27 July - 30 July, 2007

This trip started out life as a walk (or drive) down memory lane for David Clelland and Gerry Hiorns.  It had been talked about for a couple of years, but only really became a reality at the beginning of 2007.  One or two other people showed an interest and in the end five cars went "Over the Top".

Unlike most of our other Runs, this one was really a "do your own thing" type of event.  While the overnight stays were set, it was up to each of the individuals to go and do what they wanted during the course of the day.  So, only three cars (Gerry Hiorns and David Clelland; John and Helen Dickson; Tom and Marianne Dromgoole) left Stirling Services and headed north through Callander on the way to Strathyre and through the glens of Ogle and Dochart before reaching Strath Fillan and our lunch stop at Bridge of Orchy.  Just as this group was getting ready to leave Terry and Lynne Garnick arrived and sat themselves down at the next table.  The next leg of the journey was over Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe before reaching Loch Linnhe and finally Fort William.  Then it was up through the Great Glen crossing the Caledonian Canal several times to the end of Loch Ness at Fort Augustus.  We kept to the north side of the loch as far as Drumnadrochit where we took the shortcut over the hill to Beauly for our first overnight stay.  Everyone, except Tom and Marianne (they were staying at Drumnadrochit), had dinner in the Priory Hotel and very nice it was too.

Saturday morning, Fred Driver met up with us and we were soon on our way  through Dingwall and up the side of the Cromorty Firth and then over to Tain and across the Dornoch Firth.  From there it was right up the east coast as far as John o' Groats with nothing to our right except the North Sea and the occasional sighting of an oil rig in the distance.  From John o' Groats, still keeping the water on our right hand side, it was along the most northerly coast of mainland Britain to Durness - a good part of it on single track roads.  We then turned south for the short drive to Scourie for dinner and a well earned rest.

Next morning (Sunday) before breakfast some of us took a blast ten or so miles back the way that we had come to the fishing port of Kinlochbervie.  All of a sudden when posing for pictures on the pier the heavens opened up.  In an attempt to keep dry, Terry and Fred went racing round a telegraph pole in their cars at about 30mph.  Well, everybody knows that you don't get wet if you keep moving.  Unfortunately this doesn't apply if the rain is coming in off the Atlantic Ocean horizontally.  Needless to say everyone got a tad wet.  However, back at the hotel after breakfast everyone was fit and ready to go.  We didn't all travel together but we all tended to go in the same general direction.  This was round the coast road to Lochinver and then down to Ullapool; through Gairloch and along Loch Maree and then along Torridon to our next overnight stay at Aplecross Inn.  When we discussed what we had got up to during the day, none of us seemed to be more that a few miles apart, but we never actually met up until more or less at Applecross.  Somewhere along the road Fred peeled off for home.  Accommodation at Applecross Inn was first class and the food was out of this world and it really wasn't that expensive (roughly £60 for dinner, bed and breakfast). 

Monday was our last morning together and after breakfast John and Helen headed for a few extra days on Mull.  Terry and Lynne were also extending their holiday with some fishing near Oban.  That left David and Gerry with Tom and Marianne to head for home at their own pace down Bealach na Ba to Loch Carron and then over the hill to Kyle of Lochalsh for a very brief visit to Skye and then past the Five Sisters of Kintail to Loch Cluanie, Loch Loyne and Loch Garry to meet the Great Glen again at Invergarry.  From here we more or less retraced our footsteps back to Stirling through Glen Coe and down past Loch Lubnaig near Callander to arrive home just before tea.

We must have travelled over 900 miles in the four days and to be honest the weather wasn't brilliant, but the only time that the hoods were up was when the cars were parked.  This was a special Run and I think that everyone that was on it enjoyed it even more because they knew that it might be a long while before it was ever repeated..

Beauly Priory

John o' Groats

Fred Driver and Terry Garnick

Beach on the road to Thurso

Tom Dromgoole and Gerry Hiorns cars (Tom and Gerry)

Fred having a bad hair day