A look at 10 days to Scotland and back

This was a trip I had planned on doing some time ago, the date never seemed right but it would not have happened if I had not taken the bull by the horns, so to speak. We asked our friend Steve if he fancied the trip, it's 10 days away from home, which is quite a long time, nevertheless, the length and the areas to ride through made at a no-brainer. We knew at this time of the year we would get wet, and we did many times over. 'unexpectables' a word invented by me , not Angie
All the accommodation was booked, and I had all the routes planned out using the new Garmin map planner called BaseCamp and uploaded to my GPS unit. (The old Garmin Mapsource was a much better bit of software I had used for years, progress, I don't think so)
So we left on the Tuesday 17th September 2013 and returned 1,855 miles later on Thursday 26th Sept.
What follows is Angie's report of the trip using some of the 100s of pictures she took from the back of the bike.Day 1 Tuesday 17th Sept 2013

We set off at 8 o'clock, in our wet weather gear, to catch the 8.50 ferry from Yarmouth to start our 10 day trip up to the Isle of Skye. The weather didn't seem too bad at first. After a smooth crossing we started the first leg of our trip riding through one of our favourite places, the New Forest, which was already showing the first signs of autumn. We then rode up towards Devizes, then through the Cotswold Hill to Gloucester. By now, it was raining cats and dogs! No half measures and the wind was very strong, the combination of the two drove rain into every crevice it could find in & under the helmet. We made our way to Hereford and then across to, and through, the Cambrian Mountains to Aberystwyth.
Shortly after turning west onto the A40 we stopped for lunch at The Kings Head Inn at Birdwood, near Huntley. We were now looking like drowned rats; we stripped off all our outer layers and deposited them away from the entrance and customers. Now for the first of our 'unexpectables', the pub did a full roast for £2.50, unbelievable and it wasn't rubbish either, we them donned our outer layers and continued along the A40.The scenery on this run was amazing; particularly through Hereford and Wales, unfortunately, because of the torrential rain I couldn't take any photos, which was a crying shame. We got to our hotel, The Glen Gower in Aberystwyth, situated right on the seafront, at 5.50pm, very wet, very bedraggled and very tired. We then had the task of trying to dry off our helmet collars, buffs and boots, fortunately the rads were hot so it was not too much of a problem. We headed downstairs for supper in the hotel's restaurant, which was very nice, a very wet start to our ten day long adventure.
Next stop tomorrow is The St. Ives in Lytham St. Anne's in Lancashire, a distance of 178 miles.

Day 2 Wed 18th Sept 2013
After a good breakfast we left at 9.15am, the forecast was showery so we knew we would get wet at some stage. We made our way to the A487 up and through the fantastic Snowdonia National Park, the ride through here is one of the best in the country, it never fails to thrill.
We turned onto the A470 and headed up towards Colwyn Bay on the coast, stopping off for a much needed coffee break at a fabulous 5 Star Hotel, situated on a hilltop, up a long tree-lined drive. As we reached the top of the drive we found another of our 'unexpectables', the Hotel called Plas Maenan, it is a place you only see in films, the inside was extraordinary, and the view from the front veranda was to die for. I was clicking away with the camera taking pictures inside and out. After a posh coffee sitting outside in the sunshine we dragged ourselves away and continued on.
It wasn't long after this ride along the north coast of Wales, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Prestatyn and heading towards the Mersey Tunnel that the scenery changed dramatically as we had to go through and out of Liverpool on the A59 up to Preston and turning westward to Lytham St Anne,s, along the coast from Blackpool, to make our way to our second hotel, The St Ives on the promenade, which turned out to be quite a big hotel. We arrived there at 5.45pm. The day had been better than yesterday no doubt, showery on and off. We had a great supper in the restaurant (a help serve yourself set-up, not come across that before), nice place, modern and comfortable, I settled down to write a few notes about the day, something I will do every evening before turning in. Next stop tomorrow is The Queensbury Arms in Annan in Dumfriesshire in Scotland, yippee! A ride of 166 miles this time.

