Day 10, Melvych to Inverness

An earlier than normal breakfast today, as Swiss Tony only does 7:30 and 8:30 sittings, the latter a bit late for us. I should explain, our host is Swiss and runs the place solo, just him and his dog. He does a bloody good job though. 

First stop, should have been another 'emergency' fuel stop for Grizzly, only that fuel station didn't exist, like yesterday's! Grizzly managed to coax the Shadslow to Thurso, where we both filled up. 172 miles he'd done. Pushing the boundaries 😆

After the fuel, our first proper stop was Dunnet Head, the UK's most northely point on the mainland. 

Snaps taken it was time for the big one, John O'Groats. Grizzly got so excited he even bought 2 postcards, and then paid £3.40 for the privilege of sending them back to Ireland. We arrived before most of the bikers on the road, so managed to get some reasonable photos. Only the brave will run their bike up the gravel path to the signpost and only then if it's not too busy. One guy on a Honda Fireblade did, just as we were leaving. 

A short hop took us to Duncansby Head and its lighthouse, the most north easterly point on the UK mainland. What a trio that completed.

From leaving Duncansby Head,  it's a fairly straightforward and reasonably fast ride down to Inverness. We had another fuel/coffee stop at Brora but that was it and we arrived at the  Chieftain Hotel around 14:15. As check in was 14:00, that was just perfect. Getting some time back in the day has allowed me to catch up with some admin, the most important task being, arranging to get some new tyres fitted. I had hoped, somewhat optimistically, that they would get me round the entire tour but with 8k miles already on them before we set off I was clearly deluded. 2k clocked up today and it is clear I need new rubber. They will have to last another week, when I will stop off in Sittingbourne, to get them swapped. Lucky that the tour takes us right by Sittingbourne anyway, Day 17

Pic below shows the Shetland Islands ferry in John O'Groats harbour.

Day 9, Poolewe to Melvich

Grizzly was suffering today, having been feasted on by midges yesterday. 

The glorious sunshine of yesterday was not forthcoming today. Just ready to leave, it started to drizzle,  so on went the waterproofs. They stayed on all day, not because it rained all the time but because it never quite became one thing or the other. Stop 1 was a fuel stop, an interim as we didn't know if Grizzly could get to the next one in Ullapool. We both topped up as scheduled in Ullapool and Grizzly found Boots, so was able to get the cream for his bites.

Next up was Lochinver and the pie shop. It's famous round these parts,  having been on telly. I stopped there back in 2018. They do very nice pies. I wasn't having one but Grizzly had 2 haggis and neeps. The shop advised getting them warm, not that mattered,  as we had an hour's ride to our lunch stop by the Kylescu Bridge, once more on single track roads. 

At the bridge we parked up in a corner and sat on a bench. I was telling Grizzly I was sure there was toilets last time but nothing this. Then, a truck pulls up, and a guy pulls a portaloo off the back and plonks it right by us. My own personal bog!

I asked the chap if it was OK to use and he said something about 20p. I thought he meant it was a pay one. Turns out he had left it locked and the 20p was to turn the lock. We both used it before we left and locked it again afterwards. 

We had another fuel stop next. One in Tongue was a single unmanned pump,  Grizzly said he was ok to go to the next, which I'd also added to the route. Unfortunately, the second one no longer exists! Hopefully, the one 6 miles further up the road from oyr b&b will be there, and open tomorrow. The light is on!

We continued to our digs, a very nice b&b, run by a Swiss chap. We have a room at the front, with a sea view.

There are only 3 places to eat in Melvych. The hotel; booking needed, the Inn; walk in (according to our host) and the b&b. A walk down to the Inn proved fruitless, as they were fully booked, so we ended up back in the b&b, with schnitzel and chips. Decent enough,  with salad starter and a couple of glasses of beer but I fear it could be a tad expensive when we come to pay.

Tomorrow we are heading for Inverness and some points in between, including, of course, John O'Groats.

