Heading North again...

Thanks Lucas, just need to remember which ones I took in portrait mode now...:blast

So that was Wednesday night and we woke to sunshine again on Thursday morning. After very quick and bloody cold pat down in the shower we got packed up and headed off towards St Andrews. After riding through and seeing all the golf courses we headed inland towards Pitlochry where we stopped for a spot of lunch and a coffee. By now it was starting to cloud over a bit but it was still warm and we were hoping to get to a spot we visited near Balmoral castle back in 2008 for a night of wild camping. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, back then pictures were taken with cameras and geocaching was unheard of so we couldn’t find it. Undeterred we need we could wild camp in Glen Shee so after a short blast through the great roads we set up in the Spital of Glen Shee for a night of wild camping...
 

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A few more pics from Glen Shee...
 

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Spital of Glen Shee to Ullapool

It was a blustery, no bloody windy night on Glen Shee. The tarp we put up actually managed to stay intact so at least we had a little shelter from the early morning rain and wind. Once it dropped we took the opportunity to get everything packed away and were wheels rolling by 0900. A short ride following the river Dee on the Old Military Road saw us soon arriving in Braemar where we stopped for a great breakfast at the Bothy Cafe (I’d recommend that).. The aim today was to get to Ullapool via Aviemore and Inverness and we set off with fine weather and full belly’s.. The day turned out to be a day of x2 halves. The first of which was full of single track roads no wider than a pavement in places.. very technical riding, planning ahead and keeping an eye out for loose gravel. The second part of the day saw us riding at pace for miles and miles with long flowing bends and massive grins... One of the best days riding we have all experienced - period!!!
The route we took was on the A93 (Old Military Road) to Balmoral Castle, shortly after we turned left on to the B976 to Cock Bridge. Up and over the ski centre and then on to Tomintoul and down into Glen Livet.. At some point we ended up on the A9 and I quickly decided to avoid it as I didn’t want to do 60 dad miles on fuel carriageway... Best decision as we ended up on some spectacular single track roads that pretty much took us all the way to Inverness...
 

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Forgot to mention that one road that needs special mention was the B851 to Farr, it’s a (VERY) single track road that would initially have you questioning your decision to take it.. You have to be aware of the gravel and the fact that it’s smaller than a pavement in some places but once you get onto the open hills it’s incredible!! Amazing scenery and stunning views across the hills and we only met one other vehicle in 7 miles of riding.
 

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I don’t have any pictures from the second part of the ride to Ullapool, mainly because we were having so much fun on the fast sweeping tarmac that we didn’t bother to stop for photos. The road is basically the A835 running into Ullapool from Inverness. We all agreed that was one of the best roads we have ever ridden, period!! Amazing views across lochs and mountains, brilliant tarmac with wide views in all directions. No traffic lights, roundabouts, speed cameras etc for miles and you can really get a wiggle in safely...
After that ride we were looking forward to a beer and some dinner in Ullapool. First order of business was to find a campsite. The one at the end of Ullapool ove rolling the sea was open but wouldn’t take any tents, only campervans. The chap at reception wasn’t particularly helpful and wouldn’t tell us where any other sites were. Google, however was helpful as ever and we soon found ourselves on the road to a campsite 3 miles away in a sleepy village right on the beach called Ardmair. The campsite owners couldn’t have been more helpful so we got ourselves set up before riding into Ullapool for a beer and some dinner...
 

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A few more, firstly the beach at the campsite... :D
 

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Looking good chaps.
The B851, known locally as the Farr-Garbole link is pretty much closed during the winter due to drifting snow etc, but in the summer time, your own little roller coaster of a ride.
You have been lucky with the weather, usually better around May.
If you think the Inverness- Ullapool road is good, then prepare yourself for better roads further North you go from the camp site. I am assuming you are heading towards Durness ?;):D
Have a great time and more pics please.
 
Christ almighty....how stupid is that.

Makes perfect sense to me. :nenau
Caravans and motorhomes have their own facilities on board so completely self sufficient. Toilet, shower washing up etc.....
Tent occupants have to use the site’s facilities obviously. At the moment with this deadly virus still prevalent and invisible to the people who have to clean the site’s toilets, showers etc I would be saying the same thing. No camping. Why should the site owners / cleaners be put at unnecessary risk? :nenau
 
IIRC that was part of the phase three opening that any site could only be for sully self contained use, i.e. their own facilities which rules out public toilets, though bizarrely there are public toilets open
 
Stayed at Ardmair on many occasions, nice site .. but a bugger to get a peg in.
 
Looks great , thanks for taking time to post.
Road recommendations noted.
How much of your trip is actually part of the recognised NC500 route.
How did the camping go with those racist Midges ( hate the English by all accounts )
 
Awesome trip viewed with envy, wish I was there. How many miles per day are you averaging? Wondering if I could cope with the mileage/camping at 58yrs. Do like a good night sleep these days.
 
It’s a bit hit and miss snelly.. Some campsites in Scotland only open for wobbly boxes, no tents and some that are open don’t have toilets or showers available.. We’ve managed to find a few great sites some not so great and a bit of wild camping in Glen Shee so far...

Cheers for that UR; open mind and a good sense of humour will always win in the end.:beerjug:
 
The other two sat by the fire don’t look very happy!
 
Awesome trip viewed with envy, wish I was there. How many miles per day are you averaging? Wondering if I could cope with the mileage/camping at 58yrs. Do like a good night sleep these days.

Me and wifey are going up that way mid August,hotels all the way for us :D
 


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