Scotland trip.

[Fogey]

I have decided, as I have had a couple of really crap years, to spend some money on me and do the NC500.

I've allocated 3 weeks to do the trip, taking a leisurely two days to get to Scotland.  I shall spend some time in the Cairngorms where I shall be moving on to Wick where I'll spend 6 days visiting the entire north coast.

After that I will be travelling down the north west  coast in two day stops until I get to the Isle of Skye, where I will stop for 4 nights.  Then It will be off to the Trossachs National park for a further stay of 4-5 nights, before returning home.

I anticipate I will be travelling 1800 miles in total and I'm sure I'll be totally knackered by the time I get back.

I'm just hoping against hope that Sturgeon woman doesn't mess up my plans.

[Denis]

If our trip to Canada in September gets cancelled again our backup plan is doing the same route in our camper van but from Essex !

[Fogey]

The advice I was given was to make an itinerary and plan to that as there is so much to see and do.

 

[Clicker]

Make sure you get a suitable midge repellent Fogey... Av*n skin so soft is  something the Royal Marines Commandos  swear by as being one of the most effective ....and only a couple of quid. We  are  hoping to do a north coast tour but  it wont be this year... ... You should get some fantastic scenery  to photograph Fogey ... stay in touch while you do the tour if you can . Have you decided when you are going .....

[Fogey]

40 minutes ago, Clicker said:

Make sure you get a suitable midge repellent Fogey... Av*n skin so soft is  something the Royal Marines Commandos  swear by as being one of the most effective ....and only a couple of quid. We  are  hoping to do a north coast tour but  it wont be this year... ... You should get some fantastic scenery  to photograph Fogey ... stay in touch while you do the tour if you can . Have you decided when you are going .....

I have bought a hat that has a built in mosquito net, Polly, so together with that and long sleeved shirts, all I have to worry about is my hands.  Thanks for the tip for mosquito repellant - I have ordered two.

Yes I know exactly where I'm going.  The map above is the location of the hotels I'll be staying at.  I'm hoping I'll be able to fulfill the majority of my bucket list this year.

The problem is, once I have packed my camera equipment, computer, chargers, and the like, I'll need an entourage of porters to carry the damned stuff.

I have decided when I'm going, but on a public forum I'll announce when I'm going when I get back.  

Edited June 7, 2021 by Fogey

[Clicker]

I think you need one of these Fogey ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn_VxmzD7tg

 

[Fogey]

Still wouldn't be big enough, Polly - anyway I could buy a prime nifty fifty for how much that costs.

[Clicker]

Yeah ... let's get our priorities right eh? ....

[Clicker]

Now that you are back Fogey .... you can maybe fill us in with some  of your adventures  here on your original thread... Looks like you had a fantastic time !

[Fogey]

On 30/07/2021 at 16:16, Clicker said:

Now that you are back Fogey .... you can maybe fill us in with some  of your adventures  here on your original thread... Looks like you had a fantastic time !

There are so many facets to this holiday Clicker, I have mixed feelings. 

I think I'll deal with it from stop to stop, so, although some of the images will have already been shown, there will be some consistency.

The overriding irritation over the three weeks was Covid and how it was screwing up my perceived expectations and many times I had to take a deep breath and re-evaluate my position.

For example, all wildlife hides had to be pre-booked as there were limits on how many people could be accommodated at any one time and I didn't see one instance of this on any website. 

Also there was no information on nesting sites for Osprey, Golden Eagles et al.

So bearing this in mind, When I stopped at Inverness, I visited Loch Garten Nature Reserve in the Cairngorms as their website mentioned breeding pairs of Ospreys, only to find they weren't breeding there this year.

I did wander around in the hope of seeing Red squirrels, but was disappointed as there wasn't a squirrel in site.  

After some four hours, I decided to go for a drive.  These are some of the scenes I encountered.

Loch Garten

 

Loch Pityoulish

 

I did keep my eye open for fly fishermen, but didn't see one.

River Spey.

 

Strathspey Steam Railway

 

 

[Fogey]

As the  weather was closing in I returned to the hotel in Inverness.

 

 

[Fogey]

My next port of call was Wick, right at the top of Scotland.
I had hoped that driving up the coast would give way to some nice seascapes, but the weather had really closed in and I drove up in very heavy fog.

When I got to Wick the rain set in with a vengeance and I managed just the one photograph.

Wick harbour.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Fogey