Day 8, Acharacle to Poolewe

Disaster (maybe over doing it a bit) averted. Got a message from a  lady at Calmac to say she'd booted us on the 12:00 ferry. Happy days.

A bit drizzly as we packed the bikes and the midges were out in force. Annoying feckers!

First stop was at the Prince's Cairn. A monument with a bronze plaque, located on the shores of Loch nan Uamh in Lochaber. This spot is reportedly where Bonnie Prince Charlie left for France in 1746. 

As I was taking my photos, I heard a barking sound, then noticed a little black head in the water. A seal! He/she popped up a few more times and I tried to get a photo but I suspect it will just turn out a fuzzy black blob.

17 miles up the road, Mallaig and our ferry to the Isle of Skye. I was first on, 4 other bikes besides us. A three and geezer going solo. Seemed a bit nervous,  as he was the only one to strap and chock his bike.

On the crossing,  the sun came out and stayed out for the rest of the journey. A bloody brilliant day, despite Grizzly gerring tooted by an irate driver on the single track road. 

We had about 20 miles of riding on Skye, before leaving via the Skye Bridge. Going over it was akin to the Atlantic Road bridge in Norway and the view from the top just spectacular. The other side is Kyle of Lochalsh and our fuel/coffee stop. I was glad not to be filling the tank,  as it was £141.9 per litre, by far the most expensive we've seen. 

Our next stint saw us back on single track roads,  as we made our way over the mountains to Applecross. It was during this run that Ginny clocked up 18,000 miles. Did anyone have a guess? 

We stopped at  Applecross,  though Grizzly said he didn't want coffee,  so we carried on but not before the Shadslow refused to start for a few minutes. Eventually Grizzly coaxed her into life and we were back on single tracks.

The day ended with our arrival in Poolewe, on the banks of Loch Ewe (see below). Bizarrely, 80% of the staff at the Poolewe Hotel are Russian!

Believe it or not,  we are still some way short of being at the top of Scotland. 200 miles tomorrow will see us reach that point  then make our way slightly east. Weather sounds like a repeat of today. 😎

Day 7, Inveraray to Acharacle

We, well I, came up with a plan. I'd ride ahead to the petrol station and Grizzly would do what he does best, go slow, in order to conserve fuel. If he ran out, he'd ring and I'd get a can to take back. If he made it, all well and good. 

Happy to say, he made it, 9 miles after his warning light came on. Our next stop, believe it or not,  was another fuel stop. This was always going to be a short stint, due to the location of petrol stations along our route coinciding with Grizzly's 150 mile range but this was just 69 miles. I pulled in at a pump, then dozy bollix pulls alongside. "Will I be after filling up as well?" "Well yes, you'll run out before I will" Both fuelled up, a few miles down the road,  we took the Corran ferry. Barely wider than the ferry this band of water took about 2 minutes to cross. Kerching,  £7!

We were heading for Ardnamurchan Lighthouse. What we didn't realise was, that get there, we had to travel along 35 miles of single track road. Twisty, with loose gravel,  blind summits and of course, oncoming traffic, it was quite a strain, as concentration needs to be very high. The view of the loch, was I'm sure, very nice but we just didn't have a second to look. Two thirds in, we stopped and had some lunch, before continuing our arduous journey. At the end of this trek, we found the road and lighthouse closed,  due to works, so we ended 450 yards short of the most westerly point of the UK. ☹

As if that wasn't bad enough, we then had to retrace our tracks. I'd had a message to say we couldn't check in at the time we thought, so when we arrived in Acharacle, we took the opportunity to visit the pub/hotel and book a table for dinner. 

Finally checked in and freshened up, we made our way back to the Shiel Hotel,  where we had some bevvies and half a plate of chicken dinner!

Had another message to say our ferry for tomorrow is cancelled and I need to ring after 8am. Hopefully we can just get the next one but I'll find out tomorrow morning. Whatever happens,  we overnight in Poolewe.

