It was August and I was feeling restless. We hadn’t been on our annual motorcycle trip this year so I asked around if anyone fancied a long weekend up to Scotland, the idea was to get as far north as we could and take in the famous Applecross pass.
Due to imminent arrivals and new arrivals (on the baby front) little Steve was the only taker. Perfect, Steve had a new bike to run in and it should be easy to find rooms if it’s just for two. So I got the maps out and started planning a route…

THE RIDERS
Dave Dean | Steve Hurst

THE BIKES
My trusty Triumph Tiger 800XC and Steve’s brand spanker, MV Agusta Rivale 800. Two 800 triples, perfect apart from the fact the MV can only do around 90 miles before re-fuelling!

So, bearing in mind we were going to the highlands of Scotland we decided to carry extra fuel cans in the panniers. We had loads of room as you don’t need many clothes for 4 days and we weren’t camping.

THE ROUTE
The plan was to meet in Ashbourne, then head up to Balloch for the first night, then on to Applecross for the second night, back down to Inverary (via Skye) third night, then back home on day 4. I’d estimated about 1000 miles all in all.

DAY 1 THURSDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2015
Ashbourne – Balloch 286 miles (ish)

10.00 am Ashbourne Market Place. I arrive first followed immediately by a traffic warden telling me I can’t stop there (not a good start). Luckily I managed to engage him in conversation as, on the ride to Ashbourne, I’d realised I’d forgotten to pick up my phone charger. So with his local knowledge (and by that time Steve had arrived) he directed us to a local phone shop. New charger purchased and first photo taken its time to set off.

We decide to head over to Buxton and pick up the Cat and Fiddle – rude not to as we’re so close. This was a good start as the roads were quite clear, however as the title of this piece indicates (Two Old Farts) we only got as far as the Cat and Fiddle pub (less than 30 miles) before we both needed a wee and a warm drink. We had all day so time wasn’t an issue and it was nice not to be rushing. With a warm coffee inside us and extra layers applied we set off in earnest, next stop somewhere on the M6 for fuel.

The next few hours were spent schlepping up the motorways, boring but it gets you there quickly and actually stopping for fuel every 80-90mls was good, it gives you a little rest and generally breaks the monotony, we got in to a routine of coffee every other stop.

It was going well until we hit the Glasgow traffic. All very stop start and trying to filter with double panniers on wasn’t fun, even Steve who normally filters like a courier on acid was holding back a bit reluctant to risk scraping his new Italian exotica. I might add that the MV truly is a beautiful bike, without fail at every fuel or food stop somebody would walk right past my bike to admire the MV, and Steve was always rightfully chuffed.

We soon hit the Erskine Bridge and the traffic dispersed. Only a few miles to Balloch and our first night in Scotland at the Waterhouse Inn, a decent pub with good rooms right on the southern shore of Loch Lomond. I’m glad we took Rob’s advice to stay in Balloch, a nice little town with friendly locals and when the landlord realised we were on bikes he kindly offered his private car park at the rear of the pub instead of the large municipal one opposite.

It’s always nice to know your bikes are secure, so after a wander up to Loch Lomond and good dinner we returned to the Waterhouse for a night cap of a nice malt and promptly got chatting to “Rab C Nessbit’s” brother! Him and Steve hit it off straight away with neither understanding what each other were saying (the pure Glaswegian and the Leicester/Derby man) it was time to call it a night, overall a good day, the weather was decent but the fun riding should start tomorrow.

DAY 2 FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2015
Balloch – Applecross 189 miles (ish)

A good breakfast at the Waterside, and then straight on the road. Our first decision was do we turn back towards Glasgow 5 miles or so where we know there’s fuel, or head north (the direction we want to go) and hope there’s fuel that way. Steve reckons he has about 40 miles left in his tank, well the decisions easy then, we head north. 45 miles further on and we haven’t come across a fuel station yet. I spot a waterfall with a parking area which looks like a good place to stop and break out the spare fuel, however we come across a local ranger who tells us that the fuel station is just up the road, so all’s good again.

Fuelled up and back on the road our route takes us up the A82 to Glencoe around the Loch Leven loop (B863) which is very nice and worth the little detour. On past Ben Nevis to Spean Bridge (the Commando memorial) it’s good that we had all day because we just wanted to stop and take photo’s the scenery just got more beautiful around every corner.

