[St] Trip Report - Isle of Skye

[iPat <pmdavies@xxxxxxxxx>]

Skye, the island of dreams, midgies and a high probability of rain.
And that is where we are heading.

Caz has gone up to inverness by car in order to drop the dog off at
her parents. Its about 7pm when i finally head off with a full tank
and head out of Aberdeen on the Banff road A947. Theres hardly any
cars so i have made the right decision to avoid the dual carriageway
and the weather is perfect. I go past Turriff and soon arrive in
Banff. Im now on the A98 heading west to Inverness and just after two
hours of driving i arrive in time for supper.

Thursday morning is great, again a good day to drive and so i take the
A835 to Ullapool. A sleepy town serving fishermen and ferrys to the
Western isles, the road to Ullapool is great, Many sweeping bends and
long straights and plenty of other bikes out to from many European
countries. After Ullapool i make my way back and cut down (A832-A890)
to Strathcarron, where a hotel awaits us. The Hotel is run by old
friends and im welcomed by the sight of his Suzuki Bandit sitting
outside. http://www.strathcarronhotel.co.uk/

After a bit of reminiscing, we drop our luggage in the room and head
off to invade Skye. Entering Kyle of Locash we see the bridge and soon
go over it. We head south to Advarsar on the A851, watching the ferry
arrive from Mallaig. The roads are small and the sheep roam free so
its a nice pace erring on the safe side.

So far the Triumph ST has been  wonderful and with the sports pipes
its been performing above expectations. Cazs fears of the height of
the pillion have been put aside and she cant see the speedo so im safe
from any hits!

Returning to the hotel we eat and a band plays cover songs while i
enjoy some local ales. The fresh air makes us sleepy and we head to
our kips at midnight.

Friday morning is grey and threatening heavy rain. the micro climates
in this part of the world mean that it might not be like that over the
hill, but it does look dark. After a decent breakfast we head offand i
put spare gloves in the top box just in case. We had intended getting
the ferry over but i fear its going to be rather choppy so we head off
over the bridge and towards Portree. Its drizzle, constant drizzle but
the roads are not busy so its ok. When i can i open the bike up and it
eases over a 100 without any effort. Past some roadworks and we are in
Portree so we decided to stop and take a look. Afeter a 5 minute walk
we were afrid we had missed something so walked some more before we
got to understand theres not much to look at in Portree! Returning to
the bike im eager to get going but after taking the helmets out of the
Kappa box the key breaks in the lock! The other key is safely on a
hook in Aberdeen.

We head north to Uig, a very picturesque place but with the rain we
dont go any further north but cut across to Dunvegan. We are searching
for the infamous three chimneys restaurant (take a look:
http://www.threechimneys.co.uk/). We eventually find it and the sun is
out. The car parks full but we are 5 minutes too late for lunch! How
anyone runs a restaurant here i dont know! We go back into Dunvegan
and eat and find a local locksmith who tries to pick the lock,
unsuccessfully. He has an old Triumph so we have a nice chat.

We head south and cut too early and arrive back in Portee having gone
over the hills on the B885. Theres no cars on the road and you have
great vision, but we go slow as the sheep run into the road. Usually
the rule Little sheep goes to big sheep, but its August and little
sheep are getting as big as the big sheep so its a lottery at times!

Heading out of Portree we have to stop at roadworks while a convoy
system shuttles us through. We are just to late and it seems the cars
just gone are stuck. it will be a slight wait.

It is at this time the heavens opened and all the water in the world
is thrown down from above. After 15 minutes the stuck convoy is
moving. 5 minutes later we see from a distance the convoy coming from
the other side. But its Huge! Our gear keeps us dry and we sit
patiently except that the water runs into the gloves and every two
minutes we squeeze our fists to release enough water for a mug of tea.

Off we go with poor visibility and at one moment we get a shock when
the mist clears and two mountains are right in front of us as if they
had just jumped there! theres lakes of water on the road but we make
good speed and get back to the welcoming hotel. Hot showers and good
food later and the world feels right. Gloves were sodden but no rain
went through the Heine Gerrike Cruise suit or Oxtar boots TCX boots.

Sat am and we head off to Inverness. With one box locked we stuff our
gear into the Triumph panniers to the best we can. The Hotel have a
party of over 100 off duty policemen on bikes arriving for lunch so we
get away early. The route is busy but the ride is great and the sun
shines down on us. Our clothing had stayed dry the day before but the
gloves are still damp but its ok.

Leaving Inverness on Sunday morning after a great sleep, i went down
the A9, taking the A95 to Grantown on Spey. I take the A939 over the
mountains and past Tomintoul and the Lecht ski centre. Coming down
near Ballater i cut through Torphins and am soon back in Aberdeen. 800
miles approximately, the bike was superb with average 40mpg.

-- 
Pat Davies
Rehome a Boxer: http://www.boxerwelfarescotland.co.uk/
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