Day 6, Sandhead to Inveraray

A chilly start but dry, that's the main thing. After a little loop, we stopped in Stranraer to fuel up at Morrisons. The next leg took us passed the Cairnryan ferries, where we had embarked for Belfast as 4 Wild Hogs, back in 2012.

We stopped at a memorial for the Russian warship Varyag, that foundered off the coast back in 1920 I think. The story is not quite as straightforward as it might seem but I'm not going to go into it here. You have Google. 

Next stop, the Electric Brae. Many will have heard of this. It's a stretch of road that gives an optical illusion of going uphill when it actually goes downhill. It's to do with the surrounding landscape. Could sort of see it but not quite the wow factor I had imagined.

The pic below is facing downhill. See if you can see the illusion. 

Our next stop was the Wemyss ferry. They only sail at five passed the hour. You have to have your ticket 20 minutes before sailing but our arrival time was due to be 12:55, so we decided we would stop for a coffee and get the 14:05. Well, that was the plan!

I blame myself for what transpired. We came up to a busy two lane roundabout and I made a last ditch dive for the inner lane, leaving Grizzly stuck in the outer. Clear of the roundabout we were on 70mph dual carriageway,  so I opened Ginny up. Some miles down the road, I spotted a garage at a small roundabout and pulled in. Aware Grizzly would have no clue where I was, he was so far behind, I stood on the pavement. After a while I spotted the hi viz and headlight. As he approached the roundabout I started waving my arms,  then clapping my hands as he sailed on by. Not a problem,  he couldn't have failed to see me, surely and would no doubt appear again in a minute or so. NO! I waited a few minutes before realising he obviously rides with his eyes closed and that I would have catch him up. The ferry was still in port as I arrived,  shortly after Grizzly, and the guy asked if we were going on but when I said we didn't have tickets,  he said we'd have to wait for the 14:05. As that was our original though,  no harm done. We got to go to the loo and Grizzly had his coffee and snack. 

The crossing takes around 30 minutes Grizzly had a nap, and I saw a whale. From Rothesay we had a shortish blast up the edge of the loch to Colintrave, where we jumped on another ferry. This time, the journey was only a few minutes and we paid £8.90 for the privilege.

From the ferry to our hostel, was a really brilliant ride. Road condition was good and we were able to keep up an almost constant 60mph. The temperature was pleasantly warm too. On the way we passed  by/through a local rally. And to think we thought the people at the roadside were waiting for us! 

The hostel is the one we stayed in on the Reservoir Hogs tour in 2012. Pity I forgot how small the rooms are. 

Dinner and beer was had in the Inveraray  Inn, where we drank in 2012 too. Back then we all had battered haggis and chips but not tonight, though Grizzly didn't come back with me, so he might indulge.

Tomorrow we have another ferry ride and aim to make our way to the most westerly point. One slight hiccup,  the place we filled at up 9 years ago, no longer sells fuel, so it's 24 miles to the nearest. Touch and go if Grizzly will make it. I'm sure you all be on tenterhooks waiting to discover the outcome.

Day 5, Gretna to Sandhead

Our first full day in the land of the haggis. Also happened to be Grizzly's birthday so I greeted him with a birthday card containing some bear holding a beer stickers. 

It was raining as we woke and still was as we made our over to breakfast but by the time we were all togged up, it had at least stopped. A good omen maybe for the young couple in the bar last night who were getting married. 

We headed west, through some very nice countryside and even nicer little coastal villages. The roads were still very wet and the mixture of billiard smooth, worn ridged chippings and new chippings with loose gravel. Every bend a different challenge. 

After a fuel stop at Kirkcudbright, we made a stop for some photos at a little bay, called Isle of Whithorn. After all, as this is supposed to be a coastal tour, we should at least have some seaside shots.

The hoped for sunshine failed to materialise and it remained dull and threatening. It was also quite chilly,  so on went the heated grips.

Our 2nd scheduled stop of the day was at the Mull of Galloway. Here is the southernmost tip of mainland Scotland,  so we can tick that off the list. There's a nice looking lighthouse and about 150ft below so I discovered, on the cliff edge,  a foghorn. 

