Scenic/Hoonage driving roads in Scotland?

[explosive-cabbage]

Im off to Scotoshire in a couple weeks for a fortnight.

 

My rough route will be up the west/middle to Aberdeen, accross the middle/top, up to Durness, then back down the west coast, spending time round Ullapool and Skye, seeing pretty things.

 

Does anyone know of any nice hooning roads or roads that are particularly scenic?

Or public acess on beaches or forest rally stages that are acessible?

I am praticularly interested in small single track back roads.

 

Definately doing Applecross; and the A838 between Lairg and Laxford Bridge looks pretty tempting - amazing views of Arkle and Ben Stack.

 

Suggest anything. I shall be running on Veg and have no timescale so going a couple hundred miles out of my way will not be shirked at.

 

IMHO even the M74 is pretty, so I'm sure I have a lot to learn...

 

I promise to post pics of a slightly grubby 205 TD in sceninc spots...

[DSdriver]

All of the highlands!

I think God has shares in all camera makers.

Isle of Mull is ace for driving around, especially the road down to Iona on which I managed to get a rental Alfa up to the ton many years ago.

[M'coli]

Indeed, all of the Highlands is scenic. The roads around Lochinver are fantastic, find your way to Achmelvich if you can, and the road around to Clachtoll and Badcall is single track. Be very aware of foreign cars driving on the right, and foreigners in hire cars doing the same...leave a big margin for error!

[Largactil]

A82 towards Fort William, and through Glencoe is spectactular - Plenty of opportunities to branch off towards the islands (i.e. Skye)

 

 

 

Cairn o' Mount in Aberdeenshire good too, but loads of leather clad power rangers to watch for.

[Luckythirteen]

If you're up the A82 at Rest And Be Thankful, have a look and see if the gate to the old road has magically opened itself again. The one at the head of the glen iirc. Sure it was used as a SS for a classic rally in the past.

Get onto the Stirling road south of Loch Lomond around Balloch and come eastwards. Once you've passed Gartocharn there's loads of roads through W Stirlingshire and up into W Perthshire that are looning central.

They mostly look like gravel rally stages anyhow.

From there, there's plenty of quick A roads north. Up here, motorway is optional, and the scenery is best appreciated that way. Loads of laybys and campsites too.

 

Ironically, my best mate and I are heading south in a couple of weeks, for camping. I'll wave if I see ya!

[Richard]

The best way to get to Aberdeen is up the A93 from Perth. It takes you through some stunning scenery (and Britain's tallest hedge) and most of it is ideally suited to hooning.

[Spiny Norman]

Pretty much all of it is good, but if you're coming down the west coast a trip through Glen Coe into Argyll is well worthwhile. Tarbert on Loch Fyne I can particularly recommend for lunch if you like seafood.

[brickwall]

Too many "wee" roads to mention. If you see a wee road going off somewhere, just take it and see where you end up.  Make sure you have  plenty of go-juice

 

Applecross can be busy with sightseers and photo takers and stuff, but  still worth the journey though. Coming down from Ullapool there are many great drives (or places to leave the road and die). Getting down to the Rest and be Thankful  is nice and there is opportunity to come off the main road and enjoy some cosy wee places.

[DodgyBastard]

If you're interested, i can send details on the locations of some of the yards full of shite that you'll probably pass on your journey...

[Junkman]

I want more pics!

[320touring]

I organised a fair few runs up that neck of the woods-great roads and made some good mates!

 

Drop me a pm and i can give you some hints.

 

 

Would anyone be up for a "Caledonian Chod Caper"?

 

Sure i could work up something if there was interest

[fotorabia]

If you speed down the single track road towards Strontian-Salen- Acharcle..be prepared to be met by an old lady in a yellow Skoda...giving u the finger and mouthing F..O..its my Mum.

[check irony before loosening seatbelt]

Enjoy yourself!

[hairnet]

anything b

 

and anything a above double figures..........

 

oban to helensburgh (or the other way round)

 

anything above pitlochry thats not the a90 or a9

 

apart from dornoch to wick

 

thurso to durness

 

hillside rd that crosses orkney

 

a7 and a68 obv

[Luckythirteen]

I organised a fair few runs up that neck of the woods-great roads and made some good mates!

 

Drop me a pm and i can give you some hints.

 

 

Would anyone be up for a "Caledonian Chod Caper"?

 

Sure i could work up something if there was interest

Meet at the Crow Rd car park, and bring ropes. Someone's gonna land in a ditch before Fintry...?

[320touring]

Meet at the Crow Rd car park, and bring ropes. Someone's gonna land in a ditch before Fintry...?

Be lucky if any of the cars make it ro the start..

[Guest Breadvan72]

Two years ago I rented an eleven year old 100K miler Porsche Boxster  S (ie a shiteporsche, if such a thing can exist) and drove it on roads free of traffic, cops and cameras.  The A 83 was particularly fine, on the way from Arrochar to take the ferry to Arran from near Tarbert.

 

A9 now ruined by cameras, but there were lots of dead people on it at one point because people were too loony.    Western Highlands roads are better.   

