Way hey! There really are not many things better for the soul, than a weekend spent in the company of Buelligans!
Thanks for organising the Scottish weekend CJ, it was cracking
We didn't do too badly for weather on the way up...until we headed out of the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum, up through Glencoe. Then we had to swap the 1190SX and X1 for a Klepper canoe and do some white water rafting through the glen!!! The rafting was tough, as the traffic was bumper to bumper. I don't think that I have ever seen Glencoe so busy. The clouds cleared by Ballachullish though and we were dried off by Fort Bill. We stopped in for a coffee at the tourist information Centre. Just as we were finishing our coffees...the clouds caught us up and the heavens opened again
So Clive popped back to the counter for another round! It was much improved by the time we left and the further along the road to Mallaig that we went, the brighter the skies became. Due to our drouth, we were keen to get to the bar, so unlike the Jessops - we headed straight to the hotel.
On arrival in the car park, we were greeted by the sight of a lovely ltd edition X1 belonging to Lucky Strip, a lovely custom candy painted S1-ish belonging to NeilC, beside a slightly damaged Honda Hornet belonging to his good lady Laura. Also in the car park, was...GIANT DUNK!!! He also goes by the names of Lucky Strip and Martin, but seriously - I thought someone had dipped Dunk in Miracle Grow!!!
Squeezes were duly dispensed and we retired to the bar to slake our thirst, before making ourselves a little less smelly and more presentable for dinner. We were all excited to see that there was 'live music' advertised in the bar. We were more excited when it ended! Just after we finished feeding our grids, the main act arrived. The weekend could start, cos CJ and Jane were 'in da house!'
After a fine nights rest...well, for some of us - we were up and started the day with the best of Scottish breakfast fare. We then took a wander down to the ferry terminal to book some tickets to the Isle of Skye. Once we were ready and got the bikes to the ferry terminal, the local thugs (Seagulls) took a massive shit all over the EBR...the bloody cheek of them!! The rest of the journey was uneventful though and the staff onboard were very slick at securing the bikes safely.
We had a lovely run, up through Broadford and over the bridge to pick up some fuel, before heading to Eilean Donan Castle, for the classic group photo in front of the 'Highlander' castle. After the bikes and riders being photographed repeatedly by a tour bus full of Indian people, NeilC and Laura had to leave us to return to Inverness and retrieve their bairns from the spoiling clutches of the grandparents.
The rest of the group returned back to the Island and we had a pleasant journey up to Portree, where we had lunch and enjoyed some sunshine!
We then headed back down to Armadale for coffee, before getting the ferry back to Mallaig. On our way back to Armadale, the rain clouds made another visit, an Indian tourist who fancied himself as Bonnie Prince Charlie attempted to commit suicide under the mighty wheels of CJ's Ully and we had a fly past from the sea plane! It had brightened up nicely by the time we got back to the ferry port and we lined the steeds up for another photocall. There HAS to be a calendar shot in there somewhere!!! I am sure that CJ will be posting the piccies once he has reached Yorkshire and dried out s little.
It was nice to have a 5 minute journey back to the hotel after getting off of the ferry! The HOG types had somewhat longer to journey, as they were heading back to Aviemore, where they were partaking in the annual 'Thunder in the Glens' extravaganza.
Needless to say - a quick drinky was imbibed before hitting the showers
We had a lovely chilled evening (with NO live music!) and a very pleasant meal to end the day.
CJ & Jane left early doors to head back from Gods Country, to Gods County.. Giant Dunk and we followed an hour or so later. Weather was pleasant and the roads were clear, all the way to Fort William on arrival, we filled up on fuel and checked the oil levels on the X1...there wasn't much in there! We tried to call Maz, to confirm if it was okay to put Semi-synthetic, or Synthetic oil in, as there was no mineral oil available at the garage that we were at. Despite having 4 bars, it was impossible to get a call through - very strange! We headed off further into Fort William and eventually got to speak to the guru. His opinion was - any oil is better than no oil! So we topped her up, made for the Golden Arches and had a well deserved coffee.
Much to the delight of my dearly beloved, on the road South out of Ft William, we were stuck behind a queue of traffic all the way to Ballachullish due to the thoughtful actions of the Landrover Defender towing his pikey-van. I think the top speed along that bit of road was 35mph - deep joy! The journey through Glencoe however, was blessed with little traffic, blazing sunshine and dry roads. It was a much more fun return journey. Obligatory lunch stop at the Green Welly and we headed down to Stirling. The rain which had troubled us on Saturday through Glencoe, returned with a vengeance - and all its cousins!!! We were riding through Pretty impressive floods, as we crossed the Stirling flats and I think I may have bruised boobage, where the raindrops were striking them so hard. Clive is going to check them out for me
The rain dried up when we passed the Kelpies at Falkirk and we managed a decent run down through the Avon Glen, to our wee hoose. The bikes have been given a blast with some fresh water and tucked back up in the garage, we have had a pint or two of tea, the bag is unpacked and the washing is in the machine. The textiles are hanging over the airer and we are packing for the Bol D'Or trip tomorrow! Like I said - time spent with Buelligans, is good for the soul.
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- all it needs now is a good selection of pictures, I'll have a good rummage through my digital camera and post some tomorrow night.
. Unfortunately we couldn't stay till longer on the Sunday but thanks to every one for the fantastic company and once again to Chris and Jane for organising yet another event.