Pressing on, we turn left at Invergarry (A87) and decide we’ll stop at the next place for a late lunch. Funnily there’s a group of Ducati riders with the same idea also heading off to Applecross and a young lad on a TL 1000 (the widow maker) who’s now heading home south after spending a fortnight wild camping in the highlands, (oh to be young!). By now the weathers closing in and the fine Scottish drizzle has turned to proper rain.

Our route now takes us on the A890 and then the A896 ready to take on the Applecross Pass. Miraculously, 20 miles from the pass the weather breaks and lulls us in to a false sense of security. At the start of the pass all is well, the bad weather gates are open and so we head on up. But it’s not long before the next front closes in and soon we’re experiencing practically zero vision, horizontal rain and what felt like a force 10 wind trying to blow us off the mountain (I can remember thinking “what the hell are we doing?!”). There was no going back though, so we just pressed on.

Unfortunately there was no chance for photo’s at the top, the weather eased slightly as we came down the other side and the road dropped us straight into the Applecross camp site which was our next home for the night. As we parked by reception with a few other bikes we all started chatting about coming over the pass, it seemed we all had that 1000 yard stare mixed with school boy laughter at the relief we hadn’t been blown off the mountain.

One of the guys was on a Honda C90 fully loaded with camping gear (pretty hard core). Anyway, our bed for the night was a little hobbit house looking thing which was a lot better than having to pitch a tent. There’s not a lot of accommodation to choose from in Applecross apart from the Applecross Inn which tends to get booked up, but at least you can get a good meal there, which we did, feasting on locally caught langoustine and local ales and of course finishing with the obligatory night cap.
All in all a great day, riding great roads it was a shame about the weather later on, but then we were in Scotland.

DAY 3 SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER 2015
Applecross – Inveraray 183 miles (ish)

We’re up early today in fact too early to get breakfast at the campsite so we brew a coffee and head out hoping the weather’s going to be kinder for going back over the pass. Unfortunately the road is closed to traffic due to a cycle race. I had to read that sign several times, I still can’t believe anyone would want to ride a push bike over that mountain! Oh well, we take the headland road which leads us back around to the other side, it’s quite a bit longer but well worth doing and we saw some fantastic scenery and actually saw an eagle (the first time for me in the wild).

The weather picked up and our route started with a ride back down the A890 then onto the A87 over the Skye bridge and round the southern tip of Skye to pick up the Ardvasar Ferry over to Mallaig on the main land. Riding the short stretch of A851 on Skye felt good – it’s a fast road with good vision, a lot different from the single tracks of the morning and previous day. They squeezed us on the 11.30 ferry and by the time we got back to the mainland the weather was perfect, blue sky, fluffy white clouds and sunshine.

From Mallaig we take the A830 with a quick look at Loch Morar and a lunch stop at Glenfinnan (where the harry potter bridge is). The riding is good today, it always feels better with the sun on your back. We branch off the A830 onto the A861 and take the little ferry across the Loch at Corran which leads us nicely down to the A828 / A85 and then the A819 to Inveraray where our stay for the night is the Inveraray Inn. Easy riding today with lots of time to stop and take photos on very, very nice roads.

DAY 4 SUNDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2015
Inveraray – Ashbourne 328 miles (ish)

Back to home today, so I thought I’d better check my oil before setting off. Alarmingly I don’t seem to have any in the sight glass, oops!

A quick hunt around Inveraray but no one seems to have any suitable oil, so we decide that as long as the oil light hasn’t come on it should be ok. We head off on the lovely A83 to join the A82 stopping for oil wherever we see a suitable looking place but no luck. Its Balloch again before I get any and, suitably topped up, it’s off home for us.

No great dramas on the way home, all pretty straight forward. The 90 mile fuel stops seemed to pass in an hour (I think we were keen to get back). Overall it was a great few days, and we saw some amazing sights, we both said we ’d go again but for longer, there really is so much to see in Beautiful Scotland.

Thanks to Steve for the company and to Rob for all the tips – a little local knowledge goes a long way.

DAVE DEAN
Total miles: 1085