Time for a road trip in the UK and this one is to do most of the Route 500 – a round tour of the very far north of these islands sticking to major roads but we will not be quite completing the circuit and we will have a couple of diversions for personal reasons – it remains a lot of mileage and a need to ensure the tank is refilled at certain points.
Our outward journey is lengthy and we need to stop off somewhere as we head north, so stay over with friends in Glooston in Leicestershire. Heading further north we popped into see the Angel of the North (well it was a very short distance off the main road after all) before heading further north – this being a long driving day – to reach the Peat Inn (Fife) which is the name of the village as well as our stopping point. We approach from one end of the village and we can sense we are heading back out of the village before actually finding the restaurant! An excellent meal and location to stop especially for a long drive.
The following day we head on northwards crossing over the Tay into Dundee – where we do not have time to stop but certainly the area around the river appears interesting for a visit in future. We pick up the A93 and then take a slightly indirect route via Cock Bridge and Tomintoul, tipping our hat to Mrs MacKay the local postmistress who keeps (or more likely now kept) the road open in winter with her shovel. I have been this way before and it is a very remote road crossing some uninhabited country – although the support for skiing is much larger than the last time I passed this way. Our initial target is Dufftown and the Keith and Dufftown Railway which is an interesting ride through the countryside. We then proceed to Inverness, formally the Route 500 commencement point, where we had not booked dinner and my name is mud. Having since revisited Inverness I now know that decent restaurants can be found – but we turned in the wrong direction.
Typically it is suggested that Route 500 should be undertaken clockwise but we are heading counter-clockwise so heading further up the East Coast first. Dornoch is visited which I remember as a pleasant place but it does not seem so nice this time – although that could simply be a lack of sunshine. Then to Dunrobin Castle which is a magnificent edifice and of course has its own station which is no longer private. We are spending tonight in Wick – where I have made the fundamental mistake of booking a restaurant in Wick, Bristol. My name is now officially mud (it gets worse). However at short notice I get a booking in a very nice restaurant – but we see them turn away people who have not booked – it seems without a booking there is no meal in Scotland these days.
Having visited John O’Groats we head onto the mainland’s most northerly point at Dunnet Head where there is certainly a very strong wind, a view and many birds but not much else. We retrace our steps slightly and the continue to the fascinating Castle of Mey which is a little further west and was the summer home of the Queen Mother. Now open to the public we are treated to some gentle stories concerning her late Majesty and other members of the family on their regular visits. Subsequently I believe rooms have been opened in the former stables so it is now possible to stay over. There is some beautiful scenery visible from the windows of the kitchen of the Castle so it is easy to understand her attachment to the place.
Our stopping place tonight is Durness which was visited by John Lennon as a child – from Liverpool post war that must have been some journey – probably to Inverness by train and then a bus to Durness where we visit the memorial to him. We have a table booked at the Smoo Cave Hotel and they serve absolutely excellent pies – even if it is a long way from anywhere else. On arriving they misheard Jackie confirming she had a reservation and were about to deny us entry – which would have made life even more difficult.
We do stop and try to visit the Smoo Cave the following morning – but due to the weather and tide they are not fully open so we can merely peer into the darkness. What I do remember as we drove along the coast was the splendid beaches which kept appearing as we rounded corners. Obviously they never see many visitors but there are some wonderful beaches in this part of the world. From here onwards much of the route is single carriageway with passing places and somehow all the 4×4 drivers seem to think that even pulling off the road even slightly is beyond them and so the TT has to leave the main drag.
As the Scots have popularised this route it sees a lot of use by those in camper vans – which I entirely understand as accommodation is not that readily available. On at least one part of the route I decide that the chances of making progress are pretty limited so drop back from a camper van and stay about two passing places (most of the way they are quite numerous) behind making it easier for those who need to get past both of us to do so. Also on this journey suddenly the dashboard showed an amber warning light which I did not understand. We consult the handbook and apparently more than the permitted number of LED lights in the array on the rear display over the boot have failed – but it remains safe to drive – it just keeps beeping when applying the brakes which is highly annoying.
