Tour of Scotland – part 7

Final Day, Got a good fry up in the place iwas staying in, said my goodbyes, and then rode onto the boat for Larne.  It felt really good doing the journey, I couldve done it in a car, in my sleep, but doing it on a motorbike was a challenge, and very rewarding too.  I mightve said it before, but I think its a pity tha there isnt some passenger ferry service from Larne to Troon, as there is a good dual carriageway up to Larne now, and great transport links when you sail into Troon.

Overall, Glasgow and Edinburgh are interesting places to see, even though Edinburgh would probably be a visually nicer place, the road up to the highlands is amazing, some of the best scenery around, same goes for Cairngorm.

Tour of Scotland – part 6

On Saturday morning, I felt as  rough as a hedgehogs arse, got a few bananas in me, the hostel offered free tea (well, at least I think it was free), the tea tasted like someone has sweeped up the dirt up off the floor, and put said dirt in a teabag.  Anyway, after a while I felt better, and got loaded up and back on the road.

I tavelled from Edinburgh, passed in and around Glasgow, and then stopped off in Kilmarnock, but not before seeing a sign for………Moscow!  I thought “This is intriguing, must check this out later”, and headed into Kilmarnock for a fish supper.  It fairly lined my stomach, fish, chips, bread, nice pot of tea too!  I wouldnt day i seen much of the town, only thing that it would signify is that one of my great great grandparents came from there.

After that, I just had to check out this Scottish Moscow, followed the signs for it, was kind of out in the middle of nowhere, and found it.  To be honest, the place is tiny, it seems like a hamlet, there seemed to be a garage in it, but it was a garage where you got your car fixed, rather than a filling station.  Its strange some of the things you come across when travelling.

After that, I headed off to my final destination, Troon.  When I got there, I got settled into my digs, and went out for another fish supper, tasted great, but just had a quiet night, felt a bit cream crackered, The people I were staying with were a retired couple, and seemed very helpful and pleasant,  they said they were originally from Glasgow.

Troon itself seemed nice enough, but its more of a place to just pass through, than to stay any length of time.

Tour of Scotland – part 5

Day 5 started off in Dundee,  nothing wrong with the place,  just wouldn’t be in a rush to go back there. The road down to Edinburgh was pretty good,  some nice views to had on the way down, I intended on going to Knockhill, but ended up riding through a wee place called Kelty, and got some fuel at a wee garage called North Road Garage.   I also got to ride over Forth Road Bridge.

I landed in Edinburgh in the afternoon,  went to my accommodation,  which turned out to be seasonal steel containers,  with bunk beds inside them.   Price wise, it was dirt cheap, and it was handy to a nearby Asda and some shopping centre there.

Adfter i got settle it, I got suited and booted up, and headed into town, got a few beers, and went to some comedy show (by accident),  a couple of guys talking about wrestling, with some screen behind them to show funny videos, it was surprisingly enjoyable, then got an earlyish night, to get set for the next days journey.

Tour of Scotland – Part 4

The 4th started not so good, initially I thought the bike wouldn’t start up, got it going, still running like a camel, I passed through Aberdeen, it seemed nice enough, probably didn’t stay long enough to appreciate it.

I stopped off in Stonehaven too, nice place too, but probably only a place you would call in if you’re in the area. I blatttered on down the main dual carriageway, and couldn’t help but notice that the average speed cameras were a bit of a pain, traffic slowing down, speeding up, kind of ruined the flow of the journey.

I then stopped off in Kirriemuir,  Bon Scotts (ex AC/DC) birthplace, it seemed pretty quiet, and from what I’ve found out since then, there is an actual Bon Scott festival there each year. Above all,  I can now say I’ve been where a legendary singer was born!

I finally landed in Dundee, and figured out what was wrong with the bike. The people that had been working on my bike hadn’t fitted the choke cable correctly,  I got it sorted and it was right as rain.

Dundee itself, it seemed okay, I didn’t really do anything there, the place itself looked a bit grey.   The people I was staying with were friendly enough,  and were pretty helpful too.

Tour of Scotland – Part 3

When I got up in the morning, I got tucked into the buffet at the hostel, and headed on my way to the Highlands (well, part of them, before I stopped in a wee place called Aberchirder.

The ride up was really nice, and the scenery was breathtaking, absolutely beautiful.  Loch Lomond was so pretty, If you’re ever in Scotland, its a must see, some of the nicest scenery around.

