Apologies for a long post- been meaning to do this for the last couple of big trips I have done but for some reason this is the first time I have got around to doing it.
Following mechanical issues, I decided that we should spend this years holiday a little closer to home, just in case anything happens. Plus the fact Mrs Haydw gets fed up of translating German after a week or two.
The plan was to start in Dublin, go up the east coast of Ireland to the Giants causeway, back to Scotland and island hop all the way to Orkney, then home.
Starting in Dublin we did the usual tourist visit of the Guinness storehouse- been there years ago- boy it has changed. There isn't a lot of actual brewing shown, but the do make good cakes....
Have lost 3.5 stone since Feb- all the fried breakfasts and treats like this mean I am going to have to work very hard to keep it off. It was only day 1 and I had cracked already. There wasn't much to see from the top of the panoramic sky bar- it was too cloudy.
We also went to a place important in Irish history- Kilmainham jail. This is where the rebels were executed after the Easter rising of 1916. There wasn't a lot of parking around there, so left the bike near the front entrance.
We then moved up north up the Antrim coast road- the scenery was fantastic from Larne upwards. We had a couple of days there so visited the Giant's causeway. The One show from BBC were filming there- they were getting very brassed off with Japanese tourists wandering into shot. Mrs Haydw really liked the place.
We stopped in Ballymoney- after paying our respects to Joey Dunlop we then had a pint or three in Joey's Bar- his RC45 is still hung up in the bar.
There is also a great museum there with a display of the history of Irish Road racing. Whilst we were there, we spotted a picture of a local beauty spot- the Dark Hedges. We decided to do our own arty photography-
After a couple of days, it was time to move on to Scotland. We used a Caledonian MacBrayne island rover ticket so we could come and go as we liked. The first island we hopped over to was Islay- famous for whisky distilleries.
We went to Bruichladdich distillery and got to see the process of making whisky up close- we had been to distilleries before but were not allowed to take pictures etc- this time we could go all over the place- including the barrel store that only Mrs Haydw gets to see (as a customs officer...)
We also visited Laphroiag distillery- this was an even better tour.
The scenery was fantastic-
Time to move on- we went back to the mainland up to Oban, then on to the Isle of Mull. We had been there before last year for the afternoon and decided to spend a bit longer there and stopped in Tobermory.
We decided to have a bit more of an explore around the island- the roads on the western side are fantastic. It was a bit damp and wet, but still good nonetheless.
We then ran into our only problem of the holiday- a puncture. My repair kit was as much use as a chocolate teapot.
We had to leave the bike at Craignure and get the bus back (20 miles!!) to Tobermory. The recovery company couldn't really help much late on a Saturday afternoon. Luckily the B+B owners we stopped with had a more suitable repair kit- he drove me the 20 miles back to the bike, plugged the tyre and I managed to get back to Tobermory. Next day we got back to the boat to Oban and had just enough air to get on the boat. Mrs Haydw found a B+B 100yds from the ferry terminal in Oban so we spent Sunday afternoon wandering around waiting for a bike shop to open on Monday morning. Am glad it was Oban- anywhere else it would have made an ever bigger dent in our plans.
We did have a trip to North and South Uist planned, but after losing a day and after consultation with the ferry timetables, decided to go to Harris and Lewis instead. It was a good decision. The scenery on Harris is unreal- we stopped every mile to take photos.
Lewis, even though it shares the same land mass could not be more different- it is more like bleak moorland with small villages. It was fabulous being so remote. Going back to Stornoway to the ferry back to Ullapool was a bit of a culture shock. The late ferry crossing was very scenic- it was late and the sun was setting, plus we got dolphins following the boat.
From Ullapool it was the trip north to follow the road across the top of Scotland. The scenery again was amazing and we could have stopped every mile to take photos.
We even saw some wildlife:-
We went to look at Smoo cave near Durness and took a trip across the pond inside in a dinghy taken by a local archaeologist- he told us loads about it- how it was formed, how old it was etc. There were fish in the water inside the cave- he told us american tourists believe they are Scottish piranhas....
