Wonderful Scotland Road trip – lochs and coastlines part 2

Continuing my Scotland road trip

In Part 1 I wrote about heading north from Manchester to Portpatrick. After that it was onto Tignabruaich and Loch Shiel to continue my Scotland road trip.

This second part continues the journey to the north east of Scotland. In the second half of the trip I spent a couple of nights in Elgin on the Moray Coast before heading down to the Scottish Borders. Then it was home via the east coast

Leaving Loch Shiel and heading West

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ride north from Loch Shiel had that familiar Highland mix of great beauty and damp air. When I set off I was very aware of wildfire reports further west. However they were of no immediate impact to me on the first leg of the days journey

The early part of the day took me past Glenfinnan and onto Fort William.  Roads were quiet and damp and the Glenfinnan viaduct was almost lost in the early morning mist.

By the time I arrived into Fort William the roads were drying and the weather looked for a decent day.  The traffic that had built up through the town dropped away as I headed for Spean Bridge and Laggan.

As I reached Fort Augustus the weather was looking good and I made sure to stay away from the wildfires, which in some ways compromised my route a little but safety and pragmatism were the order of the day. Rothes was sunny, which made a welcome change after the mornings damp and grey start. My route took me on some of the quietest and most deserted ‘back’ roads I have ever travelled on in Scotland.

I reached Elgin by late afternoon and it felt that deciding to spend a couple of nights there was the right call

Picture Set 1 -heading for Elgin

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A relaxed day along the Moray coast – Scotland road trip

Laichmoray Hotel, Elgin

I stayed for two nights at The Laichmoray hotel in Elgin. This gave me a couple of quiet nights with easy parking and a second day at a relaxed pace with no real plan..

The Laichmoray proved to be a decent stopover. The old building felt comfortable and with just a short walk into town it was also pretty well located.

Elgin has a population of around 21,000 or so and grew around its cathedral, which apparently was once one of Scotland’s finest medieval buildings. It became a busy market centre for Moray and as a former royal burgh and cathedral city it has quite a history. I think I would consider staying there again if travelling that way.

A relaxed coastal amble on the Scotland road trip

My full day in Elgin was a day with no real plan, other than an easy amble along the Moray coast. I wanted to fill in a few knowledge gaps and call at small fishing villages I’d missed before. The day started damp, with fine drizzle on the visor and quiet roads out of Elgin.

Portknockie felt quiet, with the damp air and grey light across the harbour. Next up was Cullen and then Portsoy. The 2016 Whisky Galore film used Portsoy for several scenes, and it’s easy to see why it was chosen.  An episode of Peaky Blinders was also filmed in the same location!

Cullen was pretty especially as the sky brightened, and the old viaduct is quite impressive. By the time I was at Portsoy everywhere was looking brighter with plenty of sunshine.

Riding through Banff, Roseharty and onto Fraserburgh was just a very steady, decent and relaxed amble.

I made Fraserburgh my end point for the day. I had a pretty dodgy coffee near the sea wall harbour before I turned to head back to my accommodation.

The run back to Elgin was in warm sunshine and made for a steady end to a decent day.

Picture Set 2 – Scotland road trip, Moray coast

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Scottish Borders and the east coast

For my penultimate stop on this trip I headed south to Moffat and another excellent stay at The Buccleuch Hotel. I have written about this place before so won’t repeat it here but I doubt you’ll find a hotel better set up for bikers.

From Elgin I made a decent route that avoided the wildfires and took me towards Pitlochry, Dunkeld and Perth and then towards Biggar and onto Moffat.

On my final day I headed over to the east coast and made a route that started with a favourite road I have written about many times before – the A708 down past St Mary’s Loch.

The run past St Mary’s Loch was as good as ever.  The air was damp, and the sky was grey but the water was flat and calm with barely a ripple. I love that road especially as you approach the loch. Although the road that runs along the shoreline is very familiar to me it’s never any less enjoyable.

Tighter roads and leaving the Scottish Borders

From there the road tightened up a little as I headed into Selkirk, then opened again as I headed for Kelso. Kelso looked fantastic with bunting streaming from the old buildings in the town square that was bathed in the morning sunshine. It’s a terrific place and one that my wife and I spent some time in just a few years back. You can see more from that trip along with info’ on the Scottish Borders and plenty of ideas of things to do at this link)

Kelso to Coldstream I didn’t stop in Kelso I kept going and followed the river east until the sign for Coldstream appeared I took a short break there and enjoyed the view looking back at the River Tweed as it meandered past the town. Although it’s here you cross the border – in reality it’s just a line on a map.

Holy Island I turned off for Holy Island on a whim. The causeway was clear and the tide well out but I didn’t bother crossing.  I’ve been that way before and didn’t feel any inclination to head there again.

Seahouses and Amble

Back on the main road, the run down to Seahouses was warm and bright. Holiday traffic was building but manageable, to be honest this was the second time I’ve been that way and although Seahouses is a popular place – it’s not for me. The views of the coast I had were fantastic and I stopped briefly to take some pictures at Warren Mill and the castle at Alnwick.

Whitley Bay

By the time I was at Whitley Bay things had changed. The seafront was busy and bustling. It made for a quite a change after days of quiet roads, the contrast felt welcome. Whitley Bay looked a pretty decent seaside place and I thought that maybe one day I should head that way again. From the coast I headed inland initially with the intent of staying close to Newcastle but for a variety of reasons I changed my plans and headed to Lanchester near Durham for my final overnight of the trip. I parked up with that mix of feeling satisfaction and slight sadness you get towards the end of a trip.

It had been a good day, and a route that stitched together lochs, borders, coastlines, and quiet inland roads. Exactly the type of day I like.

Highlight of the day?

This might seem a bit odd to pick out as a highlight but I stopped in a small village called Lesbury for a break

Lesbury is a quiet rural village in Northumberland about 3.5 miles southeast of Alnwick on the north bank of the River Aln. I stopped at the Village Shop – the Lesbury Community Shop.

Service and innovation.

Here I received perfect service, a good coffee and possibly the best Empire biscuit I have ever had – and I’ve had a few!

Turns out the biscuits are made at  a local prison under the Baking Out initiative see the following from the Baking out web site: This is more than just a prison-based food enterprise, Baking Out represents our belief that everyone deserves a second chance and meaningful employment. In our dedicated bakery in HMP Northumberland, our team crafts outstanding pies and quiches that rival any artisan bakery. Each pie tells a story of personal growth, newfound confidence and professional skills development. Our team of serving prisoners receive comprehensive training in food preparation, baking techniques, food safety, and customer service, providing them with purposeful activity while serving their sentences, and marketable skills for employment on release.

End of the Scotland road trip

After my overnight in Lanchester I made an early start – heading for Bowes, Brough and Penrith before making a pretty direct and uneventful trip home. All in all another very decent and very enjoyable road trip. Whether or not I’m yet up to a bigger trip is doubtful, but my Scotland trips this year have shown that with the right bike and a positive mindset it’s not game over yet.

Picture Set 2 

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