AdrianH
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 11:35 AM |
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Planning a trip in kit, poss John O Groats!
Just looking for any helpfull hints, decent B&B's etc.
I have two weeks leave to take starting Monday, and depending on the weather forcast I am hoping to take a long drive in the car, take camera gear and
enjoy the ride.
I was thinking of a trip over the channel into france, up to denmark and have a drive around, but I am a bit of a travel a phobic.
Last night I was planning a few routes on google and using the man on the road, it looked a bit boring unless I headed high in to Switzerlnd and
Finland, and the mileage started to become really stupid.
So a major change in plans and thought about going to the top of the country in the kit car. So thinking of up the East cost, through Wick, then down
and accross to Fort William and then down back into the UK.
Any thoughts from locosters above the boarder, will I need my passport and bribe money for the boarder guards
Adrian
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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inkafone
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 11:53 AM |
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Isle of Skye can be brilliant at this time of year - midges have gone,kids back at school and loads of B&B's. Just go to the local tourist
office for B&B info/booking. Scenery is stunning,roads are good and the weather in September is better than most other months although you can be
unlucky..........
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ianm67
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 12:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by inkafone
Isle of Skye can be brilliant at this time of year - midges have gone,kids back at school and loads of B&B's. Just go to the local tourist
office for B&B info/booking. Scenery is stunning,roads are good and the weather in September is better than most other months although you can be
unlucky..........
^^ This..... ^^ If you are going to venture across to the west coast and the Isle of Skye, you MUST visit Applecross and drive over the Applecross
pass, it's the highest road in the UK. Its the UK's version of the Stelvio Pass........
Always biting off more than I can chew.....
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 12:38 PM |
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Ye pansy I did that trip in one day in a JBA Falcon 
Weather was great apart from Fort William where it just piŁŁed down, glad I had a hood  this time of year you will get wet
Biggest problem is lack of filling stations and a lot are closed on a Sunday
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theprisioner
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 01:14 PM |
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There are so many places north of the border it is difficult to stop listing them. The B roads are quiet and the petrol stations certainly less than
100 miles apart no matter where you go. Here is my top 10
1) Applecross (from the south of course) and it has a petrol station run by the local community.
2) Skye (must include the Black Coulin's otherwise you are a bit suspect)
3) The Trossacs including "The Dukes Pass" lots of testing drives
4) Anywhere near Perth and Kinross esp the Sma Glen
5) Lead Hills and anywhere near Dumfries
6) The road to Ballater and Braemar (not pronounced Bremmer otherwise you may never return)
7) Knockhill (our own premier racing circuit)
8) Around Stirling esp the Carron Valley resivoir
9) Glen Coe and the 5 sisters + Aeonach Eagach
10) The Borders including St Mary's Loch
Now if that does not temp you are a woos or worse!
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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trextr7monkey
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 03:04 PM |
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as above . I'd add Holy Island on the way up , Falkirk wheel, Tomintoul and as it is a leisurely trip have a look at lots of coastal villages -
Gourdon, Buckie etc
atb
Mike
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14016102@N00/ (cut and paste this dodgey link)
Our most recent pics are here:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/trextr7monkey/
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femster87
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 04:32 PM |
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I just got back from my tour of Scotland. Great roads. Tourist information in cities found a place for me to stay most nights. I went from Sheffield
Area to Edinburgh. Then from there I did the following places
1) Perth
2) Braemer and ballater ( Visited Royal Lochnagar distillery on the way)
3) Tomintoul
4) Glenlivet ( Visited Glenfidditch Distillery, speyside cooperage)
5) Elgin ( Visited Moray motor museum)
6) Inverness
7) Fort Augustus
8)Fort William ( Quite busy but should be getting quite now. )
9) Oban via Glen Coe( under-mountain hydro plant worth a visit)
9) Falkirk and Stirling ( visited Falkirk wheel)
Back home
Some pictures attached
 
[Edited on 29/8/13 by femster87]
[Edited on 29/8/13 by femster87]
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sdh2903
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 04:38 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by theprisioner
There are so many places north of the border it is difficult to stop listing them. The B roads are quiet and the petrol stations certainly less than
100 miles apart no matter where you go. Here is my top 10
1) Applecross (from the south of course) and it has a petrol station run by the local community.
