The Little Drumna' Boys..

[Mr K]

Saturday: Tesco, Kingston Park - Drumnadrochit 376 miles.

First we had to get Brian (ballistic) some trousers:

I'll let him explain.

We headed north, over Carter Bar, stopping to refuel bikes and ourselves in Hawick.
Ever north we headed: Innerleithen, the Forth Bridge north, the Erskin Bridge south ...sorry Brian..
Callander, Stratheyre, Killin, then NE along Loch Tay.
We stopped at the Glengoulandie Cafe for a snack. By this time the rain had stoped and we had sunshine.

Brian had an "Ecklefeckan cake" but I just had a Mars bar in case he'd upset the young lady and she was swearing at him......

We carried on, followig the north shore of Loch Tummel, through Pitlochry and up Glenshee....

Looking back:

Looking ahead:

I'd set-away before Brian at Glengoulandie and he said he'd catch me up. By Braemar he hadn't and I stopped for petrol.
The first sign of any petrol problems was a £20 limit on fill-ups, though it didn't bother me.
A text from Brian confirmed he was alive...somewhere...

I carried on up the A93 for a few miles, before the Sat-nag instructed me to "Turn left on unsurfaced road" ... not one to resist a challenge, I gave it a go:

It was just a farm-track with the odd puddle which engulfed me in clouds of steam...

.....and it cut the corner where the A93 meets the B976.

I kept on, following the Sat-nag: Cockbridge, Tomintoul and onto the "Lecht"

...another milestone:

...and then onto the A9 to Inverness and back SW to Drumnadrochit to our B&B www.elmbank-lochness.co.uk where our landlady moved all her patio furniture, so I could park the bike around the bike "out of sight".
I'm fairly sure the chances of a bike getting stolen in Drumnadrochit are the same as it not getting stolen on Tyneside...

Anyhoo..Brian arrived 5 minutes later, we got ready and went to the pub. The Ben Leva Hotel, no-less.

We had "Dark Isle" and "Black Cuillin" and pizza....

...sorry, I ate most of it before I thought to capture the moment..

This doogie liked pizza aswell...

...on the way back to the B&B we were so hyped-up we decided to try some off-roading..

Don't try this at home kiddies..

 

[Room 101]

Great write up... and great looking roads up there...

Thanks for that.. it cheered up my afternoon...

 

[Loiq]

that looks alright...

"my what a nice sticker on the right pannier!"... really stands out

 

[Mr K]

Sunday:

Drumnadrochit-Tongue-Ullapool-Applecross-Drumnadrochit: 377 miles

After our continental breakfast and sticking some more petrol in the bikes, we head north again:

We stopped at the view over the Dornoch Firth:

..and then carried on past Lairg, Altnehara and Loch Loyal:

The Kyle of Tongue:

'kin gorgeous!

Loch Eribolt:

Kyle of Durness and "ballistic".....

An Socach?

We stopped in Ullapool for fish & chips at the place Rick Stein likes..

...and ate them sat on the harbour.

We carried on down the coast after filling up with petrol again: For once Ullapool prices seemed okay...

Looking south toward Applecross:

...and back..

We had to stop for a pint at The Applecross Inn....

...and look across at the kingdom of "The Pretender".....onyack

So then, back over the Pass of the Cattle or Bealach Na-Ba to give it it's proper name..

We had a shower of rain on the way back to Drum' but nothing to spoil the day...

...and in the evening, guess what we did?

 

[Mr K]

Monday:

Drumnadrochit - Home 332 miles

Ate breakfast, looking at the light drizzle clinging to the conservatory's glass.

Set-off in the drizzle and fuelled at Fort William. I thought it best not to go knock on the door of The Lochy as I figured GC may be having a lie-in.

South through Glencoe, with an obstructive Merc M class "driver"...

Run down Loch Lomond was made all the more interesting by a Kamikaze white van man in a Sprinter using us as his outriders: How he managed to overtake a petrol tanker on that twisty, narrow road, I will never know...

Fuel at Happendon on the M74, which was short of unleaded on 75% of the pumps..

..off the motorway at Moffat and across to St.Mary's Loch for choccy cake and hot chocolate in the by now pissing-down rain...

..Selkirk... Carter Bar...Home...

1082.9 miles.

 

[G.C.]

Nice pics Chris, looks like you had a good time.
You certainly brought the weather with you. By mid morning on Monday it was back to the usual "pishinrain-n-blawinahoolie."
Should have called in for a brew, it was my year end so I had to go in early

 

[Mr K]

Nice pics Chris, looks like you had a good time.
You certainly brought the weather with you. By mid morning on Monday it was back to the usual "pishinrain-n-blawinahoolie."
Should have called in for a brew, it was my year end so I had to go in early

We passed through about 9;30 Monday....

I'm detemined to call in some time.

 

[Mr K]

A couple more to sate my vanity...

Cape Wrath Hotel in the background:

....and me almost looking like I know what I'm doing, on the way to Ullapool....

Both picturres by "ballistic"..