Driving around in North Scotland

[Mojooo]

I am planning a trip (http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=210&t=1087456&mid=163227&nmt=I%20want%20to%20experience%27The%20Norf%27)

I was thinking of going to Orkney.

Looking at Google Maps - it all looks a bit deserted above Dundee. Now you can get to Orkney via Aberdeen but I quite fancy having a drive a bit higher up.

I can go to Inverness or all the way upto somewhere called Thurso - which would be the ultimate.

I am guessing there are some amazing roads up there but my concern is the lack of people - what happens if you beakdown and are there many places to stay/things to do in the meantime?

Obviously people must travel around these palces all the time so it must be safe...

Are there any parts where it becomes dodgy going out on your own in a car?

What about the places to the top left such a 'gualin house'.

[sherman]

1. The AA/RAC may not get to you within 10 minutes and when they get there the chances of them being in a branded van are slim. It will be a local mechanic.

2 .You can get to Orkney from Thurso (Scrabster). Driving to Thurso will take you a while but from Edinburgh- Thurso is only 5 hours if you go straight up the A9 or 1 very long day or 2 days if you go a conveluted route.

3.Even the A9 after Inverness becomes fun

4. B&Bs are everywhere

5. Dodgy parts = Inner cities after dark(Glasgow, Dundee)
Nice bits = Where you are talking about going

6. Beware of driving in the north on a Sunday as a lot of the petrol stations still observe sunday shutting

7. Its probably not advisable to drive all the way to the top of Scotland if you dont need to and want a bit of a hoon until march time. There is a reason there is snow gates on the main roads and snow poles right the way along the roads to tell you where the edge of the road is.

[Mojooo]

Thanks

I will prob go April

I want to go 'full circle' as much as possible because I will regret it if I dont (I live on the South coast, so it wont be easy to go back!)

If I go to Orkney and then come back to Thurso, I will prob go from Thurso down to the left side - I guess all you can do is drive around all day and stop for food when possible?

I will prob then come back to Glasgow for a day before going to Newcastle.

[sherman]

Scotland has plenty of stuff to do. It just depends on what you want to do.

Figure out a route and see what it takes you past. You will pass at least one distillery for instance.You will probably be stopping quite a bit just to look at the view. The west coast is stunning even on a wet day.

[Papa Hotel]

My advice, as above, wait until March. Amazing roads, beautiful scenery, it means fook all if the roads are closed and you've become part of the scenery, frozen to death in a pile of snow halfway down a mountain. It's worth the wait, doing it in December is just daft.

Edit: just realised I didn't answer your questions. Honestly, there are no dodgy bits you seriously need to be afraid of, it's not like Deliverance up there!

If isolation was an issue, people wouldn't live there. But they do. Because it's awesome. Thirty years from now, I fully intend on retiring to the highlands... unless they build the Cal-Hab there.

Edited by Papa Hotel on Saturday 17th December 09:45

[stevenr]

You're quite right OP,things get bad once you go north of Dundee.

Barren lands ruled by barbarians.

[Speed addicted]

Mojooo said:

Thanks

I will prob go April

I want to go 'full circle' as much as possible because I will regret it if I dont (I live on the South coast, so it wont be easy to go back!)

If I go to Orkney and then come back to Thurso, I will prob go from Thurso down to the left side - I guess all you can do is drive around all day and stop for food when possible?

I will prob then come back to Glasgow for a day before going to Newcastle.

It's only a few hundred miles on good roads where people speak mostly the same language as you, it's not a trip through the amazon.
I live near Aberdeen and have worked in Dungeness (on the south coast) driving home every two weeks. Heck I've flown down there, picked up a car and driven home the same day!

I would do a loop around the coast, the roads are properly epic and there are plenty of places to stay.
Orkney and Shetland are nice enough but you might as well fly up and hire a car once you're there as there isn't a paticularly large amount of driving availabe.
Stay somewhere in the boarders, head up to inverness and spend the night. The A9 is pretty boring but you could come up the coast to Aberdeen then head over the Lecht.
From there I'd head up to Thurso, the Weigh Inn (pub/hotel) is cheap and friendly enough and you can go to John O'groats while you're there.
Then head along the north coast to cape Wrath before heading down to Ullapool or Gairloch for the night. The old inn at Gairlock is paticularly nice if you like seafood. If you have time head over to Applecross as it's the highest road in the UK and you might as well then head to Portree in Skye for the night.
For the last day in Scotland you should go through Glencoe as it's amazing if the weather is anywhere near good (but watch for the police) and spend the night in Glasgow. The Hilton is reasonably central and has secure underground parking.

I've taken lads I work with offshore around these roads on motorbikes and they are always blown away.
A quick google has found Inverness to have around 70000 people and Aberdeen has around 250000....

Edited by Speed addicted on Saturday 17th December 10:28

[GetCarter]

The 'left side' is where the good roads are

April is the right time to come.

[Kiltie]

GetCarter said:

... 'left side' ...

South of Fort William, it's a bit smelly though.

Cheers,

Eric

[VetteG]

GetCarter said:

The 'left side' is where the good roads are

April is the right time to come.

Have a look at Steve's (GetCarter) website, he has stunning photo's of the West Coast on there.

G

[JM]

stevenr said:

You're quite right OP,things get bad once you go north of Dundee.

Barren lands ruled by barbarians.

Don't you mean Dundee is a barren place ruled by barbarians?




