Scotland 2021

[fastbob]

It's about time I wrote up this year's trip to Scotland . In order to cut out the really shitty part I set off from Coventry and headed north into Staffordshire via Lichfield and Uttoxeter then across to the M6 near Stone . Traffic was lighter than expected so I just droned on up past Manchester and Lancaster as far as Carnforth before peeling off to find the A6 . I stuck to the A6 right up through Kendal and Shap as far as Penrith . This was a beautiful section of road through gorgeous open countryside with hardly any traffic at all . At Penrith I nipped back onto the remainder of the M6 to get beyond Carlisle then came off again at Gretna to pick up the B7076 / B7078 . For those who don't know , this road is largely made up of remnants of the old A74 and runs parallel to the M74 all the way to Glasgow . It is not unusual to ride this entire road and only see half a dozen other vehicles . Great fun and really relaxing to ride . I made camp at my secret location between Crawford and Abington where I had a very peaceful nights sleep . Up in the morning and off again . I joined the M74 at Lesmahagow , flew through Glasgow , across the Erskine Bridge and up Loch Lomond to Tarbet where there is a great picnic area and cafe with a wide view down the Loch . Onwards to Fort William over Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe , in the dry ! I deliberately got petrol before Fort William so that I could ride straight through without stopping at this loathsome place . I took the Road to the Isles out to Mallaig , got more petrol and doubled back to the silver sands of the Morar Estuary where I enjoyed another great night of free camping next to the beach . Day three , back to Fort William because I hadn't booked the ferry , up to Loch Ness and then another brilliant ride from Invergary to the Kyle of Lochalsh then up around Lochcarron where I enjoyed a lovely cream tea at the local golf course . The weather was absolutely glorious so I carried on over the mountains to the turn off for the notorious Bealach Na Ba pass . I wasn't going to do this but the sun was shining and the clouds were high up so I went for it . The Harley took the whole thing in its stride as if it was built for it . I pulled over into the viewing area at the summit where there was a group of bikers who seemed to be in a great hurry to leave . As soon as they had all roared off I found out why . There was a drunken Scotsman bellowing vile abuse at me . At first I thought he was having a laugh but it quickly turned really nasty . " f**k off back te England ye fat c**t and tak yer faggot bike wi ye , go awn , f**k right off noo , ye have no right coming here every f**kin' year ye bast*rds ye ! " Etc etc . Well what was I going to do ? Here I was alone at 2,000 feet with a raving lunatic . Who knows what weaponry he had in his van ? I decided to leave him to his ranting and headed down into Applecross . To be continued ......

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by fastbob

[S-Westerly]

Unlucky you had to meet the worst kind of bigot. I meet the odd one up in Glasgow when I'm at the office but fortunately the real nasty bast*rds are not that common.

[fastbob]

Here you go . I couldn't hear what he was saying until they all went . https://youtu.be/5qD3zWRx4mA

Edited July 12, 2021 by fastbob

[Stu]

52 minutes ago, fastbob said:

Here you go . I couldn't hear what he was saying until they all went . https://youtu.be/5qD3zWRx4mA

 

So 6 men got scared and did one? 

 

 

Fannies 

[fullscreenaging]

I actually think they just didn’t want to be associated with a Harley rider…. 

[Bender]

Unfortunately you can come across knobs every and anywhere, in Scotland if its a weegie which tend to be the worst, I put on my best worst accent and mumble some profanities 

 

Nice pics 

[fastbob]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

 

So 6 men got scared and did one? 

 

 

Fannies 

They weren't all men . 

[bonio]

He was after your Caramel bikkies mate. You did the right thing to scarper.

[Six30]

Scottish foreplay … he was on the pull … man or women probably not fussy .

[Pie man]

56 minutes ago, Six30 said:

Scottish foreplay … he was on the pull … man or women probably not fussy .

Or sheep.  

[Stu]

1 hour ago, fastbob said:

They weren't all men . 