Day 3 Thursday 19th Sept 2013
We woke up to rain again! Joy of Joys. To console ourselves we threw ourselves into enjoying a full English breakfast at the hotel, gather our bits together, put on our wet weather gear again and set off for the next stage of our trip to the Queensberry Arms Hotel in Annan.
We headed off to take in the Blackpool Lights along the promenade, not far from Lytham St, Annes. The day was wet, dull and cloudy but that didn't dampen our delight in seeing the numerous variety of amazing lights (they must look very special at night) along the very long prom, the famous Blackpool sands were hidden in the mist, rain and murk.
We were so pleased we did that, we then headed north skirting the Forest Of Bowland (a beautiful area we visited during a previous trip to the Yorkshire Dales) and then turned west onto the A590 in Cumbria and then onto the A5092, stopping wet and bedraggled in the Square in Broughton in Furness. We immediately recognised the square and remembered our previous stop here a few years ago on another trip of ours to the Lake District. We had lunch in the same café, the Square Café, where we had eaten last time, and had a fabulous Prawn Jacket with salad, whilst attempting to dry off our buffs, gloves and helmet collars on their radiators. But halleluiah, as we finished lunch the sun came out!

ENJOY A RIDE WITH US THROUGH THE LAKES Click RIDE THE LAKES

As we set off we could now see the scenery of the Lake District as the cloud and rain cleared and I whipped out my camera and made up for lost time. Instead of continuing up through the Lake District National Park we skirted around the west coast, which turned out to be not inspiring at all, when we do this trip or similar again, straight up through the Lakes will be the order of the day! At Carlisle we joined the M6 for a short distance until we turned off for the A75 and rode for eight miles to the lovely town of Annan.
We found the hotel, The Queensbury Arms, which, in its heyday would have been fantastic, sadly it now looked very tired, but for Paul and I it held another of our 'unexpectables', we had been given the bridal suite complete with a large 4 poster, his and her basins and a spa bath, all showing signs of considerable wear, but clean and warm. It was about 4.45 when we settled in, off with the still wet gear, kettle on and a nap before supper at the end of which a local started to sing, very loudly, Scottish folklore songs at the table next to us, cue, bed! Next stop tomorrow is the Royal Marine Hotel in Dunoon in Scotland, a distance of 136 miles.

Day 4 Friday 20th September 2013
Gosh! No rain when we went down for breakfast, good sign. After filling up with fuel again, we headed for the A75 going through Dumfries and Galloway where the scenery that unfolded was magnificent, a photographers dream. We stopped for coffee in a small village at New Galloway in The Smithy Tea Room, which incorporated a gift room. Steve was on a mission to find some mohair socks for Viv as a take home present, but again, no joy, everything but! We sat outside with our drinks listening to the waterfall cascading to the side of us right alongside their garden, another movie opportunity for me. We reluctantly dragged ourselves out of the sun lit garden and set off along and up the A713 towards Ayr, as we reached Hollybush the scenery dried-up unfortunately until we headed up the North Ayrshire coast and reached the wonderful seashore town of Largs where we stopped for lunch at a very busy sea facing restaurant. The ride along this section of coast was truly lovely and as we headed off after a great lunch the rest of the ride up to Inverclyde didn't disappoint, a place I would love to come back to and explore. We found the ferry terminal at McInroy's Point at Gourock and didn't have to wait long at all for the next ferry (they run every 15 mins) and they are such a slick inexpensive service as well, we were all very impressed. The sun was out, the ferry ride was great, and I actually had sunglasses on! As we approached the Hunter's Quay terminal at Dunoon we could see our next hotel, The Royal Marine Hotel situated across the road from where the ferry docked, it looked very grand!
We were in exploring mood as it was only early in the afternoon, so we had a look at a map, found a Club 4181 style 'B' Road and set off to find it. We headed north around and along the beautiful Holy Loch on the A815, I took a movie of this ride as it was so lovely with the sun glistening on the water. We then took the B836 which cuts across Dunoon, through Clachaig, Glen Lean, past Loch Tarsan, around the tip of Loch Striven, Stronafian and then meeting up with the A886.
This 'B' road didn't disappoint, most B roads we seek out have the most amazing countryside surrounding them, this one had moors, high peaks, forests, Lochs, the lot! We then headed north up the A886, again through breathtaking scenery every yard of the way to Strachur where we turned down to the A815 past the stunning Loch Eck, a popular Water Sports Holiday destination. The road was a biker's delight, smooth and full of sweeping bends all the way to where we had turned off at the Holly Loch, We headed back along the shore road to book into the hotel.
Once again, the hotel was once a grand hotel overlooking the Loch and terminal, now, like the hotel yesterday was very tired looking and as it was a Grade II listed building and the wooden window frames alone would cost a fortune to have fabricated. (These buildings are controlled by the National Trust, and the question has to be asked, which is best, allow some leeway with restoration or let the buildings eventually fall down because nobody can afford to reinstate the building as it was, which means they are lost forever?)
Both our rooms overlooked the Firth of Clyde a wonderful location. It was now 4.55pm, we just wanted to settle in, following the usual routine, bike gear off, tea on and a nap before a delightful meal in the hotel's restaurant.
For the readers information, in Scotland distances on a map look manageable, often this is an illusion, our exploration trip on Dunoon this afternoon was in fact 50 miles, on the map it looked like just a few. Next stop is Kyleakin just over the bridge on the Isle of Skye, the halfway point of the trip and our main destination, a ride of 178 miles.