2) Skye (must include the Black Coulin's otherwise you are a bit suspect)
3) The Trossacs including "The Dukes Pass" lots of testing drives
4) Anywhere near Perth and Kinross esp the Sma Glen
5) Lead Hills and anywhere near Dumfries
6) The road to Ballater and Braemar (not pronounced Bremmer otherwise you may never return)
7) Knockhill (our own premier racing circuit)
8) Around Stirling esp the Carron Valley resivoir
9) Glen Coe and the 5 sisters + Aeonach Eagach
10) The Borders including St Mary's Loch
Now if that does not temp you are a woos or worse!
This is spot on!
I would avoid John o groats unless you just want to say you've done it. The a9 is not a great road very heavily policed and speed cameras. It
gets better once you go past Inverness. I would avoid apple cross on a weekend too as its swarming with bikes and tourists this time of year, although
not as bad now the kids are back at school. Skye is stunning and is a must.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 04:47 PM |
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John o groats is great, huge open wilderness with mountains way in the distance and you can see the islands with their massive cliffs over the sea,
it's very picturesque to say the least. In the old days you could pop into Dounreay powerstation and get irradiated. I use to live in Balintore
which is lovely old fishing village, Tains quite nice too and worth a visit. Last time it was up that way I stopped for petrol and the woman who ran
it was quite miffed I wanted to fill the car myself  don't get that often these days
Put your headlights on for the A9 as there loads of overtaking and most seem to try and overtake like 5 cars in one go.
[Edited on 29/8/13 by Mr Whippy]
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AdrianH
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 05:56 PM |
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Well thanks for the responses, basically avoid the weekend seems to be a general comment and try for Applecross. But which road, is it the coast or
the one from the A896?
Ok found it!
I can do approx 140 to 150 miles on a tank, plus I can carry a 5 litre can if required, must get an app for the smart-phone or at least find out all
the filling stations and plan a route.
John O groats is probably to say I have done it, but why not.
Fingers crossed for nothing bad
Adrian
[Edited on 29-8-13 by AdrianH]
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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theprisioner
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 07:29 PM |
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Honest, John O Groats is a tip and avoid the A9 like it had a plague. It is the second most dangerous road in Scotland especially to Kit cars. Take
some advice!
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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sdh2903
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 09:00 PM |
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If your adamant to get up to John o groats I would strongly suggest going up the west, Loch Lomond, Oban (via rest and be thankful) fort William,
Skye, applecross, then jink across to Inverness and up to John o groats. Then come back down the east side then back in to Pitlochry, Perth etc. That
way you avoid the bad bits of the A9 Between Inverness and Perth.
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AdrianH
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| posted on 29/8/13 at 11:26 PM |
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To get to Applecross would make sense to go up the West coast, Oban I will give a miss, had a family member live there, and will not go near, had
enough trips to that place and Mull.
If going in to Applecross from the south, it looks as though the only way out without back tracking is to go up around Loch Fulda and through
Inverbain to the A 896.
sdh2903:- Please tell me more, where is the A9 bad and why, is it the road conditions, other drivers etc? What route are you suggesting as I am not
following you at the moment, unless you mean Inverness, Elgin, Inverurie, Braemar then Pitlochry and down to Perth?
What ever the route as I am up to 860 miles and still up at Inverness, so will probably have to rationalise somewhere
Cheers
Adrian
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 06:35 AM |
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West coast is so much nicer than the east which can look a bit crap only issue is bikers and caravans on the twisty west coast A roads though they are
a damn sight better than when I was a kid. Whenever we have foreigners come over for work visits I always tell them Aberdeen shire is a very bad
example of Scotland
Me and the wife & tiny are just back from a weeks holiday in Skye which was just fabulous and extremely relaxing. So much so the missus has
decided we should buy a caravan, I was gob smacked
[Edited on 30/8/13 by Mr Whippy]
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sdh2903
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 11:25 AM |
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A9 - I would avoid between Perth and Inverness in general, it's a busy trunk road and there are countless accidents, lots of unmarked police and
speed cameras.
Rough routing:
A82 to Loch Lomond, a83 over the rest and be thankful to Lochgilphead, A816 through Oban, a828 up by loch linnhe to fort William, a82 toward fort
Augustus, a87 all way to Skye, from Skye to lochcarron then to applecross. You will have to back track but applecross is worth it. Out of applecross
A890 to Achnasheen from here A832 then a935 to Dingwall and A9 north to J.O.G. Although I wouldn't bother as somewhere like Ullapool is much
nicer.