 

Clearly they aren't 

[NeilM]

As someone who regularly spends time in Glasgow and has many Scottish friends I sympathise with this.

I've had the FEB bollox said to me in the past (fxxxxx English bxxxxxx).

And the problem is many Scots, especially weegies know that they can intimidate a lot of English purely by shouting n balling in the weegie accent.

Saying that I love the place its just the minority that ruin it for the rest.

 

I've always found that giving it back has worked for me. Yes very difficult as a lone traveller but they deffo prefer the direct approach in my experience. 

 

 

[Marino]

Idiots, what else to say. I have passed through Yugoslav war because of same stupid mentality (from both sides). Wasted my best years instead to chase girls  

[fastbob]

PART TWO ... Putting the angry wee man behind me , I made my way down into Applecross . This road is longer and more scenic than the Bealach Na Ba with amazing views of the Isle of Skye across the water. Cup of tea at Applecross then onwards round the coast to Sheildaig .I was planning to stay at the free campsite there but it has been totally transformed into a posh fee paying site for camper vans . No worries , it was a beautiful evening so I carried on up to Gairloch . Nothing doing at the Sands campsite , totally packed out with seemingly hundreds of camper vans . Ok , onwards again . Up to Torridon , through the glorious Glen Torridon to Kinlochewe where thankfully the petrol station is now automated . Onwards a bit more to Poolewe . Poolewe is at the corner of the vast sea loch of Loch Ewe . In the last war this is where hundreds of merchant ships and escorting naval vessels assembled before setting out  as arctic convoys to Russia . Time for reflection on the  bravery of the hundreds of ordinary men who set out into the unknown with extraordinary determination many of whom never returned  . There are still lots of concrete gun emplacements and observation posts dotted around the coast . It was getting late now with the makings of a beautiful sunset so I headed off down the southern shore of the loch and finally found an amazing camping spot . A lovely piece of bouncy ground next to a concrete pill box that even had a hard standing for the bike . A peaceful nights sleep and in the morning I was awakened by the heat of the sun on the tent . A nice coffee made from stream water while sitting on top of the pill box and watching a little boat dropping lobster pots far down below . Off again back to Poolewe for some breakfast . Sitting in a little park that overlooks the torrent where the River Ewe meets the sea , I observed that someone with a modicum of artistic talent had drawn a cock on the back of the bus shelter . It's nice to know that I'm not the only person from Coventry to have visited this pretty village .   Up the coast along stunning roads to Ullapool . Ate a massive portion of the finest fish and chips from the Seaforth restaurant . Next , I headed north out of Ullapool past the site of my catastrophic crash of nearly twenty years ago . The vegetation has all changed now so I'm never able to decide exactly where or how it happened but the place still gives me an uneasy feeling . To be continued ...

Edited July 22, 2021 by fastbob

[M620]

Nice write up - good to hear you are enjoying yourself

[Copycat73]

lucky to get out alive .... they harley riders for breakfast !!!

[fastbob]

Part three .  Headed out of Ullapool for a few miles and then turned off the main road to take the long and winding road to Lochinver . This road passes by the slopes of Stac Pollaidh , one of Scotland's most jagged and distinctive mountains . The road is single track for miles and gets really wild in places . Hard going on a Harley if I'm honest . I really had to work the clutch , gears and brakes on some of the more rollercoaster like sections . I got to Lochinver and asked around about B&B or a hotel bed but there was nothing doing . By this time it had got quite cold and windy with the threat of rain . I pushed on to Achmelvic and Clachtoll but still no room on the campsites . So back to Lochinver where I asked in the local bar about wild camping and got told about some suitable sites up the Canisp road . Sure enough , I found a tiny layby with a patch of grass and a stream nearby for my morning coffee . Woke up refreshed and checked the weather . Rain in the far north . So I decided to head homeward but take my time and enjoy the riding . I headed for Inverness on spectacular roads with no rain to speak of and periods of sunshine . I dislike Inverness so I cut it out by taking the shortcut from Marybank to Drumnadrochit which is a good way down Loch Ness . The weather was looking good so I pushed on to Fort William , through Glen Coe and Rannoch Moor , down Loch Lomond and through Glasgow . I hit the M74 to get some miles behind me then joined my alternative route back to Abington and Crawford . I pitched my tent exactly where I had done on the way up and had a peaceful nights sleep . Up in the morning and down to Carlisle and that's it really . Every time I got bored of the M6 I just nipped onto the A6 for a bit . Took my time and arrived back in Coventry before nightfall . All in all a successful trip . The best bit was finding new and interesting places to camp that I wouldn't have bothered to do if it were not for Covid 19 . 