We are now heading down the west coast of Scotland and also deviate from the Route 500 as I have long wanted to stay at the Summer Isles Hotel at Achiltibuie, having read about it many years ago. As we drive the sights we see are amazing – I am doing the driving and cannot see them all. For a lunch break we stop at the roadside- a suitable stop simply appearing at about the right time. Due to cloud we do not get quite the sunset display for which the Summer Isles hotel is famous – but it has been removed from the list of places to visit and I liked it. Again it is a very long way from anywhere else but I confirm the setting is fabulous.
The following day we stop at Inverewe gardens – again on a list of places which in this case I remember being told about it at school for the palm trees nurtured by the Gulf Stream and it is a magnificent place even if members of our party taking separate turnings mean that some people get completely lost. Our destination tonight is Torridon Castle which is a slight disappointment given its reputation – but the range of whiskies visible on the shelves is almost hard to comprehend or from which to make a suitable choice.
The drive the following day is along a coast road with little apart from other road users until we ascend (from the wrong side) Applecross or Bealach na Ba which was originally the Pass of the Cattle reaching 2054ft above sea level. The descent has a number of hairpin curves and a nasty pothole in which I manage to ground the poor car. I suspect it is also a challenge to drive up that side – perhaps one day! This is a very remote part of the Scottish mainland. I strongly feel I would like to repeat the trip – in the right direction – as a passenger rather than the driver.
The reconstructed main roads annoyingly do not hug the coast to Kyle of Lochalsh and I miss the relevant turning to maintain the coastal route. However we do at one point drive on the railway – works are being undertaken and they have laid a temporary roadway over the tracks to keep the traffic moving. At Kyle I take a wrong turning and end up on the station platform! You cannot keep me away from trains.
The next bridge we cross replaces the ferry to Kyleakin used on my last visit and we are deviating from route 500 to visit the Isle of Skye. At the far end of the island is Dunvegan Castle which we visit first. We are spending the night at a B&B adjacent to the Three Chimneys – a restaurant that has been listed in the Good Food Guide just about forever and we are finally here to enjoy the evening. Knowing of my diabetes they take extreme care to ensure that my dishes are amended to avoid sugar – an outstanding memory.
Our first stop the following day is the Talisker distillery. However I had a tour booking for a day later still – luckily they are able to fit us in after a wait. This means I have got three things wrong on this holiday and I have been banned for organising anything ever again. Whilst this was the least troublesome it put the seal on incompetence. As Jackie does not like whisky I however get not only a thorough ear bashing but also a double bonus – extra tasting helpings and then as I have had a lot to drink Jackie gets to drive the next section.
There are as far as I am aware three links between Skye and the mainland – the feted bridge, the ferry to Mallaig at the southern end of the island and the much smaller Glenelg ferry – which is the route I had determined we should take and is a wonderful reminder of how these small ferries are important still. Once back on the mainland we follow the Old Military Road which eventually leads back to the A87. The scenery on this route as we drove through the mountains was absolutely magnificent including a stop at a viewpoint for photos. Another road which I suspect few people ever drive, I have recommended it to others but so far not sure anyone else has seen these sights.
We have a couple of nights in Fort William – mainly so that we can spend an entire day on the Jacobite steam service to Mallaig and partake of the inevitable fish and chip lunch at the far end of the line. In my view the area shows many changes since my first trip to the area when the steam trains first ran. The lineside now has trees and I remember it being very open. The people watching as we pass over Glenfinnan viaduct are numerous – not non-existent as they were then. To support the visitor numbers the entire area seems far more developed – and it must have brought a lot of money into the area generally over the years. It certainly no longer seems as remote – but then you can no longer dine in a restaurant car on the train from Fort William to Glasgow as I did in 1972.
I had forgotten how beautiful the drive is down on the A82 through Glencoe and Bridge of Orchy – our last visit to the area was based in Oban so did not use this road. The road still twists and turns along the top end of Loch Lomond but there is now a by pass road (poorly signposted in my view) which replaces the now partially closed road along the edge of the Loch for the southern half of the journey.
It is then a very long and slow journey down the M6 which as we join it the satnav invites us to follow the motorway for more than 100 miles – but there is a vast amount of traffic and the entire journey takes about 50% longer than should have been the case. We get home very late and it was just too far to do in one day.
Once we are back I take the car to have the brake lights repaired and the underside checked following a couple of groundings – the latter reports no damage – just a misplaced clip. The car done well!
