Carlisle to Glasgow (188 miles)

We shall begin with a somewhat winding route snaking east and west as we make our way north through Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire. We begin the day leaving Carlisle about 10am at first taking the M6/M74 to cross the border into Scotland. We exit the motorway at Gretna heading west towards Dumfries before joining the A76 and riding north to Thornhill where we stop for morning coffee. Thornhill is a charming village built by the Marquis of Queensbury in the early 1700’s. Drumlanrig Castle on the edge of the village remains the home of the Duke of Buccleugh and Queensberry.

We depart Thornhill heading north on the A702 to Elvanfoot then we cut south again on the B7076 to Moffat. Next we head east taking the A702 to St Marys Loch and then north again on B709 passing Traquair, a former hunting lodge of Scots Kings of 12 century origin and is the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. The A72 then now takes us to nearby Peebles where we break for lunch.

The B712 and B7016 crosses over to Biggar (Biggars main claim to fame is that the origins of both Rivers Clyde and Tweed ore on each side of the town) where the A73 takes us to Lanark, a market town and county town of the former Lanarkshire. We break hear for afternoon tea and then take the B7086 west to Strathaven, the A726 north to East Kilbride before cutting across to Glasgow’s south side and through the Clyde Tunnel to the Hotel du Vin Glasgow just off Great Western Road for dinner bed and breakfast.

Glasgow to Mallaig (209 miles)

Departing Glasgow we head North West on the A82 to Loch Lomond then cross over to Gareloch following the A814 north along the Eastern shore of Loch long to Arrochar where we join the A83 to Inveraray where we break for morning coffee. Inveraray Castle is the home of the Duke of Argyll. The town was modelled by renowned architect William Adam in the mid-1700 and remains to this day more or less as built.

We head south along the western shore of Loch Fyne on the A83 to Lochgilphead and the north on the A816 to Oban. Oban has a peculiar folly towering over the town, McCaigs Tower, modelled on a Roman Amphitheatre. McCaig was a banker and local philanthropist who had this built during the great depression to keep local stone masonry traditions alive. Oban will be our lunch break stop for the day.

We continue our route North on the A828 crossing the bridges at Connell and Ballachulish (once famous ferry crossings) to Ft William where we break for afternoon tea. Ben Nevis the UK’s tallest mountain (4406ft) lies just to the East of Ft William. We take a short break here before heading west passing Neptunes’s Staircase, a set of locks that form the gateway to the Caledonian Canal. We continue along the northern shore of Lock Eil to Glenfinnan where Bonny Prince Charlie began has failed attempt to regain the Scottish throne. As we ride this section you may catch a glimpse of the steam locomotive that still runs on the nearby line and used in many films and continuing the movie theme at Morar you will see the white quartz sands used as the location of the film Local Hero. We end our journey for the day at Mallaig. We stop at the Chlachain Inn for dinner bed and breakfast.

Mallaig to Kinlochewe (185 miles)

We depart Mallaig via ferry to the Isle of Skye where we take a partial circuit of the island stopping at Portree for morning coffee.

We complete our circuit crossing the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh and continue East along the northern shore of loch Alsh to the union of lochs Alsh, Duich and Long where Eilean Donan castle sits on a small island. I suspect that this is the castle that Michael’s grandmother was pictured beside. We will visit the castle and then grab a bite of lunch at the nearby Dornie Hotel.

After lunch we head north to Strathcarron, West to Applecross and then hug the coast North and then East to Shieldaig where we stop for afternoon tea before completing out final section of this days journey to Kinlochewe. We will stop at the Kinlochewe Hotel for dinner bed and breakfast.

Kinlochewe to Thurso (194 miles)

From Kinlochewe we first head for Ullapool where the palm like trees surprise many visitors but the north Atlantic drift draws the warm waters from the gulf stream into this region resulting is surprising moderate year round temperatures.

After a short coffee break we continue north towards Cape Wrath the most North Westerly part of the UK mainland, we don’t exactly go to the Cape, we will go as far as Durness where we will stop for lunch.

