Scotland Tour 2008 - Day 6/7

Day 6 - Isle of Skye to Lochgilphead

 Well it was the last day of the trip before heading home tomorrow. We woke up to a nice day again, with the sun shining and the wind soft but warm. We had breakfast inside today and although I liked it, the others felt it was lacking. Anyway, we had a bizarre sending off when the hosts had to rush out to catch the last ferry to Fort William at 9:50am. There were still guests in the house but off they went, leaving the house completely open and available for anyone…

Anyway we headed off with the sun still shining but it was looking pretty naff over the west coast.

We decided to stop at Eilean Dornan for the toilet as Em and K needed after an hour. As me and Blair were sitting there, we thought why don’t we just go in. It’s only £4.50 and it’s not like we will be back here any time soon. So we did…

Eilean Dornan Castle on a crap day. Tourist trap.

Eilean Dornan Castle. Unfortunately Conner MacLeod was ill that day.

Well it was pretty cool to see it but not really that interesting. I felt a wave of patriotism as we entered the banquet hall, and was bursting to shout “MACLEOD!” at the top of my lungs but resisted. However I did have a hanckering to watch Highlander all of a sudden.

We went around the designated tour path, and at one point I think we strayed as we ended up in a viewing gallery looking over the banquet hall. There just so happened to be a tour guide talking shite as we entered…and then I got my water bottle out. As I was drinking it the tour guide caught a glimpse of some shadowy figures in the gallery and did a massive double take followed by a very confused look. Then all of the punters turned round to see 4 of us standing there like tubes with all our gear on. Quick exit with lots of rustling followed. I then banged the crown of my head off a low doorway and that was sore.

Eilean Dornan wasn’t falling down, it’s just the crappy photography…

We spent a good 15 minutes going round the castle and then headed outside. We had a wee walk around and then headed back to the bikes, stopping at the reception first where the bloke behind the desk had generously offered to keep all our tank bags and helmets for us. Nice guy and nice offer.

We then got on the bikes and started the long road to Fort William. Then the heavens opened up.

As we rode through a massive glen I was suddenly aware that Blair wasn’t behind me any more. I pulled in to a layby and waited for 10 minutes. Still no show, so I turned around and headed back to where he was. As it had started raining he had decided to put his waterproofs and waterproof covers over his luggage. I decided to do the same and then walked over in to the wilderness for a quick toilet stop. It was during this quick loo stop that the jet arrive, cominig in from my left on it’s end, the jet was in full ripper mode, with the wings swept back and full throttle engaged. It was low, it was loud and it was one of the smartest things I have ever seen. Shame I was doing peeing at the time. It then shot off in to the distance where we could see it going up and down over the crests of the landscape. Amazing!

We eventually got to Fort William and by this point it was teaming down. We searched for a place to eat and eventually we found a Brewers Fair type place and got in just in time for the heavens to really open up.

A great lunch was had and after the rain calmed down we decided to crack on. Not before swapping my waterproof trousers for Blairs waterproof suit, which was slightly too short for me. It was pretty uncomfortable but couldn’t be bothered stopping to sort it. I eventually did however because circulation had stopped going to my lower body…

A couple of hours later we arrived in Oban and stopped at Tesco to grab a bottle of wine for my Auntie and some munchies and then we were off again, edging closer and closer to our destination.

Eventually we arrived to a lot of relieved faces and although the midges were out in hordes, we got in and settled down for the night. It was great to be back in familiar surroundings. I love it there and they have an amazing house.

Blair and Kirsty were heading home tomorrow but me and Em wanted to stay an extra day. So we did. We took a wee trip down to Tarbert for the afternoon, had an ice cream and a nice relaxing stroll around, then headed back for tea. We had another ace night, watched House and went to bed as we were up early tomorrow to unfortunately head home…

Invarary, stunning.

The final day was better, with the sun shining when we woke up. We had a nice breakfast and got everything sorted out for returning home. We had lunch with my auntie and uncle then got on our way. It was really sad to leave their house but we had to head home now.

A quick stop in Invarary for Em to go window shopping again. She saw a nice crafty shop up beside the Jail, so I headed up with the bike and there happened to be a bin lorry blocking the whole street. I parked my bike in front of some parked cars and waited for the lorry to finish, and noticed that there was a woman in the car I was parked in front of. As the bin lorry started to move I got my gloves on in preparation to move too, but then this STUPID woman peeped her horn to tell me to get out the way! I looked at her and she just sat there looking back at me. I pointed to the bin lorry and saw the driver laughing at me sitting there in amazement. I then rolled forward just in time for her to bomb out of the space. Totally ridiculous and completely unnecessary.

It was then the back road to Lochearn and then on to Crieff, by which point I was extremely low on fuel. My seat was also fecking sore, so I had to improvise again with a towel to make it remotely bearable. Finally a Shell garage appeared and I was relieved to say the least. I was well in to my reserve and had a max of 3-4 miles left. Once I had filled up I asked the lady if there was anywhere nice to eat and she suggested an italian place down the road.

What happens when warm rubber meets warm roads.

Final leg of the journey. Note the improvised seat. The comfy towel.

We had a fantastic lunch at this place, I had some pasta stuff and Em had a ciabatta filled with Coca-Cola smoked ham and some other bits and pieces. Tasty.

It had started raining just before we had got to the bistro, but had now stopped so began our final leg back. The rain had started again by the time we approached my turnoff, but I didn’t care, because I was nearly home.+

The final photo from the Scotland Tour 2008. It’s a photo of a parking ticket that I got when we went to the deli-bistro. You can never be too careful!

 

So there we go! It is all over.

After 1226 miles of amazement, joy, wonder, awe, tiredness, hunger, scents, sights and sores we had successfully completed our round the coast tour of our homeland. I saw things that I had never believed were in Scotland, things that took my breath away. I feel ashamed that I had never known about the places we went to and the various gems that we found. The Bealach Na Ba was one of which that amazed me. I think what made it so much better was the weather. When we were on top of the Bealach Na Ba viewpoint, we overheard a biker saying “the last time I was here we couldn’t see in front of our faces.”

Everything that we wanted to see and do, and even the surprises like the John O’Groat sea stacks and the Bealach Na Ba pass were viewed in the perfect light. Sunshine and nice temperatures made all these places come alive and I will never forget the things that we saw on our trip. I know that if I go back again it will probably be raining or foggy and will not be as good. This was a trip of a lifetime and I am just so happy to have been able to experience it with the conditions we were given.

The people we met were also fantastic. As soon as they saw our bike jackets or helmets, everyone seemed to open up to us. They must get a lot of bikers coming around their way, so usually when we said we were just from Fife, they were surprised. Maybe more because we were so exciteable about what we were experiencing.

My favourite place on the trip was Durnamuck, with the amazing house and view. Skye was close second and the north west was just fapping gorgeous.

Look out in the next few days for my photo stitches. Also the Bealach Na Ba footage and some other trip footage for you as well. I also have a lot to report back on the gear I used on the trip and my new AGV GP-Tech helmet, which was a bit of a disappointment really.

Anyway,
Thanks for looking folks, I hope I could convey even a smidgeon of what we experienced. I know that there is no possible way for me to tell through words or even pictures the beauty of my country. You’ll just have to come and experience it for yourself!

Gordon