The ride up in the direction of Fort William was great too, nice weather, not much slow traffic, great scenery too.  Fort William itself was pretty nice, and I got to see Ben Nevis (or one or some of the peaks surrounding it) too.

My motorbike wasnt just going right, it felt a bit glitchy at times, but it still moved.  After leaving Fort William, I road through Cairngorm national park,  another place where the scenery is out of this world!

I eventually got up to Aberchirder, way up in the north east of Scotland, and it seemed a bit quaint, very quiet.  The place I was staying in was pretty good, The hotel staff seemed really helpful (one of the staff loved his bikes too!), and in a way I thought this little village/hamlet kind of reminded me of Emmerdale.

 

Tour of Scotland – Part 2

Day 2 and I started off with a fry up, and rode up to Glasgow.  The journey was pretty straightforward, the roads leading into it are pretty vast.

The day was good, and my first port of call was Partick.  This is where my great grandmother, my great grandfathers second wife was from, even though I have a hunch that she was born in Govan.

Anyway, I got to Partick, and I thought it was pretty nice, abd I seen th church/chapel that my great grandparents gof married in.

After that, I went to an address, that my great grandmother had lived at.  When I got there I knew straightaway that the area was virtually all new.

Green grass, fancy apartments, fuel station, all looked modern, but I felt that it was pretty soulless, and devoid of any character.  I suppose that’s the way things develop over time.

I spent the rest of my time riding around Glasgow, and like all big cities, part’s looked nice, and other parts looked drab.  I passed through the area that Malcolm and Angus Young had initially grew up in before they emigrated to Australia.

I then got my bike parked up, and walked to my hostel.  The city centre was really warm, and in part’s of it it felt slightly dark and claustrophobic.

The hostel itself was okay, I shared the dorm room with four others, two Americans, and two dutch guy’s.

We all got talking about why we were travelling, and I’m glad the two Dutch guys changed my mind in terms of the following days route, which I will talk about in the next post.

I got a few beers in the hostel, then got an early night.  Glasgow as a place to visit, I would definitely recommend, as it is well connected, as far as transport and road network is concerned, and although its drab in places, there is plenty to see, but you would need your “city smarts” like any of the bigger cities.

Road Trip of Scotland – Part 1

 

Although I’ve been to Scotland a few times, I’ve never felt that I truly explored it.  I had an idea of doing it on a motorbike, as I felt that it was a real challenge, a bit of an adventure.  I had also wanted to check out areas where some of my ancestors had resided, or come from.  I went over in August 2015 for a week, as it would give me ample time to see plenty, if not all of it.

I took the boat over from Larne to Troon, a service which unfortunately doesnt seem to exist anymore, its a pity, as you have a good dual carriageway up to Larne now, and there is a direct road from Troon to  Glasgow, and if you are a foot passenger, a direct train from Troon to Glasgow too.  Now, if you want to go over there, you have to sail into Cairnryan, and its two hours by road from there to Glasgow.

Leaving that aside, it was a good sailing, weather was good, and when I got to Troon, it was a quick run up the road to where I wanted to go:  Ardrossan.  Thing is, I’ve kind of always wanted to go there, as my great grandfather lived and worked there for years (he’s a County Down man like myself), he got married twice, and after he got married the sencond time around he came back home.

A cousin of my father done a family tree years ago, and was able to find out a few things, so that aided me in a way.  As soon as I got to Ardrossan, I quickly found out that it is virtually merged into Saltcoats, which itself is kind of merged into Stevenston.  Theres a nice beach in Satlcoats as well.  The main thing I was interested in was seeing where my great grandfather had lived, and I found the street easily enough, it was just great to see roughly the area where had lived.

I also checked out the church where he ad married his first wife, the church was located in Saltcoats.  After that, I went up to the graveyard in the local area, to see if I could find the grave of his first wife.  Unfortuantely I wasn’t able to find it, as the area where all the old graves was a bit unkempt, but I suppose that is to be expected with graves going back that far.

The area overall seemed pretty nice, and from what I’ve read, they have become commuter towns for people working in Glasgow.  There are boats from Ardrossan out to the Isle of Arran, and a wee place called Campbeltown, fi I had’ve had more time I would’ve checked them out.

I ended up staying in a B & B, it seemed pleasant enough, and pretty quiet, couldn’t ask for much more.  Would I recommend Ardrossan and the surrounding area?  I would actually, as it is somewhere different, a bit quieter, and the local area has great road and public transport connections to Glasgow and further afield.