On the way to the Orkney ferry we popped in to the Castle of Mey- the Queen Mother's holiday home. It was a fascinating place- somewhere I could have had a holiday. Charlie still comes up there on his jollies- the place is closed at the end of July for two weeks. A lot of it is open to the public- it is packed full of trinkets. There was a tradition that assistants and equeries would by silly presents for the QM - most of them are still there- it has been left as it was on her last visit.
We had been to Orkney before- on September 11, 2001. Hopefully nothing as dramatic would happen whilst we were there. There was lots to see if you are interested in history- we had seen Scara Brae before, so decided to go to the Tomb of the Eagles- the entrance is so small you have to pull yourself in and out on a skateboard- its not very dignified...
We also visited the Italian chapel - built by Italian prisoners of war in WW2 who also built the Churchill barriers to stop German U boats creeeping in and out of the islands.
As the sun was shining, Mrs Haydw decided to take some photos of us on the move over the barriers. The weather was fantastic- really sunny.
After a couple of days, it was time to move on. Back to the mainland again. On the way south, we stopped at Balmoral to have tea and cakes with the Queen- she wasn't in, and the place was all shut up. You can only see one room inside, and there isn't that much to see. We did turn up late though and never really got to see the gardens.
It was time to head for home via Kelso- seeing as the Queen wasn't in, we decided to see if the Duke of Roxburghe was- his pad looked even more palatial than Balmoral. Floors castle looks really smart.
So, after 20 days, 2167 miles, 14 ferry trips, and 1 puncture we were back home. We could honestly have carried on for another 3 weeks. The weather was great- only 2 days of rain and the odd shower- not bad for Scotland and Ireland. Whilst there is a lot to see in Europe, this holiday reminded me of what there is to see and do in this country- it certainly reminded me that you don't have to travel too far to see great scenery, great history and met great people. Some of the people we came across were amazing- from the locals in Ballymoney offering to buy us drinks as we were fellow racing fans, to the B+B on Mull who helped us with a puncture, to the two lads at John O'Groats who had just ridden up from Lands End who lived half a mile from my house. Scotland and Ireland is somewhere I will definately explore again.
Following mechanical issues, I decided that we should spend this years holiday a little closer to home, just in case anything happens. Plus the fact Mrs Haydw gets fed up of translating German after a week or two.
The plan was to start in Dublin, go up the east coast of Ireland to the Giants causeway, back to Scotland and island hop all the way to Orkney, then home.
Starting in Dublin we did the usual tourist visit of the Guinness storehouse- been there years ago- boy it has changed. There isn't a lot of actual brewing shown, but the do make good cakes....
Have lost 3.5 stone since Feb- all the fried breakfasts and treats like this mean I am going to have to work very hard to keep it off. It was only day 1 and I had cracked already. There wasn't much to see from the top of the panoramic sky bar- it was too cloudy.
We also went to a place important in Irish history- Kilmainham jail. This is where the rebels were executed after the Easter rising of 1916. There wasn't a lot of parking around there, so left the bike near the front entrance.
We then moved up north up the Antrim coast road- the scenery was fantastic from Larne upwards. We had a couple of days there so visited the Giant's causeway. The One show from BBC were filming there- they were getting very brassed off with Japanese tourists wandering into shot. Mrs Haydw really liked the place.
We stopped in Ballymoney- after paying our respects to Joey Dunlop we then had a pint or three in Joey's Bar- his RC45 is still hung up in the bar.
There is also a great museum there with a display of the history of Irish Road racing. Whilst we were there, we spotted a picture of a local beauty spot- the Dark Hedges. We decided to do our own arty photography-
After a couple of days, it was time to move on to Scotland. We used a Caledonian MacBrayne island rover ticket so we could come and go as we liked. The first island we hopped over to was Islay- famous for whisky distilleries.
We went to Bruichladdich distillery and got to see the process of making whisky up close- we had been to distilleries before but were not allowed to take pictures etc- this time we could go all over the place- including the barrel store that only Mrs Haydw gets to see (as a customs officer...)
We also visited Laphroiag distillery- this was an even better tour.