 

2001 Boxster S was ace, by the way.  Flat six in the middle of the car, fabby gearbox, fine handling, mahoosive brakes.  Really a super car, and I HATEZ German cars in general and are totes meh about most Porsches.  

 

[Lacquer Peel]

A939 Grantown on Spey-Nairn is one that isn't mentioned often, but it's 28 miles of fast, scenic, winding, and best of all, empty road. Also if you are veg powered and passing through Nairn I can help you out.

[rml2345]

Lots of the roads through Dumfries and Galloway and the borders routes to Edinburgh from the west coast are rather nice. Plenty of opportunities to go exploring too.

[Richard]

One thing you will see if you choose the A9 is a wild man living in a Mercedes at the side of the road. He's been there about 2 years, Google Charles Ingram A9 for the story.

[overrun]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/pictures-pensioner-charles-been-living-2364285

 

Poor fella.

[RichL]

All of it! Went up there for a long weekend a few years ago with a couple of mates.

 

Stayed in Aberdeen, went up to Inverness, over past Loch Ness and across to Fort William. Loved it

 

We were in this. My mate Mark's not mine and not standard either. 330-340 brake and never missed a beat all weekend. I've got some notes of the routes we took but there at my folks house and I can't remember any of the A/B road numbers. Sorry.

 

[forddeliveryboy]

Durness - Scourie - Ullapool is one of my favs, quite beyond words. A trip out to the coast just North of the Summer Isles (head N from Ullapool, take next left in 12 miles or so) takes you right past Stac Pollaidh and onto Rubha Mor with landscapes to take your breath away and views which leave you staring for ages. If the visibility allows, that is.

 

Skye's main road from Broadford to Portree is a great driver's road, I've only ever seen one Plod on Skye in scores of visits, history obviously dies hard. But remember if you do overcook things, drops can be terrifying if there are no sharp boulders to wedge the airbags into. Best not to go at it like a PistonHeader but allow enough time to appreciate what you're driving through.

 

Veg-wise, I've bobbed into the kitchen at the posh hotel at Isle Ornsay and asked if there's oil to go - plenty last time I was there, good enough to tip straight in, almost.

[brickwall]

^ agree totally. Herewith is a vid going the other way

 

[mat_the_cat]

Cutting off the corner near Bridge of Orchy/Tyndrum is a nice B road, both for views and places to wild camp by the river (if that floats your boat). Applecross coast road is a good contrast with the pass, so I'd try and do both. But do the pass in good visibility for preference!

[forddeliveryboy]

The vid above is amazingly busy, I've been through on good May bank hols and seen five or six cars in total, often half of them Swiss or German. The light is ever changing, and quite spectacular. Have had a few memorable pints at midnight, in the half-light. Applecross pub has never failed, good people and good food, the last time I was there.

 

Try to find some langoustines which haven't been 'processed' according to EU law - they're shipped across to Inverness and back to tick the boxes for our well-paid Eurocrats who know best, so way less fresh. The single biggest danger (any seafood up the West Coast of UK from mid-Wales upwards) is nuclear waste contamination, taking the shrimps to Inverness and back ain't gonna help that. Never paddle anywhere near Dounreay..Dogs have picked up bits off the beach and lived all of 20 minutes.

 

Two sunny days are never the same - and it's at its best when sunny interval and showers weather, I reckon. Some of the scenery looks utterly different in different lights. Phil Llewellyn wrote about this part of the road and suggested it wasn't only some of the very most dramatic driving in Europe but in the whole world. Can't find a link anywhere on the web, typical of so much pre-'98. Worth digging out - my CAR mags aren't to hand.

 

Here's another vid of Sutherland:

[Justin Case]

Fort Augustus, which is well worth spending some time at, to Kyle of Lochalsh must be hard to beat for scenery, especially the A83 bit:

 

 

We went that way a couple of weeks ago, but although the road looked good for a bit of press-on motoring, it was difficult to say from the lofty perch of a coach:

 

 

Note the clever Bova anti-toilet-door-rattle system

 

Return journey to Dingwall was by this, which probably gives a better view than from any road

 

[forddeliveryboy]

Why doesn't gorgle mapping do RailView? SInce they've decided all info is their's, why stop with pics from the roads?

[Luckythirteen]

Just as a thought, and I'm sure anyone intending to wild camp knows this already; it's perfectly legal up here. Within sensible limits of course, with respect to property, livelihoods and so on. Clicky linky, many happy.

Was speaking to a friend tonight, who's of the mountain bike persuasion; he recommended Morar and Skye for wild camping, particularly on the shoreline.

So many bits of my own country I've never been to (and I haven't wild camped myself in nearly a year)...time to get the little Vango out, I think!

[Luckythirteen]

Had a toddle over to Tentsmuir Forest yeaterday, seeing as how the weather was great. I'd heard of it as a place where wild camping happens quite a lot.

I can see why: I've stuck a few crap pics on the Amateur Photographer thread, in the Open bit, so I don't clog this up. It is amazing, and extensive. You could disappear in there. I'll be trying it myself, when I get the time.

It's Forestry Commission land, £2 to park, gate shuts at 2230.

[derskine]

A82 Comes highly recommended from me, pretty much all of the highlands as above is nice.