you never know.
Watch this space!!!