RhoCar Scotland Tour 17th - 23rd April 2015
This years Scotland run trumps the already high bar set by 2014 with similar routes and some of the same drivers.
We enjoyed some stunning new drives through the Dales & Lakes, towards and on Skye, a longer run across the top from Applecross to Inverness & this time bright weather on the southward run through the Cairngorms to Dunfermline.
We enjoyed some stunning new drives through the Dales & Lakes, towards and on Skye, a longer run across the top from Applecross to Inverness & this time bright weather on the southward run through the Cairngorms to Dunfermline.
Great fun; great roads and great company/attitudes from the participants.
Hats off to the route planning - Keith & Andy
The car behaved impeccably & very comfortable; if a little blustery!
The trip badge reads Mallaig - which never actually happened/read Glenelg instead - the route changed here and there depending on time available and the group driving. The bottom line though was the best part of a thousand miles open top driving through some of the most awesome country and roads in the UK.
Blog entries
| Friday | 17th | Here we go, Goodbye to Kent |
| Saturday | 18th | Heading north: M1 J29a to Helensburgh.html |
| Sunday | 19th | Helensburgh to Skye: Glencoe and the ferry |
| Monday |
20th |
Skye to Inverness 1: Skye Skye to Inverness 2: Applecross and a breakdown |
| Tuesday | 21st | Inverness to Dunfermline: Sunny Ski Resorts and Whisky |
| Wednesday | 22nd | Heading south: Dunfermline to Boroughbridge |
| Thursday | 23rd | Homeward to Maidstone |
Cars - full run
MK - Keith
Robin Hoods - Derek, John, Simon, Stuart
Sylva Riot - Callum
Roadrunner SR2 - Terry
SSC Stylus - Dan
GBS Zeros - Andy, Andrew, David, Paul, Me
Cars - met for part runs
Tiger - ? @ Broadford
Porsche - Andy's mates with deep pockets :)
Ferrari - ?
Robin Hoods - Alantoon & ? @ Keswick
Zero - ZeroKnowledge
Zero - ZeroKnowledge
Blue Seven - ? Waved to us heading north on the last day
Miles
Map milage:
Fri 186 (To the start)
Sat 351
Sun 205
Mon Skye loop 121, Mainland 201
Tue 220
Wed 280
Thur 173 (Finish to home)
Above are map miles; 1,833+- miles on the clock in 7 days
Accommodation
The trick with the chain hotels being to book when they lower prices 2-3 months before.
Mansfield Premier Inn
Travelodge Seafront Broadford
Dunollie Broadford
Inverness East Premier Inn
Dunfermline Premier Inn
Retford Travelodge
Fuel Stops
Order of the day is to top up when fuel is available, not wait for an empty tank.
Newport Pagnell
Toddington
Haddon
Mauchline
Markham
Boroughbridge
Keswick
Fort william
Broadford 1
Broadford 2
Lochcarron
Kinlochewe
Lochcarron
Kinlochewe
Ballater
Inverness
Hexam
Dunfermline
Boroughbridge
Huntinngdon
Drinks of choice
Cider (evening only)
Orange Juice and lemonade (lunch stops)
Tea/Coffee - Caffeine hits
Tea/Coffee - Caffeine hits
Essential Kit
Eye protection
Motorcyclist neck warmer
Windproof Fleece
Gloves
Thermal leggings
Narrow shoes
Sun tan lotion
Sun tan lotion
Running repairs & issues (roughly in order occurred)
David - start button circuit
Dan - oil leak, timing, brake bleeding, 3 cylinders (on run home)
Keith - overheating head/water rail union issues
Andy - offside rear tyre puncture
Terry - cylinder #1 big end - car retired at Torridon
Me - cracked windscreen, car camera stopped working
Simon - front mudguard shaken loose
Stuart - 3 cylinders (on run home)
The Drivers:
Left to right: John, Callum, David, Andy, Paul, Derek, Andrew, Stuart, Dan, Me, Simon
(where are Keith & Terry? can't be far their cars are there...)
Everyone who started made it to the end!
Frayed nerves at times, but hopefully mostly just good memories from exhilarating drives...
What an incredible way to spend 7 days.
Its ALWAYS sunny [sic] in Scotland - head north!
Addendum... of course - other weather patterns are available - turns out today, 5-6 days after we were there, The Quiraing looks like this:
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