Day 5 Saturday September 21st
After another cooked breakfast we left The Royal Marine Hotel at 9.30am, no rain to be seen and headed north on the A815, a fantastically smooth, winding road and had a truly wonderful ride. We sure have seen a lot of beautiful scenery and countryside on our trip so far, goodness knows how many pictures we will end up with!
We rode along towards the top end of Loch Fyne towards Clachan and switched to the A83 which took us partway down the other side of the picturesque Loch and we then headed up the A819 riding part of the way along Loch Awe, very aptly named as it happens. The effect we saw to the left of us was eye popping! The water on the Loch was so still, not a single ripple and the mountain to the side was reflected down as if to its very depths. We pulled to the side as soon as we could and I got off and took several pictures of this remarkable image.
We then headed to our left on the A85 through the Pass of Brander with mountains either side and Loch Etive to the right. On reaching Connell on the west coast we turned north onto the A828 with Ardmucknish Bay and Loch Creran to our right. This day was chock full of unbelievable scenery, I didn't know where to look first! At the end of Loch Creran we spotted our next coffee stop, it was 11.40am and I was sent as 'scout' to see if they were open. Once inside the lady setting up behind the counter said they didn't open until noon, but no matter, to come on in and she would put the coffee pot on. We were very grateful, it was a long time since we had left at 9.30, we sat out the back on the decking area that overlooked Loch Creran, the sun was out, we had a hot drink in front of us and the view was amazing, perfect. Whilst chatting, Steve mentioned a television report he had seen on television that morning about Languastines, a huge version of prawns about six inches long that could be found up here farmed in the Lochs. He said that if we saw a Seafood Restaurant on our travels he'd like to try them.
We set off after coffee and by coincidence; only ten miles down the road I spotted a sign for The Holly Tree Hotel and Seafood Restaurant. It was situated four miles from Glencoe at Kentalien, near Appin. Steve went in to see if they had any Languastines and reappeared with a big grin on his face. So our lunch stop was settled and in we went. Again we headed for the outside seating area and we all had a wonderful lunch, Steve especially, his Languastines had been farmed from the small pier in the Loch a hundred yards up from where we sat. I took loads of pictures whilst we sat there as we had the huge Loch Linnhi spread out in front of us in all its glory.
After lunch we continued on to South Ballachulish, crossed over to North Ballachulish, on to the A82 and continuing on that for the last nine miles of Loch Linnhi heading towards Fort William. We came across a picnic site and viewpoint where we decided to stop, stretch our legs and take some pictures of the panoramic views to be had there. It overlooked Inverscaddle Bay on the Loch and there were others there taking pictures as well. We were just about to head back to the bikes when suddenly the air filled with the sound of bagpipes! We turned and saw a man in full Scottish regalia playing the bagpipes. We couldn't believe our eyes - another of our 'unexpectables'! I can't begin to describe the beauty of this ride today all along this road past Fort William and along to Spean Bridge, then up and beside Loch Lochy, then up to Invergarry where we headed west on the A87. If we thought the scenery couldn't be beaten after we left the A82 how wrong were we! The thirty or so miles ride along this unbelievable road leading us eventually to the Skye Bridge really did leave us open eyed with amazement! It was phenomenal! It passed Loch Cluanie, Loch Duich, Loch Alsh, the Five Sisters Mountains and numerous more, far too many to list here, truly stunning.
We crossed the Skye Bridge at 4.30pm and our Guest House, Cliffe House was just five minutes ride away in Kyleakin. When Paul and I were shown to our room we were delighted to find we had three windows in our room, the one to the left had the Skye Bridge in full view, the central one had Loch Alsh in all its glory and the right hand one showed the full length of Loch Alsh, as far as the eye could see, where the sun rose each morning. WOW.
What a day, what a ride! As the Guest House was a Bed and Breakfast only, that evening, raining again, we took a taxi to the local Indian Restaurant for a Biriani.
Tomorrow we explore Skye, can't wait!

