The Scottish Highlands and North Coast  (30 Jul - 6 Aug 17)

Tour Details

This will be the second tour to the Scottish Highlands this year. This time I want to take you across the glorious  Cairngorms National Park and around the north coast of Scotland, travelling the well-advertised North Coast 500.

This tour promises you stunning scenery. Riding between the soaring, rugged Cairngorms mountains the glorious roads stretch out before you with flowing curves. Combined with the unspoilt, wild and beautiful scenery of northern Scotland this tour promises to excite your senses.

The starting point for the tour will be a 3 star hotel in the Scottish Borders. Meeting on Sunday, from 4 pm onwards, we will enjoy a welcome drink and get to know each other. The following day we will travel through the beautiful region of the Borders; crossing the Forth Road Bridge and heading for Perth before we take a cross country
route towards the Cairngorms. Travelling through the beautiful market town of Blairgowrie we start our ascent of the Spittal of Glenshee, following the old military road to Braemar. Our route takes us along the shores of the River Dee and we will ride over The Lecht, one of the highest main roads in the UK. Travelling through the heart of the mountains we continue to Aviemore and our 4 star Hotel where we will stay for 2 nights.

Day 3 is a free day, giving you the opportunity to explore at you own pace. There are endless options as to where to go and what to see. There will be an organised trip to Loch Ness, where we will follow General Wade’s Military Road to Fort Augustus via the stunning viewing point at Suidhe. Those choosing to do their own thing, suggestions would be a visit to one of the many distilleries in the area, Dalwhinnie being one of my favourites, or taking in the delights of Aviemore. Famous for being a ski resort but,  during the summer months it is a thriving village with plenty of cafes and restaurants to visit.

Day 4 sees us starting our journey north. Skirting around Inverness, we follow the coast up to John O’Groats where you truly are as far north as you can get on the UK Mainland,….. well almost. As we follow the coast west a detour to Dunnett Head will now confirm that you have reached the most northerly part of the UK mainland. Continuing west we ride through the unspoilt dramatic scenery of Caithness and Sutherland, arriving at our 4 star Hotel in Tongue.

Day 5 of the tour and we enjoy the wild and beautiful scenery of this most northern road in the UK, travelling to Durness, and a visit to Smoo Cave before we head south through the stunning loch and mountain scenery of Wester Ross. Following the west coast we travel through Ullapool before arriving at our overnight stop in the Kyle of Lochalsh. Our 3 star Hotel has stunning views across to Skye and Raasay and, weather permitting the sunset over Raasay is rated as one of the best in the world. 

Day 6: We leave the Kyle of Lochalsh and continue our journey south. Enjoying more beautiful scenery we will pause at Eileen Donan Castle and the Royal Marine Memorial at Spean Bridge. We then travel over the beautiful and foreboding Glencoe and dramatic Rannoch Moor before we arrive at our final destination on the shores of Loch Lomond.

Day 7: After breakfast you will be free to make your way home. The M8 is only 30 minutes away and will quickly get you down through Glasgow, for those heading south, or across to Edinburgh for those heading east.

Cost:

£800:  One person sharing a double or twin room – 2 bikes

£1350:  Two people sharing a double or twin room – 1 bike

£1200:  One person, sole occupancy – 1 bike (limited availability)

A deposit of £50 per person will secure a place on the tour, the balance being payable 8 weeks before the commencement date of the tour. Any booking made within 6 weeks of commencement of the tour must be paid in full at time of booking. Please read the terms and conditions for the provision of this tour.

What is included?

6 nights 3/4 star accommodation with breakfast

Guided day tours

Route notes as appropriate – Garmin GPS

The company of a tour guide who will escort you throughout

What is not included?

Fuel

Food and drink other than that specified

Personal travel insurance

Breakdown cover

Entrance fees to visitor attractions, museums etc

Parking charges

Any guarantee about the weather

The important stuff!

We will be travelling in quite remote areas where fuel stations are few and far between. If joining this tour, you motorbike must be able to cover 120 miles without refuelling.

Breakdowns. 

Again we will be travelling on remote roads. Although we may be able to get any breakdown fixed quickly it cannot be guaranteed. Make sure you have cover that gets you
recovered promptly. This is as much for your benefit as it is other members of the tour.