I can tell you, it was far easier going down than back up! The lighthouse is about 30 minutes from our hotel, so as we'd made pretty good time from Gretna, we managed to arrive fairly early, which gave us time to look around this one road village of Sandhead, before dinner. 

As the only establishment other than a corner shop, we were surprised to find the food of a very high standard. Grizzly particularly fond of his chicken stuffed with haggis!

Tomorrow we are aiming for Inveraray, revisiting where we stayed on our very first Wild Hogs tour back in 2012. A battered haggis and chip supper is highly likely. They say never go back, hopefully we won't regret it. 

Day 4, God's own country to Jockland

Hotel let us down this morning. Book a time for breakfast,  then wait 30 minutes for it to arrive, along with others for people who had come later! Made us late leaving.

Suspecting the worst, we put on our waterproof bottoms. They are a bugger to put on at the side of the road.

Our first stop was at the Rampside Lighthouse, just south of Barrow in Furness.  Built in 1875, it is the only surviving example of 13 such beacons built around Barrow during the late 19th century. It stands 20 metres (66 ft) tall and is constructed from red and yellow bricks. A quirky little thing.

We had an interesting day and in the main, a dry one, the rain only coming about 4pm, soon after we left Keswick.

At one point we found our way blocked, by water no less. Tomtom doesn't give you the option to avoid roads subject to tidal waters, so as we came to the River Esk estuary and the road was under water, we were forced to turn around. Had we been on GS Beemers, maybe we'd have given it a go.

Shortly after, we were making our way over the Lake District hills to Keswick. A detour from our coastal route but Grizzly's first chance to pay his respects to our Wild Hog pal Dudley. The gravestone was a little overgrown, so I cleared it of the long grass. Least we can do for our buddy.

From Keswick we made our way back to the coast, at Workington and then continued up. The next place of interest was Bowness-on-Solway, the western end of Hadrian's Wall, not that there's anything to see though. 

A few miles more and we arrived in Gretna. Our room is in a 'cabin', one of about 7 across the car park from the restaurant. As I type, it is hammering down and my brolly is in the topbox! Oh well. 

Tomorrow we shall be making our way to the southernmost tip of mainland Scotland. Hoping the weather holds. It's not looking too bad for the next few days, if the forecast can be believed. We'll see.

Day 3, Ingerland

Forgot to mention yesterday,  Ginny clocked up 17,000 miles, shortly after leaving Llanfair PG. Might be a prize for anyone who can guess the nearest place to her making it 18k.

Was raining when we woke, so waterproofs went on. Almost immediately,  the sun came out. By the time we reached the Wirral,  we we both feeling a tad warm, so stopped to remove them. Within a couple of minutes it had clouded over and was starting to spit with rain. We took the tunnel under the River Mersey into Liverpool and on exiting, it started to rain heavily. We had a lunch date with 'Sheila' but those last 2 miles were most unpleasant. It continued to rain then, for the next 4 hours  until we reached our hotel in Silverdale,  overlooking Morecambe Bay.

The going from Liverpool was hard going and just because of the weather. There seemed to be a  plethora of vehicles intent on travelling 10 mph under the limit.

We made one stop on the way, in Morecambe itself, to get a photo of the late, great Eric Morecambe. I had identified a car park  right by his statue, only to find it closed off with cones. Seeing nothing else, we rode through the cones and set about getting our photos. A chap approached us to say the car park was closed. I told him I knew but I'd ridden a long way to get my photo. He accepted that and we were on our way soon after, arriving at our Hotel in Silverdale shortly before 6pm.

Tomorrow we will end the day in Gretna, Scotland but first we'll be making a stop to visit our Wild Hog pal Dudley, in his final resting place in Keswick.

Day 2, New Quay to Llandudno

A very big breakfast saw us on our way at 8:45. Weather was ok, dry if a tad chilly and overcast. First stop was at the Penmaenpool toll bridge, a grade II listed wooden bridge. 

