Trip to Scotland

Seeing as so many people commented on the thread I posted of my trip to Scotland back in September, I though I'd do another one. I'm off to Stirling today to be an external examiner. After doing this, I shall be pointing the bonnet north eastwards and heading to Aberdeen to see some old friends whom I haven't seen for years. I might have a bit of a drive round the north of Scotland in the week too, if the Land Rover holds out. I'm just packing now. Once again, I shall demonstrate the superiority of the Defender as a long range touring car. Either that or I'll get brought home on an AA flatbed truck. Updates will be posted along the way. Watch this space.

More likely a Contractors flatbed...I'll be standing by....
Enjoy!

Think of the money you will save on fuel though, Aberdeen to the sunny Midlands!

Enjoy the visit, mate.
Sadly, I don't think as much snow fell last night as was forecast. A bit at Aviemore, but little at Glenshee, which is a little closer to your Stirling-Aberdeen route.

Al2O3 said:

Enjoy the visit, mate.
Sadly, I don't think as much snow fell last night as was forecast. A bit at Aviemore, but little at Glenshee, which is a little closer to your Stirling-Aberdeen route.

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It's blizzarding on the borders ....

Check the snow cams here: https://trafficscotland.org/weather/index.aspx?regionid=2

Wow, five replies already. I'm having a cup of coffee and a cake at Asda in Carlisle. I'm about to fill up on their bargain 103.7 a litre diesel at Vilguy's favourite filling station. It was very wet and windy on the way up, with high sided vehicles wandering around and debris on the road, including a man frantically chainsawing a fallen tree which had come onto the carriageway at around Preston. Temporary speed limits most of the way too, and illuminated messages warning of severe weather on the overhead gantries. I'm giving my arms a rest because they’ve been so tense on the steering wheel because the Land Rover has been a bit skittish in the crosswinds. I've kept the speed down to something sensible. As I've got further north it's calmed down a bit though.
Here's progress so far:


No sign of any snow yet but I have the shovel and mattock in the back just in case, along with warm coats, spare pairs of boots and woolly socks.

Sounds like a sensible approach. Drive safely

Here I am in Stirling. The rain came on with a vengeance shortly after I left Carlisle and as I travelled northwards through the hills it turned to sleet. It was hard to see where I was going at times, but fortunately everyone was driving sensibly, so with a little gentle motoring I made it north. It has eased off a bit now and is just wet and windy. The William Wallace memorial is all lit up, but the website which shows my tracking data is down so I can't show you a map. Never mind, here's a boring picture of the hotel room.

have fun.. welcome to the scottish summer

I've just had a landmark experience. I think I've taken my first ever 'selfie':

lol... yeah you need more practice.. you're not meant to use a mirror if you do it right

Well, I've only got a cheap PAYG phone, so it only had a camera on one side, unlike my girlfriend's all singing and dancing iPhone 6 with cameras pointing in every direction.

I'v eaten and had a shower. I love hotel hot water and miniature soap. I'm hoping some of those miniature jam jars will turn up as part of the breakfast. More pictures tomorrow when it gets light.

I love a road trip! The progress updates are great, Brown. Keep them coming. I wondered how you were getting the map with your route on!

Dippypud said:

Check the snow cams here: https://trafficscotland.org/weather/index.aspx?regionid=2

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Yeah, I'd looked at the ski resort cams. The traffic cams are excellent too.

When I was forcing my way through the sleet my windscreen wipers were struggling a bit. They wiped a progressively smaller and smaller arc in the ice and I was hoping to get through the worst of the weather before they gave up altogether. Fortunately, things eased off a little and the ice gradually blew off the windscreen. The wipers are working normally now but on the way to Stirling were making some mournful creaks and groans. I hope they're alright. I replaced almost everything early last year (motor, rack, gears, control unit) to get them to do their job reliably. About the only original things remaining are the wiper arms and the wiring. I don't want to have broken them already.

Brown said:

I've just had a landmark experience. I think I've taken my first ever 'selfie':

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It must be interesting going through airport metal detectors!

wattfield said:

It must be interesting going through airport metal detectors!

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I don't usually set them off. In general, it's just if I have a big belt buckle or something of the kind to trigger it that the alarm sounds. Having said that, security staff like to have their little bit of fun with me. Most of the time I think they're just curious.

Currently snowing up here and the Cairngorms have a lovely dusting. Should you find yourself in Inverness I can provide guidance to drinking establishments and such like.

payydg said:

Currently snowing up here and the Cairngorms have a lovely dusting. Should you find yourself in Inverness I can provide guidance to drinking establishments and such like.

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I won't be lingering in Inverness on this particular trip but will come back sometime next year with my girlfriend and do somewhat more leisurely trip. We're not big ones for pubs but any recommendations for restaurants or coffee shops would be handy.

Here's the Wallace monument. Hanged drawn and quartered for his services to Scottish independence


Here's Stirling campus looking pretty in the late autumn sunshine:

Well let me know mate. There's are some excellent restaurants serving Scottish grub up here!