After lunch we head to Thurso passing along the northern coastline of Scotland. Thurso was once part of a Norse Orcadian Kingdom and among the towns claims to fame is that old scots standard units of weight originated here. It is also close to the Dounreay Power Station the UK’s first fast breeder nuclear reactor. We stop at the Park Hotel in Thurso for dinner bed and breakfast.

Thurso to Braemar (222 miles)

We depart Thurso on the A836 heading to John O’Groats the most North Easterly point of the UK mainland before turning south. Our first stop of the day is at Helmsdale where we break for a coffee.

We continue south to Inverness where we stop for lunch. Then next head east to Nairn then turn south to Grantown on Spey, which is at the northern gateway to the Grampian Mountains, where we stop for afternoon tea.

The final leg on this journey takes up over the Grampian Mountains on the A939 Tomintoul to Cock Bridge road. You may well have heard this on the news as it is usually the first road in Scotland to close for the winter when the snow falls. We complete this day riding past Balmoral Castle to Braemar. We stop at the Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar for dinner bed and breakfast.

Braemar to Perth (164 miles)

Leaving Breamar we cross Glenshee and pass through Pitlochry then along the northern shore of Loch Tummel to Tummel bridge and onwards to Fortingall where we break for coffee. Here you can see the oldest surviving Yew tree in the world reputed to be more than 5000 years old.

Next we take a circuit of Loch Tay heading west to Killin then east to the Kenmore side. We will stop to let you see the Kranog reproduction of an ancient home nestling on the shores of the loch and have lunch.

We next take the Glen Quaich road from Kenmore to Amulree where we join the A822 to Crieff where we stop for afternoon tea. We next head over to Kinkell Bridge, Auchterarder pass Gleneagles, through Glendevon and over the Ochil Hills to Perth. We stay at the Queens Hotel in Perth for dinner bed and breakfast.

Perth to Edinburgh (112 miles)

Today we take a different road through Crieff then travel west along Lochearn and South to Callander where we break for coffee.

We then travel the Lake of Menteith (Scotland has 31,460 Lochs but this is the only Lake) we continue towards Stirling then stick to the north side of the River Forth to reach the conservation village of Culross where we stop for lunch.

After lunch we travel into Dunfermline before crossing the Forth Bridge and making our way into Edinburgh where we stop early to allow time for you to take in the sights. We stop at the Bruntsfield Hotel in Edinburgh for dinner bed and breakfast.

Edinburgh Sightseeing

Spend the day sightseeing in Edinburgh. There is so much to see and do in Scotland’s Capital.

If you are interested in architecture then Edinburgh has an eclectic mix of old Scots baronial around the Royal Mile which runs gently from the Castle down to the Palace and new Parliament building at Holyrude. In the new town area to the north you will find an abundance of Georgian streets. There are also villages tucked away within Edinburgh that the city has absorbed as it expanded.

For parkland Princes Street Gardens, the Botanic Gardens, the Zoological Park and Calton hill are all worthy of a visit. In the latter you will find a fascinating array of monuments including a pseudo-Parthenon created after the Napoleonic wars as a war memorial and the City Observatory.

You will be staying at the 4* Bruntsfield hotel close the the Meadows on Edinburgh's south side which is close to the Kings Theatre. There is an abundance of pubs and clubs catering for all tastes and theatres or concert halls if you prefer a more cultured evening all within staggering distance of the hotel.

Edinburgh to Carlisle (185 miles)

We exit Edinburgh heading through Morningside to the City Bypass, out through Dalkeith and Pencaitland to Haddington. Then over the Lammermuir hills via Gifford and Longformacus to Duns where we break for morning coffee.

Next we head through Swinton to Coldstream on the Scottish/English border and then over to Kelso. We stop for lunch at Town Yetholm.

As we leave Yetholm we head south East to cross the English border and enter into the Kielder National Park where you will discover the largest man-made lake in Northern Europe. We will travel south along the edge on the lake and complete our journey making our way west to Carlisle.