#pergtrip - North Coast 500 + Isle of Skye and Cairngorms

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 14:45

So a few of us have just got back from Scotland after an amazing week driving round the highlands. We've probably got combined 1TB of videos and pictures so thought it would be worth sharing some of the sights, video clips and information for anyone wanting to visit Scotland themselves.

Attendees were myself, mrk, JanesyB, InvaderGIR and Clown.

Quite a few pictures are already online on our Instagram accounts.

@peterattheboro
@robbiekhan
@janesyb
@rsbarton87
@andrewdashb

The Route

The standard route runs from Inverness over to the west towards Gairloch and then clockwise around the coast. We did it in reverse, anti-clockwise from Inverness, upto John O Groats and all the way round to Gairloch. This is where we created our own route and included the incredible but slightly busy Applecross Pass (Bealach na Ba) and then over to the amazing Isle of Skye.
We then went back on ourselves, down towards Fort William, over to the Cairngorms to drive the Old Military Road (A939) and also ride the funicular to the top of the mountain!

From there we did the final leg to Edinburgh where we ended the trip.

Anyway, some pics.

We also had a stop off at Dunrobin Castle on the way to JOG.

We of course had a go of each other's cars.

Called into Cocoa Mountain in Durness for one of the best hot chocolates ever

This bridge will look familiar if you read Evo mag.

I'll leave that there. There's so much more to the holiday and the other guys have far better pictures than me

Just have to say that JanesyB organised it all and did a fantastic job. All of the accommodation and food has been spot on and we can recommend all the places we stayed at.

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 15:22

killsta said:
And your reason for not inviting me to this is......?

I didn't organise it

[TW]Fox;29948707 said:
So close to Glencoe without swinging past

Need to save something for next time

I'm definitely going again but will avoid JOG and Durness and just stay further south as the roads are better. Isle of Skye was absolutely amazing and can include Glencoe next time

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 15:32

Saying I'd miss out the north coast next time and just stay around Skye and Cairngorms, Kyle of Tongue is absolutely stunning. Just a massive causeway with a road through the middle. The views are breathtaking. Was actually jealous of the camper vans who were pitching up there for the night.

Also had a play with a Clio 200 up to that point. We turned off to stop for pictures behind him and he turned round and came back for a chat and just talked about the roads around Scotland and where we were heading :cool:

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 15:36

Housey said:
It is a glorious drive, glad I did it.

You weren't wrong when you said you would have preferred the Polo over the R8.

Even Robbie had some issues!

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 17:49

Yeah you managed that banana split really well

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 18:33

Isle of Skye is seriously stunning.

(Skye bridge in the background)

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 18:46

Top of the Cairngorms Click for full size

Going back one winter with my snowboard :cool:

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 19:54

Blackhawk47 said:
Looks like a good trip. How many miles or hours a day were you guys roughly doing?

I'd like to do a similar Scotland road trip but think I would chop the top half off, and skip those bumpy roads.

4-5 hours per day. Total miles for me was just shy of 1400.

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 20:08

WARNING

When chasing down slow M3s in your 200bhp hot hatch, try not to sit on his arse

Seriously though, there's a lot of loose stones and if you're up there in convoy, try and keep a good distance from the car in front.. no matter how slow they are going

peterattheboro · 28 Aug 2016 at 21:23

They sure do.

The A939 was such a great road.

peterattheboro · 29 Aug 2016 at 09:38

This wasn't an OcUK meet. We all met through the forum but we've been chatting privately for a few years now and this trip was 2 years in the making. Was hard enough for Bryan organising us loonies let alone anymore

This would be great with more people and perhaps we can sort something out but people would need to organise accommodation themselves and we'd just share the route and stick to a schedule.

With more cars we would need to split up down the single track roads as the locals can get frustrated with a load of cars coming past in convoy.

peterattheboro · 29 Aug 2016 at 12:13

dacads said:
Great route, great location, great cars

Not jealous at all

Great food?

All the food was fantastic apart from one place in Dunvegan which was a bit average.

The stand out meal for me was the Fish and Chips at Kylesku Hotel.

With this view outside...

http://www.kyleskuhotel.co.uk/

We didn't stay over at the hotel but I think that's going to be on the agenda for next time.

peterattheboro · 29 Aug 2016 at 17:23

naefeart said:
No pics of Eilean Donan?

The lads have better pics but...

Click for bigger

Stunning place :cool:

Most of these pics are from my S7, some off the GoPro.

peterattheboro · 29 Aug 2016 at 18:03

mrk said:
Having to dispose of your own excrement once the bucket thing is full sounds like right fun Jacob

Take a trowel and do it outside, dummy.

peterattheboro · 29 Aug 2016 at 18:26

To be fair I'd love to take a car and a tent. Taking the star pictures at midnight was fantastic. Would love to stay out there.

peterattheboro · 31 Aug 2016 at 17:52

Gibbo said:
The only issue I had when things got a bit spirited is when people start taking racing lines, the stones and lose chippings getting kicked up is a lot, but either don't follow so close or tell your colleagues in front of you if they want to drive fast then great, but either drive fast enough so they do not hold you up or at least stay on their side of the road.

Yeah cos this happens

peterattheboro · 1 Sep 2016 at 11:11

Regarding the places we missed. We did A LOT of driving and I already do 30,000 miles a year through work. By the end of the week I was starting to feel tired and was a bit sick of all the driving.

We (Bryan) timed it perfectly where I felt completely satisfied with what we achieved. If we did anymore than I would probably not have enjoyed it.

I'm happy that we've missed stuff because that means we are going back (or at least I am) and can experience Glencoe etc.

peterattheboro · 11 Sep 2016 at 17:20

Got bored waiting for Clown to make the movie so I made one with the footage I had

His will be better.

peterattheboro · 11 Sep 2016 at 18:26

killsta said:
Nice overtaking on solid whites

I saw no dodgy overtakes.. not on my vid anyway

peterattheboro · 11 Sep 2016 at 18:28

Diddums said:
The guy actually watched 12 mins of footage and that's what he took away from it. And you share the roads with these people.

He's only messing on...