Started to do a write up of it last year- and never got round to posting it

, so here goes:
I’d always wanted to ride around Scotland on a bike, and this year managed to find a week when I wasn’t a)-working, b)-the weather wasn’t totally rubbish.
The plan was a ride up the East Coast, stay 4 nights somewhere around Inverness, try and ride as much of North Scotland as possible, mainly based on the North Coast 500, then come home via the west coast back into England.
My Scout is ready, luggage is securely RokStrapped, it’s time to hit the road.
DAY1
NORWICH-DURHAM
A nice easy 280 miles to ease into things, taking me up the East Coast
A47, A17, A16 to Grimsby and then cut across the Humber bridge then up the coast through Scarborough onto A171 to get a taste of the North York Moors as a prelude of things to come.
Then skirt Middlesborough to A1 and a Motel for the night.
DAY 2
FOG ON THE TYNE
DURHAM TO DINGWALL
Checking the weather, it’s looking like rain sweeping in over my destination during the early evening, Outside it’s starting to get light, skies look fairly clear so on the road by 5am.
All’s well for about 15 miles when a fog develops nothing too heavy but in the early light it is distinctly gloomy, with a fair few trucks on the road as we skirt Newcastle. After about 30 miles the fog lifts to overcast skies, just in time as the A1 turns into a lovely single carriageway, rural views to the left, glimpses of the North Sea on the right.
Time soon to refuel and grab some breakfast before heading into Scotland. The weather keeps getting better until by Edinburgh the clouds have completely burnt away; the day is turning into a cracker.
Apart from the Forth crossing, the section to Aberdeen is boring dual carriageway made more tedious by average speed cameras nearly all the way. But it does allow me to munch some miles and get to a section of he coast I really want to ride- and it doesn’t disappoint, complete changes every mile or two, open flat farmland, tunnels through trees, narrow twisty bits, even a bit of sea fog around Banff. A really stimulating section of road.
Then it’s onto the A96 through Inverness and skirt the south of Moray Firth to come into Dingwall from the south and find my hotel. 444 miles with some glorious weather, superb riding, a really good first days riding in Scotland.
An hour later the skies darken and it starts to rain.
DAY 3
GREY SKIES, BLUE SKYE
So it rains all night, forecast says it should be better out West until about lunchtime so it looks like the 500 loop clockwise.
Head off on the A835 in a fairly filthy ‘Scotch mist’, hoping for things to ease up. They don’t for ~30 miles until, as I come alongside Loch Glascarnoch it almost stops raining enough to reveal a great view, enough of a spur to press on to Ullapool and then up into the mountains. Bad move, it just gets wetter and wetter until after 15 miles I turn round and head back to a café for a coffee and a rethink.
Its looking less dark to the Southwest so decide to turn off the A835 at Garve and head for Stromferry. At first it is an open fast ish road (and it’s no longer raining) but after about 10 miles it is narrowing to a single track with passing places so the pace slows and stays consistently ‘interesting’.
From Stromferry on it gets twisty and climbs into the hills. I get stuck for a while behind the first of many RV’s. Then it’s onto the A87 and over the bridge into Skye with traffic definitely becoming ‘touristy’ and plentiful.
The scenery can best be described as prehistoric and the views make up for the slow pace.
By the time I get to Portree it is becoming obvious that nearly everyone else is planning on doing the loop round Skye through Uig that I was half planning on doing so turn around and go back to Broadford for lunch and another think.
I try heading South heading to Amandale, a real change as it was flat agricultural land with a road you could see for upto a mile ahead changing to narrower twisties as it snaked it’s way along the shoreline. The vague idea of catching the ferry across to Mallaig was scuppered as I could see it leaving as I arrived, 1.5hrs till the next one. Still it was a joy to ride that road in the other direction
So back to the roach Motel via A87 to Fort Augustus and up the A82 along Loch Ness, both roads that would ordinarily elicit gushing compliments, but after today they seem a little tame, it’s raining again.
DAY 4
NORTH LOOP
It’s not raining, so today I decide to try the loop again this time anticlockwise.
The first hour or so of the A9 is flat with sweeping bends and very little traffic so make good progress.
Crossing the Dornoch Firth bridge the hills to the left start to change into mountains and from Golspie on the road turns into fabulous roller coaster of a ride for ~20 miles or so before flattening out for the run to Wick. Then on to John O’ Groats for the obligatory tourist pic.
Thurso for a quick top up as the next petrol station I know of is 80 miles away- the next 150 miles are the wildest terrain in the UK so best crack on.
Once past Dounreay the road narrows then with increasing frequency switches to single track and the elevation changes start to get more dramatic and frequent. Another ~25 miles of rollercoaster even more intense than the last before dropping down into Tongue to cross the Kyle, another stunning view.
Leaving Tongue it’s a climb up onto unfenced moreland with sheep wandering, as they will. It’s now all single track to Durness and traffic is building, lots of bikes (mainly BMW) from all over (seemed to be a lot of Swiss), even more RV’s, again from all over.
This could easily have turned into “the road to hell” but everyone seemed to instinctively “play the game” pulling over to allow passing.
From Durness the road becomes single carriageway and slightly faster as it wends its way along the shoreline/valley to Laxford Bridge where it opens up even more and starts to curl around the mountains then climb and descend around Scourie. Simply stunning road and scenery.
Then it’s down to Ullapool, finally getting to see the views that were hidden by clouds yesterday, then onto the now familiar A835 and back to base.
Only 290 miles, but this ride packed in stunning riding and views that are hard to beat.