Mk5Centurion Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I went up north last week to attend the ABR magazine rally/pi$$ up in Ullapool Assuming it works heres the googlemaps link: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=llLeft Glasgow on Friday morning in torrential rain and headed up the A82 as far as Crianlarich before heading towards Callandar but coming off the A82 and heading to Killin and along Loch Tay towards Kenmore where it began to dry up. Before i got to Kenmore i headed up towards Foss and through Tummel Bridge before stiking towards the A9 which i joined at Stuan (north of Pitlochry). Now i know that all seems a bit strange when the most direct route to Ullapool from Glasgow is to go straight up the A82, but the ABR magazine forum is doing a photo rally this year of all the country's national parks and forrest parks. The basic premise (apologies if i'm telling you how to suck eggs ) is to go to said national park (usually the visitor centre) or forrest park and get a picture of the bike, with your rally plate for your "tick" and to upload your picture to the gallery on the forum, kudos etc for as many completed as possible, so i used the rally as an excuse to go to the Cairngorms National Park - in this case though the location was the Mountain Ski Centre. With the "tick" duely collected i stopped on the way back at Loch Morlich for a jam sandwich and a coffee:http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/DSCF0579.jpgAfter that it was back to the A9 and north towards the heelan capital that is Inverness (or Inversnecky as us jocks sometimes call it) just in time to hit the queue of traffic heading over the Kessock Bridge (which came with obligatory high wind warning ), a quick splash of fuel at Torve and then north west towards Ullapool. The last 50 or so miles along the A835 are amongst some of the best that i have ridden. Fact. The only downside was that this little journey had taken 6 and a half hours and i was pretty tired. Arriving at the Broomfield campsite ( http://www.broomfieldhp.com/) there were a fair few who had braved the initial bad weather and it was starting to fill up (one chap arrived on Thursday, got blown about by the wind, and left on Friday but made the mistake of posting it on the forum )http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/DSCF0580.jpgI wandered off to find some food and had the most amazing Scampi Supper at a chippy called the Seaforth overlooking the ferry port, mmm The campsite looks over Loch Broomhttp://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/DSCF0581.jpghttp://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/DSCF0582.jpgThe rest of the evening was spent imbibing various beverages and generally having a laugh A leisurely approach was needed on Saturday morning but folks were wanting to get out and about to see the highland roads, and there were 4 organised rideouts to choose from but many others just did their own thing....all very relaxed. As for me, it was my sons 2nd birthday on Sunday so rather than risk being in the bad books with the wife, and lets face it its not every day you're 2, i headed back home at a more leisurely pace. This time i went back along the A82 and took in Loch Nesshttp://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/24092011883.jpgStopped for a very poor meal in a cafe in Drumnadrochit which was disappointing, but hey ho. Stopped at the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridgehttp://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/samcrow_photo/24092011884.jpgIts been 15 years since i was there last, before we were dragged into illegal wars and all that guff, so to see all the recent memorials to the Commando's killed in Iraq and Afganistan really brought home what a difficult job those boys do.The road down through Glen Coe was, as usual, spectacular and there were bikes everywhere (it was a glorious day after all). Stopped for the last time at the Green Welly which was heaving with bikes too and got home about half 4.Sunday saw me dancing about like a numptry and eating lots of cake, but no-one wants to hear about that 'cos this is a bike forum All is well in my world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttled Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 That is a cracking run you had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Looks like a great run. I was up there 2 weeks ago for my end of season ride.The views and riding are some best in the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nman1 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Great pictures and sounds like a fantastic ride out. The more I read and hear about Scotland ride outs the more I want to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techno Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I really am gonna get up there again next year already laying plans for a ride round the highlands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiec Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Keep us informed and maybe meet up or join you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttled Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I did the first part of that route up to Crainlarich and along to Killin and Loch Tay to Kenmore a couple of days ago. I used the south Loch Tay road for a change and it is great. We are so lucky having all of this on our doorstep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 A827 over the North side oof Loch Tay.http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq63/brazenf91/SDC11321.jpg?t=1317575536 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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