OP;
Watch out for the Haggises, they mate in April and the males are very territorial and will attack you or your car if you get in their way or stop too near them.

[Humper]

Before setting off watch The Warriors, that'll help you negotiate Dundee, Duel, that'll help you for the roads further up north, then Deliverance for the Islands.

[alangla]

Speed addicted said:

Stay somewhere in the boarders, head up to inverness and spend the night. The A9 is pretty boring but you could come up the coast to Aberdeen then head over the Lecht.

I always like getting from Glasgow - Inverness by heading up the A9 to Perth, onto the A93 up to Balmoral/Crathie, onto the B978 to get to the A939, over the Lecht then the A95 and A938 to rejoin the A9 at Carrbridge. I wouldn't attempt this in winter though, it contains 3 of the UK's most snowbound roads. Looking at trafficscotland.org just now, it looks like the A93 through Glenshee might well be heading for a snow gate closure later today.

Also, be aware that west of Thurso, a lot of the roads are single track, even the major ones. They're great fun to drive on, but you'll be lucky to average over about 35-40mph with all the stopping and starting, so factor that in when working out how much ground to cover each day.

This pre-Google Streetview site is pretty good if you want to see the journeys played out at a realistic pace - http://www.remote.org/frederik/roadhog/scotland/ though a lot of the roads have been dramatically improved since then e.g. the A832 west of Achnasheen is now a beautifully smooth, wide single carriageway, or it was when I last drove it in 2009, who says the EU is all bad!

[craig2003]

alangla said:

I always like getting from Glasgow - Inverness by heading up the A9 to Perth, onto the A93 up to Balmoral/Crathie, onto the B978 to get to the A939, over the Lecht then the A95 and A938 to rejoin the A9 at Carrbridge

Great suggestion, I tend to go through Grantown on Spey and then across the fantastic Dava Moor (A939) to Nairn then along the back roads to Cawdor and Croy then passing Culloden battlefield to Inverness.

[DatsunDave]

I like a run up to Fort William and along the lochs from Glasgow. It's all good!

[Jamirecluse]

Road from Inverness to Ullapool is a good driving road - beatiful scenery,twisty bits,straights for overtaking,stopping places and not too busy if you go at the right time.

[MrADC]

Hitting the A9 tomorrow for NYE in Orkney - I'll report back!

Seriously enough its a route i've driven plenty of times just for the fun of it and if you live on the South Coast it will be a total revelation. The A9 north of the Cromarty Firth is an amazing drive as it skirts the cliff tops. Beautiful surface and almost always completely empty once you're past Golspie. It is empty in a way no roads down south ever are. There are less people living in all of Caithness than in Epsom! No dodgy areas but avoid Thurso if possible...especially on a Saturday night. The A99 to Wick and John O'Groats is also a great road, twisty, twinned and very few cars (never seen plod on this stretch, in fact very rare to spot them north of Golspie however beware The Mound just south of Golspie - a favourite camera spot (only seen it once. Take the Gills Bay ferry to Orkney rather than the Scrabster - its faster and cheaper. Orkney Roads are great too but the main road from Stromness to Kirkwall is always heavily policed - try driving north to Birsay for emptier stretches.

Once you're back on the mainland go past Thurso and the road is a single tracker (A838) pretty much from Eribol-Durness-Loch Inchard and if its tourist season this can be a real pain with Italian motorhomes without a reverse gear coming the other way, most popular tourist route is up the left side and down the A9 - but the scenery on this stretch is worth it. Once you're on the A894 to Loch Assynt you will be clear of the single tracks and this is a spectacular road - even on a wet day when you cant see the scenery.

My favourite stretch is the A87 Laggan to Skye road through Glen Shiel...needs a clear day - although they're all pretty amazing

I did the loop last year in a 1967 Fiat Dino Spider over 3 days and the only thing I'd echo is to plan your fuel very carefully (especially as you will most likely be burning through quite a bit more than expected in the upper rev range) and carry a full can in the boot. I had a very very close shave when the car spluttered to a stop 1/4 mile from a petrol station and I endured a 2 hr wait for it to open (followed by a reluctant fuel pump but a few minutes ministration got it going again) No such trouble in the Boxster but that's due to an accurate fuel gauge and trip computer!

Its an unforgetable journey but it is very. very weather sensitive. On a clear day you'll think you're in New Zealand - on a wet, misty day you could be anywhere!

[sherman]

MrADC said:

Take the Gills Bay ferry to Orkney rather than the Scrabster - its faster and cheaper.

The gills bay ferry is faster if you are heading to kirkwall. If you are basing yourself in Stromness. You have at least a 45min journey from Gills bay to get to Stromness negating the time you saved on the crossing and also the money you saved as you burn away lots of petrol. Also if you want any form of food more than a bacon roll, a chocolate bar and a polystrene cup of hot brown the scrabster ferry is much better as it has a proper restaurant with decent seats.

The scrabster ferry if you know someone on the island also gives Islanders discounts which brings the price down to near enough the same as the gills bay ferry.

[DatsunDave]

MrADC said:

The A9 north of the Cromarty Firth is an amazing drive as it skirts the cliff tops.

The coast mainly, not so much cliffs.

[MrADC]

sherman said:

You have at least a 45min journey from Gills bay to get to Stromness negating the time you saved on the crossing and also the money you saved as you burn away lots of petrol.

thought this was a "driving around" topic not a "save money on petrol topic"!