Day 6 Sunday 22nd September
After another delicious cooked breakfast (not fed up with them yet) we left Cliffe House at 9.30am looking forward to our day exploring the Isle of Skye. Of course, as luck would have it, it started raining as we prepared to leave, so, once again, on went the wet weather gear (beginning to think it will be worn out by the time we get home), and headed off on the adjacent A87 heading along and up to Portree the 'capital' town on Skye. After five miles of residential areas we hit the Cuillen Hills where the scenery turned really interesting, our kind of scenery! Once again, fabulous mountains and views, after five miles or so we approached Loch na Cairidh which turned the corner to Loch Ainart and, if not magnificent enough, there appeared a huge rainbow over the water which turned in minutes to a double rainbow. Although raining, I got my camera out and took picture after picture, trying to shield the camera from the rain, hoping that at least a couple of them would turn out ok. Strangely enough, as we completed our ride at the end of the day, we rode back past this same spot and once again a rainbow was straddling the Lochs.
We reached Portree, a lovely harbour town and stopping at a point overlooking the picturesque harbour we took pictures, then rode onto the A855 that leads from Portree up and around the top of Skye and the down the other side to Idngil. This 'A' road was amazing; the views in front and to the side were incredible. We stopped at a popular viewpoint at Ellishader, about twenty miles from Portree, where the Kilt Rock Waterfall could be seen at close quarters cascading through the cliff edge down to the shore a long way below. We saw a sign on leaving the car park for a tearoom 100 yards up the road called The Art Café, so in need of refreshment we rode down a small track road off the main road until we came across it. The Café is run by a husband and wife team incorporating a Gift Shop selling the husband's paintings and the wife's weaving items; rugs, cushions, scarves etc, and a range of homemade toiletries. It was extremely nice to get in out of the rain and strong wind!
After leaving the Café we continued on our way rounding the top coastline of Skye and heading down the A855 towards the A87 on the west side of this peninsular. Despite the rain this road continued to delight and amaze us all the way down and round again to Portree. We then decided to turn west again on the B885 that cuts across Skye (we are suckers for 'B' roads) and this one did not disappoint, revealing a smooth winding road all the way cutting through vast moors and mountains, an unbelievable ride.
We then joined the A863 at Bracadale and headed southwards to rejoin the A87 and rode back up to Portree to find a late lunch. We rode down a steep slope to the harbour, parked the bikes and I went off to see what was open, unfortunately, apart from a very grotty little pub filled with what looked undesirables, everything else was shut with signs on the doors 'Open from 6pm'. We decided to see what was open up the top of the slope but the only place open within a sensible walking distance was a restaurant that had people overflowing out the door! So across the road we went to the local Coop where we bought sandwiches, drinks and crisps and walked back down the slope to find a bench or seats to eat our goodies but again we were out of luck. Although it is a picturesque harbour with boats and lifeboats moored and very appealing, there is nowhere for people to sit and enjoy the view and pass the time of day, weird. So, using our bikes as tables there we stood eating our lunch, not what we had in mind!
Afterwards we continued, still on the A87, along to Loch Ainart and Loch na Cairidh where the second rainbow of the day appeared, as I mentioned earlier. Fortunately the rain had now eased and by the time we had reached Kyleakin we had dried off from our day's riding. The usual routine - boots off, kettle on, feet up, wash and change for supper, this time at a restaurant 100 yards from our B&B. It has been a good day, but also a tiring day.
Next stop tomorrow is The Strathearn Hotel, Kirkcaldy in Fife, a distance of 193 miles.

