Author Topic: Foray to Moray ... and beyond  (Read 4066 times)

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Offline slparry

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Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« on: August 14, 2019, 03:33:00 pm »
this years trip (starting on Monday the 19th up to Glasgow) with me and my mate, Paul Davies.

Possibly ending via Belfast > Dublin > Wales and home or just a hike down the M6

Pics to follow

https://goo.gl/maps/n7FSSovGr2ZK872n8
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Steve Parry
Sales @ Chester KTM
Oppressed since 1958

Current fleet: '14 F800GS, '87 R80RS, '03 R1100S BoxerCup, '90 K1 .... '15 R12RT LC LE :D

Offline Phmode

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2019, 06:21:46 pm »
Enjoy Steve.

And remember the piccies of the Scottish rubbish bins  8)

Offline mab1067

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2019, 05:12:58 pm »
Cracking route and hoping to do similar in Sept.
My only advice would be the following. Instead of the A9(boring dual carriage way and Average speed cameras, not to mention road works). At Inverness, continue to Nairn( keep going through Nairn past garage on left. 100 yards up road there are traffic lights. Turn right and jump on the A939 to Grantown on Spey. You wont regret it. Amazing twisting road with some long undulating straights. Stop in Square at Grantown and go into Bakers for a cracking sandwich or dinner time pie and chips.
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Offline slparry

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2019, 10:37:27 pm »
Well … trip done, just shy of 1500 miles and everyone, except for the motorway slogs, a joy.

The weather Gods were mostly kind :)

Paul Davies and I stopped for coffee at Charnock Richard before making our way to the Kirkstone Pass Inn in the Lakes for lunch for a spot of soup :D







then on upwards to Moffat for afternoon coffee and cake :)






bugged by wasps wherever we stopped which was irritating, I began to believe it was the same (fast) wasp :D

rather than go back onto the motorway we used the road that paralleled the motorway for a while from Moffat which broke the journey nicely

then onto the usual 1st night stop of the Erskine Bridge Hotel




despite the diet, caution was thrown for hols so a pint was in order after a splash in the pool :)



Day 2 was to head north east towards Aberfeldy and the awesome Dukes Pass ….. but was foiled … to find the Pass had been retarmaced and chipped … didn't stop at Killin as we would usually but went on to Kenmore for coffee for a change, pretty little village.








Then on via Pitlochry up to Glenshee for more soup for lunch, stunning piece of tarmac that invites much naughtiness :)



After lunch at Glenshee ski centre (more soup) … it was on towards Balmoral, Liz declined to offer us tea which was a tad rude but hey ho ;)



We had some time to kill before going to the hotel in Tomintoul (the Richmond Hotel) so we carried on towards Aberdeen for a while before getting the sat nav to take us to the hotel. Again it convinces me that as far as Scotland goes wherever you go the roads are often stunning






The hotel was very pleasant, we had dinner that night at the Clockhouse restaurant across the road. As a footnote I'm not sure what the catering industry is going to do after Brexit as everywhere seems to have Eastern European staff!

Next day after a fine breakfast in the Richmond we went up the A9 to Lybster Harbour for coffee (and cake)







Then up to John o Groats for the obligatory pics :)





From there on to the nights stop at the hotel that proclaims itself as the mainlands most remote hotel, The Garvault Hotel..... it is very very remote, took ages to get to and a 400 yard gravel track (off roading on an RT ….. wooo hooo :D)





lovely location, lovely eccentric owners, Adrian and Eva, no mains water, no mains electric, no phone, no tv.... wonderful!

Dinner that evening was with the owners and was a great way of spending an evening chatting and drinking and swapping tales. Adrian was ex RAF pilot and Eva was Austrian.

The battery lighting only extending to half of the hotel so navigating back to the room was via torch :) ….. the room itself did have lighting

Next morning was on the small B road on towards Altnaharra (which took ages) then onto Tongue and picking up the North Coast road and onto to coffee (and treacle tart) at the little café there. Have stopped there before, the owner, from Yorkshire moved up years ago and fell in love with the are and stayed, diving for scallops for a while before setting up the café.

Only moan was the amount of camper vans everywhere, and despite signage saying to allow traffic to overtake at passing places they'd trundle along blocking everyone else's progress.




Stopped for more lunchtime soup (Cullen skink this time) at the Pie Shop in Lochinver before rejoining the NC500 near Kylesku for Ullapool






There was a Harley event in the Highlands that week so there were a few of them in Ullapool, we stopped at the Ferryboat in for coffee and a chat with locals





From Ullapool we continued on to the stop for the third night, the Poolewe Hotel. The hotels rooms are in an annexe behind the hotel and are very pleasant.



after a lovely dinner I was "forced" to have a treble Ardberg 10 years old (it seemed a generous treble)



After breakfast in high winds and rain we set off towards Aplecross for the mornings coffee stop and the ride over the pass (stunning as always) …. stunned to find the pass is now covered by 4G so could post pictures as soon as taking them!









Then on to Eileen Donan for lunch …. guess what …. soup ….



afterwards riding over via Kinlochleven and Glencoe to the Green Welly




before riding down passed Loch Lomond to the Erskine Bridge again



Travelling home was on the bank holiday Saturday so traffic was a bit heavier. We did 1500 miles, the trip went all too quickly.
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Steve Parry
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Oppressed since 1958

Current fleet: '14 F800GS, '87 R80RS, '03 R1100S BoxerCup, '90 K1 .... '15 R12RT LC LE :D

Offline richtea

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2019, 11:04:12 pm »
Fab write-up, and excellent pictures.
Thanks Steve!

Offline Bruno

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2019, 11:37:32 pm »
A really great write up Steve.  Thanks.
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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2019, 07:33:26 am »
That's a he'll of a trip

Glad you like it up here , always welcome  :)

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2019, 08:27:41 am »
Thanks for sharing with the rest of us less fortunate Steve. Nice write up with excellent piccies. And, to see in the background in the last piccie the formidable ZZR lurking.  :)

Offline TomL

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2019, 01:26:29 pm »
Thanks for the ride report. From your piccies we will recognise you if we come across you in the future.

Surprised you was bothered by wasps rather than midges. I've heard that motorhomes have become a pain on the NC500.
As I have grown older, I've learned that pleasing everybody is impossible, but pissing everyone off is a piece of cake.

Offline richtea

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #9 on: August 29, 2019, 01:47:52 pm »
I've heard that motorhomes have become a pain on the NC500.

Correct - but if you're in a crowd (9 bikes for us) with headlights on, they usually move over.
The only people that didn't were the locals - and there's not many of them!

Offline slparry

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Re: Foray to Moray ... and beyond
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2019, 01:02:24 pm »
In case anyone needs it the GPX of the trip from Erskine to Erskine is here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GM7bGjbgce-5r33htqtjBICQAopxcW2m/view?usp=sharing
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Steve Parry
Sales @ Chester KTM
Oppressed since 1958

Current fleet: '14 F800GS, '87 R80RS, '03 R1100S BoxerCup, '90 K1 .... '15 R12RT LC LE :D