Scotland's Best A to B Routes

[west coast ratter]

You could try the roads in Dumfries and Galloway and into Ayrshire and also roads in the borders thru the town of Moffat

[-Ralph-]

You could try the roads in Dumfries and Galloway and into Ayrshire and also roads in the borders thru the town of Moffat

Both in the links above so far mate, though not the only ones.

[-Ralph-]

Always usefull, I sit and do this sort of thing meself for hours for me own travels, looks like you've taken some of the work out of it, thanks .

No problem. No update tonight as the site was down earlier so I went on the Xbox and lost a few hours shooting people!

The trouble with planning on maps... All of the roads on for instance the Edinburgh to Dunkeld route are shown in white, as are a lot of the good routes I'll post on this thread.

There's dark orange, light orange, then white with two thicknesses, so first of all you can't see them until you've zoomed in to the point you've lost perspective over where you want to start and finish, so you get lost scrolling around a map you don't know, or you zoom back out to see where you are every couple of miles. Secondly, because they are in white they are indistinguishable from a single track country lane, unless you take random points along it and streetview, even then it can be different to what you expect when you get there. All the routes I'll post, even if they are in white on the map, are two way roads where it's no problem to maintain 60mph.

You can't beat local knowledge and that's what I think folk are missing, and why so many look at a map and end up on the busiest roads. Your not going to try anything white on the map unless you already know it's a good road.

[-Ralph-]

Avoiding the A82 Glencoe, the shorter route. Loch Lomond to Fort William.

As Mike101 said in his Ullapool thread, Glencoe has to be on a motorcyclists bucket list. The scenery is very dramatic. But if you've been there and done it a few times already and you're looking for an alternative that won't actually take you any longer then this is it.

http://goo.gl/maps/5kiIu

The first section of the A814 heading West from the banks of Loch Lomond takes you over the hill. It's a great stretch, well surfaced a few nice corners. Careful though, if the helicopter is up looking for speeding bikers this is one of it's favorite spots. After dropping down the other side it towards Garelochhead it turns north and this is the only section of single track I've posted in this thread. You won't get more than 40mph, but at that speed you'll be whooping in your helmet. It's known locally as the 'Wibbly Wobbly' and it turns, twists and crests over bumps, just like a rollercoaster. Here's a streetview http://goo.gl/maps/rnUjX

If you don't fancy that, then just carry on up the A82 (boring road with traffic but great scenery) then follow the road round to the left at Tarbet, heading towards Arrochar/Inverary.

Once past Arrochar, you are onto a road called the Old Military Road heading up to the Rest and Be Thankful, which is the stopping point at the top of the hill. The scenery is quote dramatic at this point and rises up high on both sides, here's some streetviews (best to close the sidebar to get full screen).

http://goo.gl/maps/mfcUZ

http://goo.gl/maps/eEEXj

After you get to Inverary you turn North onto the A819. Another one of these roads that's discretely hidden away in white on google maps and you might never think of taking it when you're route planning, but this road is the key to being able to get to Fort William just as quickly as going via Glencoe, and it's just one bend after the other and I love it

http://goo.gl/maps/Hkw5u

After turning onto the A85 at Dalmally, the road runs along the side of Loch Awe, even at one point running over the water on stilts

http://goo.gl/maps/nhI4i

A brilliant set of twisties takes you into the town of Connel, where you might be a bit confused as to how the hell to get onto the bridge going North. You haven't missed the turning, go under the bridge, head South, take the second left, and that'll curve to the left further and bring you onto the bridge. Instead of turning 90 degrees to the right, your going to turn 270 degrees to the left.

On the home stretch into Fort William now, your in for some ace twisties and loch side views of Loch Creran and Loch Linnhe the rest of the way.

[-Ralph-]

Avoiding the A82 Glencoe, the longer route. Loch Lomond to Fort William.

The above is the shorter route that will get you there just as quick. This is the longer one if you have the time.

http://goo.gl/maps/zGWTf

What makes it worth doing and different from the route above is the road from Lochgilphead to Oban. It's another 45 minutes spent on one complete nutter of a rollercoaster!

http://goo.gl/maps/mxbsv

Read your vanishing points, don't over estimate your ability, if your going to over cook a bend and crash on any of the roads I've posted it's on this one here, but treat this road with the respect it deserves and it'll reward in a big way. You won't have any chicken strips on your tyres my the time you've finished that's for sure.

[-Ralph-]

Fort William to Skye

There's no reason to avoid the A87 up to the Skye Bridge it's a fantastic road, but the A82 that gets you to it is the main route up to Inverness so can get busy in high season, and it's also long and straight. Or maybe you've just done it a few times before and fancy a change.

Some people don't realise that there is actually a ferry from Mallaig over to Skye about once an hour. On the map many people look at it and assume it's a dead end. So that's why I'm posting this route.

http://goo.gl/maps/ZOVwU

The road up the coast from Armadale is just stunning for the scenery.

It's approximately in this area, on the banks of Loch Ailort, that I took this photo...

[Africa John]

A714 from Newton Stewart to Girvan

We called it the "Thirty miles of smiles"

bend after bend after bend ...... you get the idea

[PeterT]

Fort William to Skye
Some people don't realise that there is actually a ferry from Mallaig over to Skye about once an hour. On the map many people look at it and assume it's a dead end. So that's why I'm posting this route.

http://goo.gl/maps/ZOVwU

And you follow the route of the Hogwarts Express. Google Glenfinnan Viaduct and you'll see what I mean

[-Ralph-]

A714 from Newton Stewart to Girvan

We called it the "Thirty miles of smiles"

bend after bend after bend ...... you get the idea

So for those that have no idea where Newton Stewart is, if you are doing these routes

Totally skip the usual route to Fort William, all the best rides include a ferry - Option 1

http://goo.gl/maps/4ZhF1

The Ardrossan to Campbeltown ferry only runs from May to September and you'll need to plan it into your route.

Totally skip the usual route to Fort William, all the best rides include a ferry - Option 2

http://goo.gl/maps/MYh4J

The Gourock to Dunoon ferry runs pretty much every half hour throughout the day.

http://www.argyllferries.co.uk/Download ... e-2013.pdf

Totally skip the usual route to Fort William, all the best rides include a ferry - Option 3

The McInroys Point to Hunters Quay ferry route is very similar to that above, but runs about every 20 minutes and was cheaper last time I was on it.

http://www.western-ferries.co.uk/mptimes.shtml

its just a slight variation. You take the road up the East of Galloway forest park, rather than the west.

[LargeWayRound]

Excellent Thread Ralph