Day 7. Monday 23rd September 2013
Today we left our B&B Cliffe House in Kyleakin in sunshine! Typical, could have done with this yesterday, so no wet weather gear! We crossed the Skye Bridge and took the fantastic A87 up to Invergarry, if we rode this road all day, everyday, we would never tire of the beautiful eye-popping scenery. At Invergarry we switched to the A82 leading down to Spean Bridge. Just along from Spean Bridge we came to Roy Bridge Stores & Cake & Coffee Café, perfect, we were ready to get off the bikes and have a hot drink. Refreshed and on our way again we rode up heading for Laggan where we turned south onto the A889, switching onto the A9 which lead us down and round to the outskirts of the magnificent Grampian Mountains in the Cairngorms National Park, this was one hell of a ride, scenery overload! We have definitely got to come up here again and explore this mountain range, looking closely at an enlarged map I can see many 'B' roads and 'A' roads that snake their way through and round this fantastic area.
Unfortunately we had to leave this magnificent part of the world and continue south, still on the A9, to head down towards the M90, but we still had a way to go before we reached there. The scenery after leaving the Grampians was still fabulous though and after riding for about 10 miles or so we stopped at The Café & Craft Centre at Dowally, where Steve again continued his quest for the elusive mohair socks. He had to admit defeat and bought Viv a pretty pair of fingerless mitts instead. We had lunch there and continued down to the M90 at Perth. These motorways are soulless but they did allow us to catch up a bit on time, allowing us to dawdle a bit through the nice areas. We came off the motorway at Milnathort and took the A911 eastwards to head for our next stop, Kirkcady on the coast and find our next hotel, which was The Strathean Hotel. We found this impressive looking hotel at 4.30pm, but again, it was a bit past its best, but to us weary travellers it was a godsend! We ate in its restaurant that night and the food was surprising good. Next stop tomorrow is The Harts Head Hotel in the Yorkshire Dales at Giggleswick, a distance of 214 miles.Day 8 Tuesday 24th September
We left The Strathearn Hotel at Kirkcaldy at 9.05 to start our 214 miles ride down to Giggleswick in the Yorkshire Dales. Not long after we left a mist came down slowing up the riding somewhat. We rode for about ten miles, mostly along the coast, to the famous Firth of Forth Bridge, a magnificent structure like most of the big bridges. It was still misty but I managed to take a couple of pictures despite the lens getting a little damp. We then headed down the A90 and then took the A902, which skirts around Edinburgh, then on to the B701, followed by the B703 downwards until we arrived in Peebles. By this time we had to stop and, once again, put our wet weather gear on as we had more mist and light rain. We then took the A72 for about four miles, followed by the B709 heading towards, and into, the magnificent Scottish Borders. This ride was quite unbelievable, winding through the most beautiful scenery you could ever find. When we left the Scottish Highlands I had thought the ride would be quite ordinary moving down, not a bit of it, the amazing views we had just went on and on for about 25 - 30 miles, astonishing.
As we passed through Eskdalemuir Valley on this road, we came across a sight where we couldn't believe our eyes, (another of our 'unexpectables') we saw a golden glint above the tree line followed by two people walking towards us on the grass verge dressed in flowing gowns and with shaved heads, then to the left we saw that the golden glint we had glimpsed was in fact a large gold roofed building, then appeared a huge gold Buddha statue and a large ornate golden gateway entrance, with a sign indicating a tearoom! Of course, this had to be investigated, so in we rode and parked up outside the tearoom and had a drink, Paul and I had bowls of soup and Steve had a sandwich. We read leaflets that explained it was the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Buddhist Centre which did teachings, courses, retreats & events.
KAGYU SAMYE LING
MONASTERY AND TIBETAN BUDDHIST CENTRE
The first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the West
Located in a peaceful valley on the banks of the river Esk in Scotland, Kagyu Samye Ling was the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre to have been established in the West. It is a centre for wisdom and learning within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and is open to people of all faiths and none. You are welcome to come for day visits, short stays or to participate in our meditation retreats and courses available throughout the year.
Founded in 1967 and currently under the guidance of Abbot Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Samye Ling is part of Rokpa Trust, a registered charity which has three main areas of activity: spiritual, humanitarian aid, and Tibetan medicine and therapy. Our activity extends around the world through an international network of Dharma centres.It was the last thing we expected to find in the midst of all the pine trees, a very different lunch stop!
After leaving there we rode on to Langholm where we joined the A7 to Longtown, then the A6071 to Brampton, then the A69 leading to the M6 motorway down to Penrith. We left the motorway and joined the A66 and then the B6259 to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales and then down on the B6255 along the River Ribble. We changed to the B6479 and after passing the awesome Ribblehead Viaduct that crossed the valley of the River Ribble at Ribblehead, we spotted the Blind Beck Tearooms in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, we stopped, sat outside in the sunshine, yes, we did have the occasional sighting of the sun, and had a hot drink and a toasted teacake!
Refreshed, off we set for our destination The Harts Head in the village of Giggleswick. We all booked in and Steve, being a three years younger than us and with more energy, immediately got back on his bike and rode back to see the Ribblehead Railway Station at the southern end of the viaduct riding afterwards to nearby Settle then back to the hotel.
Next stop tomorrow is The Firs B&B in Hays-on-Wye in Wales, a distance of 184 miles.

