Just before the summer of this year me and my mate adam decided a little trip to scotland was in hand. I had just passed my DAS and got a nice CBR F sport, so I was looking to have a nice long run on the bike. Also Adam had only passed his test in November 04 so was looking to give his SV a good run too. Some how we had got it in to our stupid heads that we would go to Scotland of all places :S well it would have been better if we hadn’t gave our selves just 1 week to do it in!
It took us some time getting the little bits and peices together for the ride, Oxford paniers, disc locks, tents, sleeping bag, etc, etc. Halfords and Infinity came in very hand for nearly all the parts and great amounts of incuragement to the great guys at Hein Gericke in Harrow, top lads. Loading up the bikes was the fun part, its amazing how easy it is to wheelie with half a ton of dirty washing on the back of your bike
The pics are of the bikes all loaded up and me and adam. Don’t ask about the smiley faces on the bikes, I had green electrical tape and was in a rather silly mood!
On the way up to the Lake District well Keswick to be more precise, we didn’t have many problems, just adams gear lever falling off! Luckily it was just the link between the shifter and gearbox, so we stopped off at a service station to realise neither of us had any tools! Again luckly someone heard adam was looking for tools and being a biker himself came over and gave us a hand… which was nice . So we got to Keswick with numb bums and bad wrists 8 hour later (odd seeing as it only take 4 hours in the car?).
Once there we decided to stay in a B&B for 2 nights and explore the lakes for a bit and of course the lovely twist roads of the country side The B&B was very good aswell the owner let us use his garage to store the bikes in and the rooms were fantastic.
The Top pic should be Derwent Water.
The Bottom pic should be the Little house on the bridge at Ambleside (I think?), nice little building. You should be able to see a little shop behind it and I must say its probably the best cafe I’ve been too in a long time, the food was really that good
Just a little further past that quaint house is the legendary ‘Apple Pie Shop’. If you think that sounds like a good idea for a shop, you’ve gotta try their apple & cinammon pie. Oh boy. I’ll take 3.
Pics are tops dude but not sure about the all weather covers. Remember when I got mine and put the very same covers on, never used’em again - think one blew off on the motorway.
Put your stuff in a bin bag then put it in the pannier. Mush less hassle.
My folks have a house in Keswick but only once been up on the bike! Can’t believe it but it’s saddly true.
Hey, top pics! I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the British landscape can be if you head up north. I’m feeling suitably motivated to get out and explore next year. Like the smilies on the bikes, hehehe. Brave guys doing this so shortly after passing your tests, I bet you learnt many lessons in that week!
From the Lakes we decided to head up to Glasgow to pick up the A82 to head north. It was more boring motorway miles to get up to Glasgow where we stoped off for some lunch in the services after hearing horror stories of what its like in Glasgow. We set off through Glasgow and I must say it look like a rather nice place in the centre, but a little grubby in the northen part but no diffrent to home really. Unfortunatly we didn’t stop off in Glasgow.
So through we went to get on the A82, twisting its way up the side of Loch Lomond it was a fantsic ride and sight. The Water nearly the same level as the road and hugh mountains either side, it was quite a narrow road and can be a little slippy in places where water is running of the cliffs at the side.
After passing Loch Lomond our biggest worry of the trip started dawning on us… PETROL!!! We were slap bang in the middle of nowhere both on 100 miles on the trip meter getting a little desperate for petrol. So we stopped off at Loch Dochart and asked in the shop where the nearest petrol station was… 8 miles up the road thank god. Back on the A82 eyes peeled for the petrol station and blimy you couldn’t miss it! A hugh Shell sign and thousands of bikers, well adam was leading and managed to ride straight passed it!
Further up the A82 and we were in Glen Coe, the most straightest road you have ever seen. It was a very open flat area of land in between 2 mountains and must have been 20 miles long. Even better was the fact that there was noone else about, so we did get a little wristy lol. But again it was the most amazing scenery I had ever scene!
So eventually we reach Fort William after getting stuck in the middle of a 30 bike ride out :s There we decided to set up camp at the foot of Ben Neves and get eatten by nats!
Top pic is the only place we could find to get dinner… Mc Bloody Donalds!
Middle and bottom the bikes and tents with ben neves
We didn’t have long up in Scotland so we had to try and get as far north as posible lol, Loch Ness was in our eyes a good achevment! So again off we go minus the lugage which we left in the tents, o it felt so good to get the weight off the bike. Miles upon miles of twisty and very gripy roads (no knee downs ) biker heaven! Had a quick stop off at the memorial for the Scottish men who fought in WWI, a very moving memorial with again fantastic views! After an hour and a half of twisty roads we stopped off at Fort Angus which is in between Loch Oich and Lock Ness.
