North Coast 500

[Ronnie]

2 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

Trouble with Scotland is that warmer weather brings out the midges in their billions. Makes camping occasionally less than pleasant.

Less than pleasant ?   Jesus, it's absolutely bloody awful !!  I've known strong men to seriously consider suicide.

[Bender]

24 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Less than pleasant ?   Jesus, it's absolutely bloody awful !!  I've known strong men to seriously consider suicide.

Wimps. 

[Grumpy Old Git]

I will be doing the N500 in August. I've booked the overnight stops already.

 

[S-Westerly]

12 hours ago, Grumpy Old Git said:

I will be doing the N500 in August. I've booked the overnight stops already.

 

At least it'll keep the midges away!

[Bender]

18 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

At least it'll keep the midges away!

It's pretty much prime season, if you don't have midges the weather's shit  

[S-Westerly]

Reason I prefer Scotland in May or October.  Almost no midges although my wife can find them at any time of the year.

[veracocha]

hawaay to the north!! 7 day trip around Scotland on my lonesome. 

 

 

[veracocha]

7 hours from Birmingham to Dumfries. M6 shut at one point. Been driving to Scotland every year for last 35 years and never seen anything like it. Will take the next 7 days to wind down.

[S-Westerly]

34 minutes ago, veracocha said:

7 hours from Birmingham to Dumfries. M6 shut at one point. Been driving to Scotland every year for last 35 years and never seen anything like it. Will take the next 7 days to wind down.

Thr M6 between Birmingham and Preston is now a nightmare.  It took me 10 hours to drive from Gloucestershire to Glasgow back in July. It was awful. In a horrible hire car just to make it even worse.

[Steve_M]

37 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Thr M6 between Birmingham and Preston is now a nightmare.  It took me 10 hours to drive from Gloucestershire to Glasgow back in July. It was awful. In a horrible hire car just to make it even worse.

I’m picking my mum up from Walsall in the week to bring her back here so she have a bit of a holiday. According to google maps it’s 3hrs 22minutes of driving. The best we’ve done is 3hrs 45minutes plus tea and pee break. It’s generally about 4hrs 30minutes plus T&P breaks. I’d say I’ll look at alternatives but there aren’t any!

[Steve_M]

43 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Thr M6 between Birmingham and Preston is now a nightmare.  It took me 10 hours to drive from Gloucestershire to Glasgow back in July. It was awful. In a horrible hire car just to make it even worse.

On the bright side, the weather conditions north of Gretna were truly awful had you travelled up yesterday. My good lady went up to Houston and the wind and rain was “horrendous”. 
 

Enjoy your time in Scotland.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Steve_M

[S-Westerly]

1 hour ago, Steve_M said:

On the bright side, the weather conditions north of Gretna were truly awful had you travelled up yesterday. My good lady went up to Houston and the wind and rain was “horrendous”. 
 

Enjoy your time in Scotland.

That was last month and I'm now in Algeria which is a vile place. I'd take a wet November night in Glasgow over this shithole.

[Steve_M]

16 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

That was last month and I'm now in Algeria which is a vile place. I'd take a wet November night in Glasgow over this shithole.

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, veracocha said:

7 hours from Birmingham to Dumfries. M6 shut at one point. Been driving to Scotland every year for last 35 years and never seen anything like it. Will take the next 7 days to wind down.

And it's not going to get any better !

[veracocha]

Have you seen the film "the ten commandments" where some biblical wizard parts the seas for people to walk through? I must be related because every morning I woke up to rain and wind only to get on the bike fully and be greeted with blue skies wherever I went. I had the same luck when I went clockwise in late March. I met some bikers in Mcdonalds in Fort William yesterday who said Glencoe was the wettest place on earth (they had just come from there). Well, half hour later the rain stopped and the roads dried out right on cue, if not quite as sunny as the trip down from Durness. That road from Durness to Drumbeg, good lord!

 

The roads were busy which saw me divert from the more popular roads. Taking a break from the A9 up the east coast was a great decision. The old military road and then the road to Tomintoul was a bikers dream and then onto Durness via Lairg I saw hardly a soul. Great trip again with some lovely campsites too.