The railway used to come here, hence the railway signals in the photo. Now the line' route is a cycle track.

Had a scare on Ginny on the way. Heading up a very steep hill it felt as if the brakes were being applied. For quite a number of miles after, a warming light kept flashing on the dash. We stopped at a level crossing,  so I took the opportunity to switch Ginny off. Back on, all was well and has been since. Very strange.  

On a different note,  I saw a whale in one of the bays, as we came down into one of the seaside towns. 

After Penmaenpool,  next stop was Harlech and the castle, just to take some photos. It was a bit hairy going up a narrow and steep road, with 2 very tight hairpins but we made it without too much problem. Nervy moments though.

Another photo op stop, was across the river from Caernarfon castle. I reckon this is the best view you'll get. 

From Caernarfon, we made our way to Pwllheli and then mainly across country and down some very narrow lanes. Was a bit off-putting that at almost every corner,  there were skid marks on the road! 

Our penultimate stop was at the famous place with the longest name and another photo opportunity at the station. It's a very popular spot and I had to queue to get my photo done, as there were quite a number of bikers already there.

 Photo done, it was on to Llandudno but not without another Tomtom issue first, though that may have been my interpretation,  rather TT.

On arriving in Llandudno, I took us onto the Great Orme toll circuit. Costs £1.90 per bike, which is a lot for about a 3 mile circuit but we're only here once. By this time though, the weather was superb and views spectacular,  so definitely worth the effort and cost. I think the lady on the toll gate took a shine to me, though maybe she was just being friendly. She wanted me Grizzly!

Found the B&B easily enough. Room on the top floor is nice and spacious enough but a bugger to get 2 with pannier bags, etc in each hand. Only complaint. Had dinner and a few beers in Wetherspoons, a converted theatre. No booking required. 

Tomorrow we head into England, with a stop at my friend in Liverpool. Bless her, she's offered to make apple pastries and sandwiches for us. Grizzly won't say no, he's a 3 meals a day man!

Bye for now.

Day 1 - Pembroke to New Quay

To have this tour, any tour, finally begin, is a massive relief. Not so long in the planning this one, as it replaces the twice postponed European tour but will, hopefully, be no less interesting and entertaining. There's never a dull moment with Grizzly! Europe sounds a lot bigger deal than UK but we can still expect to cover over four thousand miles. You'll find out exactly how many on July 15th.

The two of us came together today in the non too glamorous surroundings of Pembroke Tesco fuel station.  As I rounded the corner Grizzly was already queuing. Bikes fuelled we headed for McDonalds,giving us the chance to grab a bite to eat, before hitting the road.

Weather was ok. Not raining and not too cold, just not blazing sun either.

Our first stop was supposed to be in Cardigan for a coffee. Unable to find a place to park, we decided to carry on. Problem. The next route had a slight error in it, so we ended up going back some of the way we had just travelled, before we were able to sort Tomtom out. Wouldn't be a tour without me getting us 'lost' somewhere. I had hoped we'd get through the first day though. Back in Cardigan we were able to park, only to be rejected by the coffee shop, as they were having a private party! On we went. At one point our way was blocked by a road closure but nothing Tomtom couldn't handle. We arrived at the B&B in New Quay about 17:30, got ready to head to town, and tried to get a cab. 45 minutes they said, so our landlady Hilary, kindly offered to drive us in. Very kind of her. She even offered to pick us up.

Given the booking situation for meals, we settled for takeaway fish and chips and sat out of the wind on the harbour wall. Steven Seagull, was in close attendance! Fed, we headed for the nearest pub, The Hotel  Penwig and were lucky to secure the last table outside. We had a couple of pints, by which time it was pretty chilly. With another long wait for a cab, and not wishing to drag Hilary out, we walked back. It's not that far, just awkward for those not so mobile.

Now time for bed. Tomorrow we continue north, destination Llandudno.

