Heading North again...

Urban Rider · Jul 24, 2020

Thanks for all of your comments chaps, we were only ever heading as far north as Ullapool and had no plans for the NC500. I’ll leave that for another year... re the midges it wasn’t bad at all. Mainly because of the wind, it only takes a slight breeze (3mph iirc) to get rid of them but as soon as it drops they come back with a vengeance. Avon Skin So Soft will do the trick of stopping them biting you but they are still bloody annoying. Worse area for them on our trip was at a campsite around 25 miles from Loch Lomond...

Ok back to business now and time to get this report finished..
The night in Ardmair was bloody windy so none of us got a particularly good nights sleep... We were all looking forward to the days riding as we had some really good stuff planned for the day. As we left Ullapool and headed south the weather changed for the worse. Heavy and persistent rain followed us and we decided to pull over in Achnasheen and take a few minutes to put on additional layers and try to get warm. After maybe 15 minutes the sky started to clear so we set off again headed towards Kinlochewe and the on to Torridon and the famous Applecross Pass, Loch Carron then the Kyle of Lochash and over to Skye to hopefully spend the night under canvas...

Urban Rider · Jul 24, 2020

More pics from Applecross and the ride to Skye..

bod · Jul 24, 2020

Glenbrittle campsite on Skye!

Awesome view of the Cuillin's and Loch Brittle.

Nice little cafe now also! :thumb2

Deleted account 220319001 · Jul 24, 2020

hat road up and down to Applecross must be the worst road in Scotland yet droves of bikers go up and down it regularly.

AberdeenAngus · Jul 24, 2020

Cabby said:
hat road up and down to Applecross must be the worst road in Scotland yet droves of bikers go up and down it regularly.

Worst?
I think it’s one of the best.

Deleted account 220319001 · Jul 24, 2020

AberdeenAngus said:
Worst?
I think it’s one of the best.

Width of a strip of bacon, in shit condition, other than the road up past Loch Lyon I can't think of many worse.

AberdeenAngus · Jul 24, 2020

Cabby said:
Width of a strip of bacon, in shit condition, other than the road up past Loch Lyon I can't think of many worse.

I took a 6.5m motorhome over it..... couldn’t see the tarmac in the wing mirrors

Deleted account 220319001 · Jul 24, 2020

AberdeenAngus said:
I took a 6.5m motorhome over it..... :

Another reason to avoid it.

lucas · Jul 24, 2020

Looks like a good trip. Great photos as well.

You can check on as many weather reports for Scotland as you want, but it can just change within a few miles. That's the beauty of being there.I love it. :beerjug:

Tyzer · Jul 24, 2020

Cabby said:
hat road up and down to Applecross must be the worst road in Scotland yet droves of bikers go up and down it regularly.

I have to agree,not the most pleasurable riding experience but we were staying at the Applecross Inn and didnt want to ride all the way round .

Urban Rider · Jul 24, 2020

Cabby said:
hat road up and down to Applecross must be the worst road in Scotland yet droves of bikers go up and down it regularly.

Gotta say I agree Cabby (I’m assuming you mean the route that misses the bridge)? I wasn’t that keen on doing it again as I did it last year with the missus on the back. However the boys hadn’t ridden it before so off we went. You can’t get any speed due to the rubbish surface, if you end up behind a wobbly box you’re screwed until they find a suitable place to pull over, there’s sheep everywhere who appear to be eyeing up every rider (as if we were Welsh) and if you end up stopping on a significant camber or incline it’s a bitch to get going again....
Anyway box ticked so won’t be doing it again...

Urban Rider · Jul 24, 2020

Anyway from the Applecross pass we headed towards The beautiful Loch Carron, stopped for a few quick piccies and then headed further south towards the Kyle of Localsh and then over the bridge to Skye. When I did this trip last year (the other way round) my boss at the time (who grew up in Achnasheen) told me that if you can’t see the Cullins from the Kyle of lockalsh then bad weather is heading inland to Skye. Last year was clear, dry and warm, this year was not. The Cullins were shrouded in dark foreboding cloud so I new thing we’re going to get wet.. Anyway we pressed on and entered Skye. It was now approaching around 1530 and to be honest we’d all had enough. It had been a long days riding and we pulled over near Broadfield and started looking for campsites. None of us wanted to ride another 30-40 miles only to find the sites were closed so we started calling around... What soon became apparent is that no campsites were open and those that were would only accept wobbly boxes... We relented and succumbed to the realisation that it was likely we would be spending the night in a hotel.. After a few calls and Booking.com we were booked into the Dunollie hotel for the night. It was to be the one and only night we would spend in a hotel....

Both of these photos were taken from the rear of the hotel overlooking the Inner Sound looking out towards Pabay

Urban Rider · Jul 24, 2020

That evening was uneventful, we ate in the hotel bar, sunk a few beers and crashed in our rooms soon after 2100. After the days riding we all had a restful nights sleep and breakfast was good in the morning although the social distancing measures were somewhat questionable... we loaded the bikes up and we’re ready for the off by 0900. The plan for the day was to ride into Portree for coffee and then head back to the Kyle of Localsh, aim for Fort William, Glen Coe and then Loch Lomond where we would look for a suitable place to camp for the night....

Northern jock · Jul 24, 2020

Great photo of the pass from Applecross, nice colours. It's not the biggest or best road but it is still a GWR, enjoy it for the situation and scenery. Slow is fine sometimes.
Looks like you're having a good trip, enjoying reading about it

Popell · Jul 25, 2020

Thanks for the picture of Applecross, it was thick fog when I went up, pretty much used the satnav to determine where the road went!
Looks worth a return visit.
Ride safe

Khulu · Jul 25, 2020

If you want to ride a really shit road try the 9 mile (to a dead end) from Cannich to Loch Mullardoch!

smirky · Jul 25, 2020

was planning a wee jaunt, but it was pissing doon here then booom roasting hot in the sun.....bassa...

anyway wee pint with partner yesterday and after a few pots of guinness we have decided croatia on the bike 2021 :beer:

Posh Pete · Jul 25, 2020

bod said:
Glenbrittle campsite on Skye!

Awesome view of the Cuillin's and Loch Brittle.

Nice little cafe now also!

Not open until August, I believe?

Urban Rider · Jul 25, 2020

A few more pics from Skye..

Urban Rider · Jul 25, 2020

After leaving Skye we followed the A87 headed towards Fort William. We dodged the rain clouds , well, most of them and as everything on Skye seemed closed on a Sunday morning we were soon looking for a coffee stop and came across this place called The Cluanie Inn. The coffee was hot and the surroundings were comfortable and dry so we took a few minutes for a leg stretch and hot coffee...

Heading North again...

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