Fort Angus is a very nice little village, great little place to stop off and have a bite to eat. Well watch out for the cops with there speed guns lol gave one of them a nice friendly nod and all I got back was a horrible look! I thought it was quite welcoming lol. After lucnch it was time for the final push north! Again miles of twisty roads which can actually get really annoying as I was later to find out! So the furthest north we had got was Urquhart castle! We stopped off here for a rest and a couple of photos and headed back.
While in Fort Angus someone had mentioned to Adam that we should try one of the roads to the Isle of Skye, they mentioned an odd road that just goes up and down (as in hills). So we though ‘yeah this sounds good lets give it a go!’ we then later wished we haddn’t! So on the way back we picked up the A887 to Skye, this road was going on and on and on! 60miles to Skye one of the signs said, after 1 hour of an adverage speed of 60mph we were nowhere near Skye! I started to feel a little ill and panicky as we were in the middle of nowhere, and i mean nowhere! We reached this bizzar pub in the middle of nowhere! we sat down and had a rest then looked at the map, it had taken us 2 hours to get quater of the way there! So we thought sod this and headed back to Fort William.
Top pic is Fort Angus which is very very nice
Middle is me standing infront of a Loch that took ages to go around!
We only had one problem with the bikes in Scotland and that was my battery going flat luckily there was someone there to help as usual popped the bike into 2nd gear, ran it up the road, let the clutch out and hey presto! .
Then it came, the morning we had to return to England and what a horrible morning it was. We took the same route out of Scotland that we had taken to go north. Except this time there was a little surprise in Glen Coe. As we reached Glen Coe there was a hugh traffic jam (someone blasting rock to make a bridge) it was around half a mile long which is a little scary if you were in a car and stuck at the back. So being bikers we filtered to the front of the quew laughing our heads off as soon as we get to the front the lights go green We then turn the corner into the road works, the other lane being closed off because of the diggers and what not and to our suprise Jimmy Savil standing there waving at traffic! I have no clue what he was doing there, I though he must have gone a bit senile and wondered out into the middle of nowhere to wave at traffic :S I gave him a nod though
We stopped at the Lake District again for the night at the same B&B and looked at a few other places we haddn’t scene and then headed to my cousins hous in Workington for the night. After that we headed across the top of England to York because we were going to have a night in the Peak District but didn’t have time so it was Down the M1 all the way home
Was a fun trip I must say, but next time I would have done 2 weeks instead of 1!
Top pic is the horrible weather that greeted us in the morning at Ben Neves
Middle is some more scotish scenery
and the bottom are the stairs to the top of a large boulder in the Lake District
This was our first big trip so we had a lot to learn about touring as well as our riding, but it did teach us loads and I’m very glad I did it. Next time I don’t think we’ll be taking so much stuff.
I would tell you that I am just GREEN with envy…but…that wouldn’t cover it. That looks just wicked amazing. I’d give almost anything to get over there with my bike for a trip like that.
Great shots…thanks for posting them. A guy can always dream, right?
Fantastic pictures fella, though I want to know how much fuel you had left in your tank after doing a 120mile round trip on the way to Skye, hehehe, I’d have been getting nervous as well! Can’t wait to get up there.
lol I get mild panic attacks when things look really bad and that time wasn’t helping lol. But it is quite easy to run out of petrol up there, petrol stations are few and far between. But its one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever done
Project9928… those photo’s and your story are amazing… It’s been a few years since I have been to Scotland… and I have never riden a bike there yet… Deffinatly on my list of things to do next year…
Project9928, sounds like you had a great time, I almost did Scotland last year, but we opted for France, maybe next year… Great report and photo’s you’ve done.
Lol yeah he did have tools… and yes we didn’t know where they were on his bike… what a pair of tits! lol. Now we know where it is it may come in handy next time
Foxy its one of the best things I have ever done was ride the bike to Scotland and its something everyone should do atleast once in there life, although I wish I was doing it on a Goldwing lol.
Stan we’ll be heading down to france maybe next year which should be intresting lol
) biker heaven! Had a quick stop off at the memorial for the Scottish men who fought in WWI, a very moving memorial with again fantastic views! After an hour and a half of twisty roads we stopped off at Fort Angus which is in between Loch Oich and Lock Ness.
luckily there was someone there to help as usual 