Day 0, My ride to Caerphilly

Was on the bike shortly after 10:30. A detour for fuel and I was on the road proper at 10:50. Weather not great whilst getting ready, waterproofs on, sun came out by the time I left. It was bone dry up until I stopped at Leigh Delamere, though I was sweating inside the waterproofs. I popped into M&S to buy a sandwich, then sat on the bike to eat. Whilst I was there, this Kia Sportage came into the bay next to me and promptly scraped a VW camper in the next bay. The couple got out, had a look, then went off into the services. As I had paper and pen with me, I wrote a message to the camper owners, giving them my contact details. Just as I was about to post the note on their windscreen, the owners came back. They didn't notice the scrape until I pointed it out and were grateful that I did. I was just getting ready to leave, when the Sportage drivers came back. Not sure they accepted they had done anything until the chap said I'd seen them do it. There was a clear scrape on the Kia. Turns out it was a rental car, so they won't be happy. I left them exchanging details.

Back on the motorway it started to rain. Not very hard but enough to cover the screen for a few miles. By the time I got to Caerphilly though, it was bone dry again. I checked in, jumped into some normal clothes and met my daughter, husband and grandson out front, as we were all off to a soft play area. It was nice to spend some time with the boy and watching his interaction with other kids. I want that basket, snatch! I want that wheelbarrow, grab! A pretty little ginger haired girl took a liking to him but he showed no interest. Fast forward 15 years!

Play over, it was back to daughter's house for tea, pizza and icecream. Now back in the hotel.

Tomorrow the tour proper starts. Grizzly will arrive in Pembroke about 13:00. I'm about 1h45m away, so I can have a lie in and leave here about 11:00. The plan is to fuel up the bikes at Tesco and us at McDs before we head north up the Welsh coast.

Till tomorrow.

T minus 5

 With under 5 days to go and despite the postponement of 'freedom day', I can confirm that Plan A will be going ahead on Monday. Finally, after many months of disappointment and two cancelled European tours, Grizzly and I will hit the road together again.

It's not all been plain sailing recently, by any means. Being in the common travel area, Irish citizens are able to come to the UK without any restrictions, so no problem for Grizzly getting here. The problem lies with him getting home, as the Irish government require a PCR test to travel, no more than 72 hours before he goes back. Sounds simple, get a test, get on ferry. The problem for us though, is that we are travelling to/through a different part of the country each day and those 72 hours, in which you have to have had the test, begin when we are in Cornwall, not the most built up area in the UK. Then of course you have to allow for the time to get the results back. Finding somewhere to get a test done, has been a bit of a challenge, to say the least. We were both checking potential clinics in the South West, particularly Truro but finally decided on Barnstaple. We travel through there on Sunday 11th July but not a time when a test could be done, so Grizzly has had to arrange it for the Monday morning, which means a detour to our route to ride back down from Ilfracombe. To be sure of getting the results before the ferry sailing, Grizzly has moved the crossing back 1 day, so we get to spend another night together. Yay! 😧

The weather, absolutely gorgeous for a fortnight, now looks to be changeable, so it looks like yet another tour will start in the rain. I can't see it getting much better over the first few days, as we head up the west coast and into Scotland, where today there has been a 13 degree difference from that here in the South East. Mind you, it is p*ssing down as I type.

The first person to be lucky enough to have us pay them a visit on this tour, I shall call her Sheila to avoid embarrassment, will be getting the knock on the door on Day 3, as we travel from Wales into England. She's a dear friend, so I'm hoping Grizzly behaves himself 😉 There are a few more of you on the list and I'll be in touch nearer the time to arrange a visit. Unfortunately for you, you won't have enough time to move house!

Friday will be bike prep day for me. I'm probably not going to bother cleaning Ginny, as I'm expecting to get wet on my ride over to Wales on Sunday. I'll just make sure the important bits, lights, indicators, screen, etc, are clean. I'll probably get some packing done then too.

Think that's all for now. Next update will probably be when I get to Wales.

Another wet start to a tour 😞