Edited July 27, 2021 by fastbob

[Bender]

What's not to like about Inverness, can take south side through Dores its a great road, if you go over Friars bridge and turn left, the Dock Road goes round the outside and re joins a9 cutting out all the crap. 

 

Some great pics  

[Six30]

Do you take weapons in case of an attack @fastbob ?

 

great write up , its enough to make me want to go buy a tent ....

[fastbob]

2 hours ago, Six30 said:

Do you take weapons in case of an attack @fastbob ?

 

great write up , its enough to make me want to go buy a tent ....

It's a reasonable question actually . No , I don't take any self defense items other than a kitchen knife ( for cullinary purposes ) . Once you get north of Glasgow you realise that the current atmosphere of violence and paranoia is something that is mainly confined to the UK's big cities . 

[S-Westerly]

Worst violence I've experienced in Scotland was a stroppy wild goat and several billion of the nastiest wee f**kers known to man - midges.

[husoi]

One thing you have to play close attention in Scotland is at some times of the year sheep go mental.

This because they eat the magic mushrooms that grow in the wild and after nobody can predict what the silly buggers will do.

Not rare to see one being high as a kite jumping to the road in front of a bike. 

[fastbob]

7 hours ago, husoi said:

One thing you have to play close attention in Scotland is at some times of the year sheep go mental.

This because they eat the magic mushrooms that grow in the wild and after nobody can predict what the silly buggers will do.

Not rare to see one being high as a kite jumping to the road in front of a bike. 

I read a report on the HD FB page this week of just such an incident from a lady on a Sportster touring Scotland . A sheep leapt out , she skidded to avoid it ,  hit the sheep and killed it , crashed her bike into a river and was airlifted to hospital with bruising . The police left the bike in the river and put Accident Aware tape on it . In the morning the bike had been dragged out of the river and stolen . Talk about a bad day ! 

Edited July 28, 2021 by fastbob

[fastbob]

On 27/07/2021 at 20:22, Bender said:

What's not to like about Inverness, can take south side through Dores its a great road, if you go over Friars bridge and turn left, the Dock Road goes round the outside and re joins a9 cutting out all the crap. 

 

Some great pics  

Inverness has some nice enough bits . I've actually spent a great deal of time there waiting for the Bicycle Bus up to Ullapool on my Hebridean cycling adventures . I suppose I just wanted to avoid it because it's a bit of a shock to the system after a week in the Highlands . I've cycled down to Dores and seen  the Nessie Hunter who lives in a broken down van . My best memory of Inverness , however , has to be cycling along the canal and stumbling upon the giant model of the Titanic in someone's back garden . 

Edited July 28, 2021 by fastbob

[Bender]

16 minutes ago, fastbob said:

Inverness has some nice enough bits . I've actually spent a great deal of time there waiting for the Bicycle Bus up to Ullapool on my Hebridean cycling adventures . I suppose I just wanted to avoid it because it's a bit of a shock to the system after a week in the Highlands . I've cycled down to Dores and seen  the Nessie Hunter who lives in a broken down van . My best memory of Inverness , however , has to be cycling along the canal and stumbling upon the giant model of the Titanic in someone's back garden . 

I remember that, bloke died few year back. 

 

I got lost as a kid on the islands