Motoadventures2up: Scotland...UK...

Ok, now we are having a real hard time deciding which place we like better Ireland or Scotland. Both have good food and drink, the people are both super friendly and the scenery in both is absolutely smashing! We definitely had better weather in Scotland, if that can account for anything but in both we could have spent more time.

We took the ferry from Larne, Ireland to near Stranraer in Scotland a smooth and brilliantly sunny day...of course just when we are leaving. We headed north towards Glasgow (but just skirting it) on our way to John O' Groats, the very northernly tip if the UK. Here I must explain that Scotland is technically part of the UK but if you talk to the people there they will be sure to set you straight...Scotland is Scotland! On the way to the tip we got hold up in a campground in Fort Augustus on Lake Ness due to very foul weather. Once the weather cleared we continued on to John O'Groats and by the time we got there it was clear and warm even though still a little windy. Once again we were pushed on by our time restrains thanks to Ken's passport expiring. The Isle of Skye was a must on our list and if there is one place I wish I could have spent more time to sit and enjoy the scenery and do some hiking it was there! It was magnificent and full of history. Ken pushed me on! The tires on the bike were looking as though they would not make it to Iceland because we had put on almost twice the miles on this trip as we thought we would due to the fact that there is not one straight road in these counties. He thought we would do 6000 km on the whole trip but by that time we were already at 5000 km and had a long way to go. Ken wanted to replace the Michelin Anakee 2 but found out they were discontinued and were being replaced by the Anakee 3. Ken did a quick check on the net and found good reviews on the handling of the "3" but when he tried to mount them he found the rear tire went on just fine but the front 21 inch tire would not bead (pop out on the rim) properly. After 6 hours of frustration we returned to Inverness where he had bought the tires and they insisted they could mount them. After all was said and done, including inflating the tire to 115 psi for a short time, they finally got one side of the tire on but not the other. By that time we had no choice but to leave and we were off with a bit of a shaky tire (which they thought might pop on after riding for a while) but so far has not. Edinburgh was next on our agenda and the only big city on our tour. We spent the afternoon wandering the castle and the city streets, taking in the sights but before nightfall we were off. The next day we rode south through the 'Lakes District' and on through the 'Dales' both had great riding and beautiful scenery. This was the area where all the scotch whiskey is made...'the whiskey trail' as it was called and Glenlivet to be exact. We rode through the area but by the time we decided to take a tour we had passed through. Next time! I did find out that I like Scotch though, with a splash.

The clock kept ticking and Harwich was awaiting us with a ferry ready to whisk us off to Esjberg, Denmark where we would head north to Hirtshals, at the very tip of Denmark, to catch the boat to Iceland.

Ken waits for an order of fish and chips, you have to have them at least once while you are there...we never did get around to trying the deep fried mars bars!

This bridge is rea-ea-lly old, but the picture was the best this day.

There is always one in every family...a white sheep!

Stones stand in the fields for thousands of years, (which must really piss-off the farmer who has to mow around them-not really, the sheep take care of keeping the grass down). These are of the same date as Stonehenge and they are believed to have something to do with the rotation of the moon rising on its 18.6 year rotation. Do they really know???

We looked for Nessie but she must have been out of town...maybe on vacation in Canada visiting the Ogopogo.

We made it to the northern most town in mainland Scotland, the Long Way Down boys have nothing on us.

The Cask Inn was a highlight night for us. The only place around so we stopped in to ask if we could camp on their lawn. Not only could we camp for free out back but they made up a brilliant dinner. Ken had freshly caught trout and I had steak and kidney pie, with homemade apple pudding for dessert (oh I can't forget the baked avocado with blue cheese) and all for a very reasonable price.