Scotlandshire on some old BMW’s

Berin

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Well, we’re off. Actually we made it to Scotlandshire today.

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Mrs Berin and I cheated by driving to Castle Douglas in the van, henceforth to the Western Isles and we’ve already had the first cock up.

Mrs Berin was tasked with booking the first nights hotel, also to be the last nights hotel, where we could leave the van.

For some reason she chose a place with a small car park full of potholes and craters 1 metre from the A75 at Crockford or some such place, where we were held up due to a snail dragger spreading their vehicle all over the road. Luckily the nice Scottish police let us through the closed road to find our digs.

Having driven in, not been able to park, and had a look around I took a view that the chances of the van still being there and intact when we got back was small. Mrs Berin and I discussed the matter, agreed it wasn’t her fault because I should have f***ing done it myself and so we set forth to find an alternative establishment with rooms for tonight, and at the end of the trip, with space to safely park a large van.

Miraculously we did, and were now ensconced in a nice pub in Castle Douglas with a courtyard car park. It’s 20c, there’s a beer garden, they’re not mask nazi’s and we’re booked for dinner.

I’ve not done a long trip on the HP2 before, I’ve got new never before used luggage, and I’ve opted for an also untested multi layered clothing system with Rokkerrech jeans and a Advspec Linesman jacket.

Mrs Berin is testing some new 360 camera thing and has a top box with what used to be my Canon 5d, and seems now to be Mrs Berin’s Canon 5d in it, and is apparently planning some staged shots. We’ll see how that goes.

Anyway, weather looks good for tomorrow, first off is the Raiders Road then heading north to Oban.


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Good luck, glad you and Mrs B made it through the cock up ok. You could eat your lunch off the inside of that van. Deeply impressive. Wish mine was that clean!

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Ha! I'm probably going to do something very similar (van the bike up to the border) in September :thumb2
 
Watching with anticipation. :thumb2

I just wish I could remember where I'd met the two of you before. :confused:
 
I’m in. Did the same just before lockdown and trailered the bike to Auchterarder - didn’t fancy the 1000 miles via the A1 round trip.
 
Just had a nice evening at in the pub. There’s a Scottish stag night going on with a Scottish person wearing a joke red hair and beard, a joke kilt and a massive rubber knob.

They explained a lot of things about a lot of things but unfortunately I have no idea what they’re saying.

I feel like Clarkson on Clarksons Farm when Gerald is speaking and the sub titles in German come up!

Luckily Mrs Berin speaks Scotlandish, having lived here whilst working at one of the distilleries. Unluckily she wasn’t able to help as the most substantive conversations took place in the bog.

Anyway, we’ve gone to bed now, and the stag night revellers have started yodelling. Didn’t think that was a Scottish thing but it clearly is.


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Ha! I'm probably going to do something very similar (van the bike up to the border) in September :thumb2

I'll be up thar in September too :thumb2

Otherwise Berin, please carry on :thumby:

:beerjug:
 
I rode my AJS up yesterday, took me a while but I enjoyed watching the 1250s pass me and nod, managed a pint in Kelso then over to Eyemouth for some nerks.
 

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Quick coffee stop at Otters Pool on the Raiders Road. Apparently the otter from Ring of Bright Water lived here, or something.

Other observations are that everyone in the pub last night was friendly and pleased to see visitors, especially the landlord and landlady, contrary to what I’ve been led to believe about the Scots not wanting infectious southerners here.

Also there’s midges.


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Mrs Berin gets taken badly by midges.

Lovely ride today, off the end of the Raiders Road, then up on some tiny singletrack that would have only been bettered by being unpaved through the Galloway Forest, then picked up the A77, M8 and M898 over the Erskine bridge to get through Glasgow. Got sarnies at a Sainsbury fuel stop, then a bit of a
A82 till the turn off for Helensburgh then that single track Posh Pete mentioned over to Faslane. Great views from the top where I broke out the Helinox chair and we had a sarny and coffee.

I’ll have to look at the map to see where we went, but we did have some more lovely roads lochside, then a bit of up and down Loch Fyne, then when we got to Loch Awe we cut short and headed for our home for the night at the Falls of Lora hotel.
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Oh! Oh! And we saw a pine marten, not long after Raiders Road, first one I’ve ever seen.
 
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Mrs Berin gets taken badly by midges.

Lovely ride today, off the end of the Raiders Road, then up on some tiny singletrack that would have only been bettered by being unpaved through the Galloway Forest, then picked up the A77, M8 and M898 over the Erskine bridge to get through Glasgow. Got sarnies at a Sainsbury fuel stop, then a bit of a
A82 till the turn off for Helensburgh then that single track Posh Pete mentioned over to Faslane. Great views from the top where I broke out the Helinox chair and we had a sarny and coffee.

I’ll have to look at the map to see where we went, but we did have some more lovely roads lochside, then a bit of up and down Loch Fyne, then when we got to Loch Awe we cut short and headed for our home for the night at the Falls of Lora hotel.
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Oh! Oh! And we saw a pine marten, not long after Raiders Road, first one I’ve ever seen.

Fuck !!!
They let Shamima Begum back in !! :)
 
Maybe you should have had your diving gear for the Falls of Lora. :thumb2 :D:D

We were reminiscing about the diving here.

Mrs Berin got the bell off the Helena Falbaum, to the annoyance of the locals who’d dived it for years and never found it!

We also dived a nasty dark horrible silty wreck in the sound called the Buitzenborg, or something.

Anyway we’re now on Mull, it’s 20c and this is the view
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We were reminiscing about the diving here.

Mrs Berin got the bell off the Helena Falbaum, to the annoyance of the locals who’d dived it for years and never found it!

We also dived a nasty dark horrible silty wreck in the sound called the Buitzenborg, or something.

Anyway we’re now on Mull, it’s 20c and this is the view
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Mull is amazing - but you have to make a decision Left or right ;)

If you turn left you follow one coast road, turn right and you end up in a small twisty almost countryesque lane with some stunning views
 
Watching with great interest. I have long held a fondness for Gavin Maxwell, pre ROBW days. My father knew him from sea exploits and I have had a project at the back of my mind to find the cottage at Sandaig (sister Bryony lives on Skye). I tried to paddle across the sound from IsleOransay, but the weather was against me and I turned back. I have no doubt Gordon Brown (kayaker, not politician) would have done it in his wellies, but it was beyond my confidence level. I would not have made his level 5 grade assessment. I doubt I would have been level 4 even! I shall return though and try again - and find the monument to him near Monreith. He had a great influence on my life.

Sympathies with Mrs berin, I have to avoid midgies, I swell up massively when they bite. Antihistimines don't work on them for me either. So I avoid Scotland during midgie season. I will get my Scottish fix by following the exploits of others, in awe. :thumby:
 


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