A Scottish Quickie!

Posted origionally on Ducatisti in July 2010

Despite the title of this piece, it does belong in Ducati Chat, not Off Topic (or indeed “Carry on Biking”) as you might think!

I couldn’t resist the lure of the Scottish Highlands, so as soon as the 848 was serviced after its trip to WDW, and I could take an early start to a weekend, I planned a Scottish weekend break to reacquaint myself with the superb highland roads.

I managed to get away from home about two thirty on Friday afternoon, and headed up the A38 to the M1. It soon started raining, and to make matters worse there were a couple of bad smashes with the consequent delays. As a result it was well after five before I left the A1 for Piercebridge, the A68 and the A7 to Edinburgh.

The A68 was its usual fun self, and I was in Scotland at Carter Bar by seven thirty. I diverted onto the A7 at Galashiels, where I stopped at MacDonalds to book a hotel in Leith using their WiFi. The run into Edinburgh was uneventful and I was in the pub by ten.

The hotel in Leith, with its leaky radiator!

When I woke up I found that the radiator (was it an 848 reject?) in the room had poured water all over my kit! Luckily my clothes etc were all in placcie bags, but my waterproofs were flooded. And it was raining. Not a good start.

The rain started to clear up as I took the A90 over the Forth Bridge. Soon I had stopped for petrol and breakfast in Perth. Before eleven I was in Inverness, and heading onto the Black Isle. The road to Lairg was fast and fun, before taking the single track road to Tongue, and them along the northern Sutherland coast to Bettyhill. Here I stopped for a soup and roll, a refill and to take some pictures of the glorious sandy beaches.

North of the Black Isle
Bonar BridgeThe far north coast

All too soon it was time to leave the northern coast and take another single track road to Altnahara, where I joined my outward route to Lairg and Bonar Bridge, then I took the fantastic racetrack which is the long way back to Inverness via Tain. I couldn’t wait to get out of Inverness. The place was full of women of a certain age, in a state of over excitement. Apparently Rod Stewart was appearing at the Caledonian Thistle ground later that night!

I left the A9 at Carrbridge, and was just texting Kristel when I heard and then saw a 900ss pull up. We exchanged greetings before I went up Speyside to Granton, over the Tomantoul to Cockbridge road over Slecht to Ballater, where I put up in a smart hotel for the night! Ballater is on Royal Deeside and is the nearest town to Balmoral, where the Queens Guard is garrisoned when she is in residence.

The hotel in Ballater

Again the morning weather was pretty dreecht, but thanks to a full Scottish Breakfast I was well fortified and on my way. It was drizzly as I left, so I opted for my Alpinestars jacket rather than full waterproofs.

The run through Deeside to Aboyne was fast and fun. Luckily the two Tallyvans I saw were still deploying! The old lady running the filling station in Aboyne where I filled up warned me they were on the prowl. I then crossed the Dee and headed to Cairn O Mount. By now it was raining and foggy, my visor misted up and I couldn’t see much beyond the end of my nose. At one point I opened my visor just in time to see a 90 left some 10 yards ahead!
Cairn o Mount

The weather cleared by the time I reached Fettercairn, and after that it was dry with the odd sunny period all the way home. So by Dundee and the A91 to the M90 and on to Edinburgh. I used to drive the A91 through Fife nearly every week, and it has lost none of its character. I really enjoyed riding it for the first time!

However that was just a taster for the fun and games on the A68! I opted for an east coast run home, having seen heavy rain forecast all day in Cumbria, so abandoned plans for using the A7. And did I enjoy the A68?! Those of you making tick lists of things to do must include riding the A68 on a dry Sunday afternoon! Open bends, hairpins, blind brows and loads of fast straights! I savoured them all! I took the Piercebridge cut off again before joining the A1.
It was all pretty straight forward after that. I stayed on the A1 to Retford, cut across country to Mansfield and onto the A38 home. The bike is parked up, I am unpacked and enjoying a beer and watching the Moto GP replays. Perfect!

What a weekend. I rode from Southern Derbyshire right to the northern tip of Scotland, had lunch and rode back through Speyside, Donside and Deeside and through Fife and home. I did use some motorway, but less than 200 miles in the nearly 1200 I covered. I was away for just 52 hours, including two overnight stays. Fun all the way!