Back down very roughly: Elgin, aberlour, grantown on Spey, tomintoul, ballater, braemar, Pitlochry, dunkeld, Perth.
Can't you tell I'd been planning a mooch up north.
John o groats is good to say you've been but I've been twice now and felt very underwhelmed on both occasions. There really isn't
much to see and it's a 250 mile+ round trip from Inverness
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AdrianH
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 11:45 AM |
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I am now assuming 'rest and be thankfull is a place', will have to find this on google map.
Planning to use camping sites if possible with my little two man tent and use a B&B when I need to dry out.
Looking at the weather forcasts for next week.
Adrian
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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tegwin
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 12:34 PM |
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Interesting thread! I was thinking of taking a trip up to Scotland this week as well to visit some friends.... a tossup between taking the Polo or the
TVR.... The noise and thirst of the TVR on motorways rather put me off though 
[Edited on 30/8/13 by tegwin]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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theprisioner
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 12:37 PM |
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https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=rest+and+be+thankful&hl=en&ll=56.226749,-4.856987&spn=0.133981,0.437393&sll=58.083685,-4.910889&s
spn=4.078749,13.996582&hq=rest+and+be+thankful&t=m&z=12&iwloc=A
I am jealous!
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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sdh2903
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 01:53 PM |
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This is towards the rest and be thankful a few weeks ago
 
Description
[Edited on 30/8/13 by sdh2903]
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theprisioner
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 02:28 PM |
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Here is the route 13 kit cars of various parentage are taking on Sunday 1st:
http://goo.gl/maps/9XXCU
It should be one of the classic runs out in Scotland:
http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/103688-next-scottish-run/page-7
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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cs3tcr
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 03:14 PM |
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I made it a point to stop at Rest and be Thankful when i was in the UK last September. Luckily it was on the way to my mums village, Tighnabruaich.
The reason i wanted to stop there was to see the old hillclimb route. Its a pity that they dont use it more often.
Also, just past Loch Restil on the A83 is the Butter Bridge, a neat old stone bridge. Made a stop there to take a few pictures and nearly fell in the
water.
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theprisioner
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| posted on 30/8/13 at 03:32 PM |
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I heard they were resurfacing it as a relief road as the main road was subject to land slides (in winter mostly).
http://sylvabuild.blogspot.com/
http://austin7special.blogspot.co.uk/
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AdrianH
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| posted on 4/9/13 at 08:36 PM |
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Still doing it, heading up Thursday to hopefully miss a rain band passing over. Stopping at Luss camp site Thursday night and heading over to Loch
Ness Shores for a couple of nights using that as a base. Probably heading back Sunday or Monday but will be watching the weather maps.
Have been waiting for an action camera to turn up, one of these eBay Item Just getting tested out for battery life on desk now, have
made a simple mount bracket for the roll bar. Main thing is it is supposed to be waterproof! Using it mostly as a incident cam, so if I do anything
stupid it will not get posted.
Cheers
Adrian
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 4/9/13 at 09:28 PM |
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Look out for speed cams wherever you go... especially where a 70mph dual-carriageway turns into a 60mph ordinary road. I often saw a speed cam
shortly after this change.
Oh - every time I've been to Fort William it's pee'd down - and I've been there a few times!
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AdrianH
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| posted on 7/9/13 at 09:19 PM |
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Well up here at the moment, I drove up Thursday and stopped at Luss on the banks of Loch Lomand, took a few snaps there. Met up with a couple of
lads doing the lands end to John O Groats run on motor bikes for fun and cancer charity, they looked knackered.
Friday was a drive up to Loch Ness and am presently at Foyers. I may not get as much as I thought in driving wise but I do keep stopping to have a
look around. The Green Welly place has good grub, but I could not afford their outdoor gear. Had a couple of hours around Fort William.
Friday late afternoon and evening and this morning was a complete wash out, drove up to Inverness and was soaked through. Have spent the afternoon
and evening getting stuff washed and dried. Hope to use Sunday as a day driving trying to cover some ground.
Have a car problem after getting soaked, as described by another on here. The flasher relay is constantly clicking when ignition is on, but works
fine when using indicators. I think the relay has water in it and will try and check when I can strip it down, either that or the indicator switch is
sufering from water.
Raining again now so giving up and going sleep.
Adrian
Why do I have to make the tools to finish the job? More time then money.
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