mikey k

I thought you guys might like this selection of posts on my Highlands trip from McLarenlife;

Now the weather is improving in the UK we've set off on our first long run in the 650S
8 days round the Highlands
As is usual for us heading North, the previous week the weather was superb and the forecast for this week is pi$$ing down
We didn't get off to a great start with getting stuck at the front of the queue after a lorry fire closed the M74 (never driven the wrong way down a motorway with a police escort before!)
That prompted a route change to avoid M ways.
Off across the Borders from Moffat to Edinburgh (great road BTW) then on up through Glenshee, Braemar, The Lecht and over the A939 to avoid the misery of averaging cameras all the way up the A9
482 miles in a day and I LOVED it

Having looked at the forecast it looked like the North Highlands were going to be the sunniest so that was decision made
It was FANTASTIC

228 Miles across the North Highlands
B9176 North for the views
Up Loch’s Shin, Merkland & More on A838
Balnakiel Beach
Smoo Cave where after the 5th attempt over the years we managed to get the tour in side it
Sango Bay beach & the Oasis for lunch (about the only place in Durness)
Tongue with obligatory pics on the causeway
A836 south - my favourite A road
B9176 South

Both the A836 & B9716 are better going North.
I had to use 95RON petrol as finding anything better further north than Inverness takes a LOT of planning
Considering it was Good Friday Bank Holiday the traffic was absolutely minimal

From a common spot

DSC01024 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

My favourite A road

DSC01032 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

It was a VERY busy bank holiday on the roads

IMG_0610 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

A favourite photo spot on Tongue causeway

DSC01078 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

The weather up here is far from perfect
I check the local forecast the night before and head off in the opposite direction to the rain
Didn't work on Saturday as there was rain everywhere so we spent the day at Fort George - really interesting!

DSC01106 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

DSC01111 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

DSC01112 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

The forecast trick works for most of the day, but we did end up in a snow storm at the top of Glenshee yesterday
We picked this route
B9090 to B9007
A938/9
Lin of Dee near Braemar
Lunch @ Braemar in the Bothy
Pitlochry to Dalwhinnie
A86 to Spean Bridge
East of Loch Ness B862 & 851


DSC01132 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

DSC01138 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

As you can see the rest of the Grampians and Cairngorms were great and we loved the A86 Laggan to Spean Bridge with the leaves off the trees and snow on the hills
Also enjoyed B862/851 as an alternative to following the sheep up the west side of Loch Ness

Woke up to this today

DSC01146 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

So decided on
B9176 North for views
A836 from Lairg
B873/871 to Melvich
Dunnet Head
John O Groats
Thirle Door and the Stacks of Duncansby
Castle Sinclair & lighthouse
Old Wick Castle
Grey Cairns of Camster
Golspie fish supper on beach

On our fav A road

DSC01151 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

Roof down, hat & gloves on

IMG_0746 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

IMG_0811 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

Another cracking day today!

W Highlands (355 miles)
Steve Carters best driving road!
A87 past 5 sisters
Beleach Cafe stop
Bealach na Ba over to Applecross
A832/896 Wester Ross coastal road
Torridon Inn for lunch
A832 Glen Docharty
Corrieshalloch Gorge near Ullapool
Achmelvich beaches
Stoer Light house
Ardvreck Castle
A837 Inveran - Ledmore

A few pics!

2 beasts on the Wester Ross coast road
DSC01212 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

A stunning view we happened on to by accident
DSC01208 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

On my way to the dirtiest McLaren ever
DSC01209 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

The Bealach was clear and sunny for a change (for us anyway!)
IMG_0880 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

One more from the Wester Ross coast road
DSC01218 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

We didn't make Skye on the penultimate day due to storm Katie nor the Borders routes on the way home, just not enough time. We did enjoy a drive down Loch Ness with no leaves on the trees and across Glen Coe with clear skies and snow on the mountains on the way back.

2,240 in total at 17.4 mpg

The 650S was fantastic and coped admirably with being driven hard all day for over a week.
The back end doesn't like cold and wet, possibly worn rears (after 4.2k miles)
Though it coped with conditions like this;

IMG_0951 by Mikey K 650S, on Flickr

The McLaren was universally well received and so many people pulled over to wave us by. The roof was down unless it was really tipping down So glad I didn't go for the light weight seats so I could have seat heaters
The weather was OK especially for March, I'd love to repeat this trip in a dryer warmer month, but I know the shed draggers and mosquitoes would ruin it

I'm now really looking forward to Devon, Norway and France later in the year

MB

Vey nice. I'm doing the NC500 this year which I'm looking forward to.

One question though - are those leather driving gloves?

j8mie

Why the TomTom, does Bruce not come with satnav?

Awesome stuff. Great to see a car like this being driven and enjoyed . I hate to think how many exotic cars cower in garages across the country.

mikey k

The NC500 is a bit of marketing hype, it also misses a lot of the best routes across the Highlands and includes others that are a waste of time.

This thread is VERY good for advice and local knowledge

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...&nmt=Highlands

The gloves are actually thin leather flying gloves, its bloody cold with the roof down belting around Scotland at 2-3C

mikey k

The McLaren Nav is actually quiet good (better than both versions on my Astons) it does allow way points but only on one trip at a time after a bit of faffing.
Using ITN files on the TOM TOM I can plan and force a route through certain spots and roads.
One ITN file for each day/route.
I've used it for years and it works very well.

I agree with you on the usage.
It was one reason I didn't go the Ferrari/Lambo route.
interestingly McLarens seem to get used like this a lot more and they cope well with it.

Shiskine

Cracking photos. Very envious, Mikey ...

unclefester

Having done Devon / Cornwall ...... anything wider than an Aygo is a miserable experience. And anything between March / September guarantees traffic and tourists. Sure there are exceptions ..... if you like driving, Isle of Man is well worth it - so much varying scenery and stunning roads all rolled into one. Locals are VERY friendly.

As long as you can get the car on the ferry

As above, stunning pictures - have you tired of watching the roof doing its folding trick yet?

martin j

Very nice pics, we've done quite a bit of that route but in the opposite direction(clock wise), Durnes is most definitely a one horse town but the drive to get there is worth it.

cheshire_carper

s2k_Nut

Brilliant pics and write up, looks bloody cold up there but the car looks like it handled it all well, thanks for posting!