The scenery was fantastic-
Time to move on- we went back to the mainland up to Oban, then on to the Isle of Mull. We had been there before last year for the afternoon and decided to spend a bit longer there and stopped in Tobermory.
We decided to have a bit more of an explore around the island- the roads on the western side are fantastic. It was a bit damp and wet, but still good nonetheless.
We then ran into our only problem of the holiday- a puncture. My repair kit was as much use as a chocolate teapot.
We had to leave the bike at Craignure and get the bus back (20 miles!!) to Tobermory. The recovery company couldn't really help much late on a Saturday afternoon. Luckily the B+B owners we stopped with had a more suitable repair kit- he drove me the 20 miles back to the bike, plugged the tyre and I managed to get back to Tobermory. Next day we got back to the boat to Oban and had just enough air to get on the boat. Mrs Haydw found a B+B 100yds from the ferry terminal in Oban so we spent Sunday afternoon wandering around waiting for a bike shop to open on Monday morning. Am glad it was Oban- anywhere else it would have made an ever bigger dent in our plans.
We did have a trip to North and South Uist planned, but after losing a day and after consultation with the ferry timetables, decided to go to Harris and Lewis instead. It was a good decision. The scenery on Harris is unreal- we stopped every mile to take photos.
Lewis, even though it shares the same land mass could not be more different- it is more like bleak moorland with small villages. It was fabulous being so remote. Going back to Stornoway to the ferry back to Ullapool was a bit of a culture shock. The late ferry crossing was very scenic- it was late and the sun was setting, plus we got dolphins following the boat.
From Ullapool it was the trip north to follow the road across the top of Scotland. The scenery again was amazing and we could have stopped every mile to take photos.
We even saw some wildlife:-
We went to look at Smoo cave near Durness and took a trip across the pond inside in a dinghy taken by a local archaeologist- he told us loads about it- how it was formed, how old it was etc. There were fish in the water inside the cave- he told us american tourists believe they are Scottish piranhas....
On the way to the Orkney ferry we popped in to the Castle of Mey- the Queen Mother's holiday home. It was a fascinating place- somewhere I could have had a holiday. Charlie still comes up there on his jollies- the place is closed at the end of July for two weeks. A lot of it is open to the public- it is packed full of trinkets. There was a tradition that assistants and equeries would by silly presents for the QM - most of them are still there- it has been left as it was on her last visit.
We had been to Orkney before- on September 11, 2001. Hopefully nothing as dramatic would happen whilst we were there. There was lots to see if you are interested in history- we had seen Scara Brae before, so decided to go to the Tomb of the Eagles- the entrance is so small you have to pull yourself in and out on a skateboard- its not very dignified...
We also visited the Italian chapel - built by Italian prisoners of war in WW2 who also built the Churchill barriers to stop German U boats creeeping in and out of the islands.
As the sun was shining, Mrs Haydw decided to take some photos of us on the move over the barriers. The weather was fantastic- really sunny.
After a couple of days, it was time to move on. Back to the mainland again. On the way south, we stopped at Balmoral to have tea and cakes with the Queen- she wasn't in, and the place was all shut up. You can only see one room inside, and there isn't that much to see. We did turn up late though and never really got to see the gardens.
It was time to head for home via Kelso- seeing as the Queen wasn't in, we decided to see if the Duke of Roxburghe was- his pad looked even more palatial than Balmoral. Floors castle looks really smart.
So, after 20 days, 2167 miles, 14 ferry trips, and 1 puncture we were back home. We could honestly have carried on for another 3 weeks. The weather was great- only 2 days of rain and the odd shower- not bad for Scotland and Ireland. Whilst there is a lot to see in Europe, this holiday reminded me of what there is to see and do in this country- it certainly reminded me that you don't have to travel too far to see great scenery, great history and met great people. Some of the people we came across were amazing- from the locals in Ballymoney offering to buy us drinks as we were fellow racing fans, to the B+B on Mull who helped us with a puncture, to the two lads at John O'Groats who had just ridden up from Lands End who lived half a mile from my house. Scotland and Ireland is somewhere I will definately explore again.