Day 9 Wednesday 25th September
We left the Harts Head Hotel in Giggleswick at 9.05am, I was the only pessimistic one who decided to put on the wet weather gear as it looked overcast and fog and drizzle had been forecasted.
As we rode through the Ribble Valley and the Forest of Pendle, on the outskirts of Lancashire, we came across a small village called Sabden where the road rose up and up through the hillside to a hilltop which, even with the thick mist at that time, we could see that it opened up to a magnificent panorama. Because of the mist it would have been pointless trying to take a picture as the camera kept misting up too. One to explore in a future trip perhaps.
We made our way out on the A65 and had to skirt round Greater Manchester, now this definitely was a change of scenery for sure, and we touched on the north west corner of the Peak District/Congleton, Stoke-on-Trent, and then on towards Shrewsbury, As we made our way through Staffordshire and the A34 we encounter a massive hold-up due to an abnormally wide/high/long load being transported very slowly with police cars and motorcycles. Having had enough of this for a number of miles we spotted a sign for a 'B' road on our left, we took it and after a right turn, then a couple of roundabouts and another right turn we rejoined the A34 just in front of the convoy, now we could make tracks, what an enormous relief. As we headed towards Shrewsbury on the A53 we stopped at the small town of Loggerheads and had lunch at The Loggerheads Pub near Market Drayton.
We changed to the A49 skirting round Shrewsbury leading southwards down through Shropshire, this road was beautiful, full of smooth winding roads, it was very picturesque and as we arrived in Wales we were met once again with more amazing views all around us. We rode to Hay-on-Wye a really quaint town, comprising of really old ancient buildings, Hay-on-Wye is, we discovered, the book centre of the UK. We eventually found our B&B, The Firs, tucked away in the centre of the village. Paul & I settled in but Steve wanted to ride out up a small lane almost next to The Firs which lead up to Gader Ridge on the Black Mountains, the sun was out and he didn't want to waste the opportunity to explore. That evening during supper, at a really nice restaurant close to the B&B, he showed us the great pictures he had taken on his ride. We were looking forward to see the Ridge the next morning when we left for the final day's ride back to the Island, 169 miles away.

Day 10 Thursday 26th September HOMEWARD BOUND.
We left The Firs in Hay-on-Wye at 9.10 and headed straight up the road to the nearby track that rose up to Capel-y-ffin and the Black Mountains. Once again, the dreaded mist appeared and the higher we rode, the thicker it got. Steve was leading us upwards and we could hardly see him and he was only a short distance in front of us. We were very disappointed, we were looking forward to seeing the views that Steve had captured on his camera late afternoon yesterday up on the Black Mountain. We rode along and down the mountain very gingerly as the mist had made the track a bit slippery, we were glad to feel solid tarmac under our wheels as we left the area.
We made our way to the M48 to cross the Severn Road Bridge and then down the A403 to Bristol and down onto the A4 to Bath. We changed to the A36, a great road, where we stopped for a late lunch at The Pelican Inn, just before Salisbury, before heading back towards Lymington to catch the ferry back to the Island.
We arrived at the ferry terminal at 3.10pm to discover the next ferry was due to leave at 4.00pm. Now we were here we just wanted to get home but the time soon passed sitting chatting together. We eventually arrived back in Yarmouth at 4.35 and said our goodbyes and headed back home our separate ways.
This trip had turned out to be a fantastic ten day feast of magnificent views, all the way up the country to Scotland. The weather could have been kinder but we did see some sunshine, sometimes when we weren't expecting it. In total, from ferry over to ferry back, we covered a distance of 1855 miles!! A big undertaking for us all, changing accommodation each day, apart from our day on Skye, riding a lot of miles in-between each stop but one that we are glad we undertook. We have hundreds of pictures to make a DVD, to remind us of all the things, places and amazing views we saw as we rode up and down this lovely country of ours. Well-done Paul for a great trip!