All the way around Scotland - my first ever bike trip

Digital Ray

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Hi everyone. I have just got back from my very first bike tour. As I am based up in Scotland with the Navy it made sense to explore some more of the country:flag. I decided to ride all the way around starting in Faslane and going up the west coast, over the top, down the east coast, along the southern border and back up the west side. :eek: I booked the week off work, bought some extra kit, and set off.

Here is the bike packed up and ready to go. I bought the bike last year and it came with the panniers
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The route, starting and finishing at Faslane (marked I on the map). All the letters denote places where I stopped each night. Ardelve, Applcross, Ullapool, Wick, Aviemore, Edinburgh, Dumfries and home.
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Just up the road from Spean bridge. I loved the light in this one.
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Me
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Eilean Donan Castle
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And again..
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I'll add more photos in a new post. Be good to hear any comments.
 
love that Eileen Donan photo.....more pics please, looks like a pretty awesome run, I've only done it in blocks....:beerjug:
 
Heres the bridge to Skye. I was looking a bit hacked off here, as I had just ridden around the Island and had a helluva time struggling against the wind and the rain...
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Applecross, what a road!
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Camping in Applecross
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Self portrait coming up the pass at Applecross
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And another
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Took this one at about 30mph, just holding one of my cameras out at full stretch and seeing how I got on..
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Some fellow bikers I met up in the north west highlands.
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Its scenery like this that made the trip worthwhile
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I actually laid on my back in the road to get the angle on this one. Someone stopped and asked me if I was ok :thumb
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The coast up north
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The John o'groats sign. Paid the bloke a tenner for a photo then asked him to take the shot on both of my cameras as well.
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Nessie!
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I took my flip-up helmet on this trip so I could take photos with ease..
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Camping in Aviemore
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The Forth Rail Bridge
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This was the best I could get of the castle. It seemed that most of the roads were closed to traffic. On a saturday morning I didnt want to hang around too long...
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I took a detour to Norham to get a shot of the sign.
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Nice an breezy at Stranraer, were I bumped into boatman.
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Funky rocks
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Back at base, thoroughly knackered!
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In total I covered 1529 miles. It took me 8 days. I spent £120ish in fuel and worked out my average mpg to be 69 which I was pretty pleased with. I stayed under canvas each night and the camping costs varied from £6 to £13.20. Food was a mixture of crap from roadside cafes (cheeseburgers), to tinned stuff I heated up on my stove, to boil in the bag rations.

I had a great time. I took hundreds of photos but have only put a few on here. In case anyone is interested I used a Nikon D200 for most of the stuff and a Canon G9 as a backup camera. I carted a tripod around with me which was absolutely essential for all of the 'Me' photos, and of the castle at night.

Ray
 
Heres a few more..

The castle again, later on though
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Another landscape shot
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Stalker castle on the way to Oban
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Funky sticks
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The Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge
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Standing at the top of Applecross
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Thanks Ray, excellent report, must admit the night shots of the castle are my favourite :thumb2
 
Yeah, I love them as well. They look even better in print. When I went away I basically had a list of shots to tick off, the castle, applecross and John o'groats were the main ones I was after.
 
Digital Ray said:
Yeah, I love them as well. They look even better in print. When I went away I basically had a list of shots to tick off, the castle, applecross and John o'groats were the main ones I was after.
Click to expand...



brilliant, really enjoyed that, some cracking shots, when's your next trip and will we get more photos please....:D
 
Digital Ray said:
Funky sticks
Click to expand...

Cant think where they are :augie
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Old guy that lives in the cottage across the road came out with puck thingie for my side stand coz he was worried that ma bike would fall. Ended up spending half an hour chatting with the guy, he’s been a biker longer than I’ve been alive. A real character, it’s a chance meeting with folk like him that that makes a good day a great day.

Looks like a good trip wi some nice pics :thumb2
 
Awesome pictures :thumb
Nice report...hope to get north later on in year when its warmer..:augie
Cheers dude..
:rob
 
You're fairly new on here Ray but I for one hope that we see a lot more of you, your ride reports and your piccies :thumb

Excellent... :thumb2
:beerjug:
 
Ray, thats very much like my first "real" bike trip I did a while back, on the same bike !

Great photos, lovely places.

It is indeed Gods Country !


:beerjug:
 
Brought back some great memories for me of the highlands. Remember the first time I took a bike up there and just being stunned at the amazing and deserted roads that cover the country.

And the 3 damp months I spent doing geological field work on Skye during the wettest summer for 40 years. Glad your trip was drier than that.
 
Glad you enjoyed it Ray ... did something very similar a couple of months ago. Great (and empty!) roads!!
 
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