Let's go on the adventure – with the motorcycle through Scotland
The reason why I, and probably most people, got a motorcycle license was the idea of riding my motorcycle for days on unfamiliar roads through foreign countries and waking up in a new place every day. The last adventure of this kind had been far too long ago and so I thought with a friend who had the same wish which countries would be suitable for us. The wilder and lonelier the area, the better. So Per and I decided to go to Scotland.
The best and easiest way for us to get there with our own motorbike was the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle. After some research, May turned out to be a suitable travel period, as statistically there are the most hours of sunshine and the least precipitation in this month and there are no annoying midges, biting flies, in the Highlands at this time of year. Although the Scottish weather should show us later that it is not based on statistics.
So on a Monday morning we set off for Holland with our two motorcycles, on which we had lashed our luggage. In less than three hours we were in IJmuiden and after a quick check-in we were able to get on the ferry by motorbike. While we fastened our motorcycles with tension straps, we quickly got into conversation with the other motorcyclists and exchanged experiences and travel plans.
Our crossing to Newcastle
First of all, we stowed the luggage in our cabin. We had booked an outside cabin with two beds, in which there was enough space for everything. At 5:30 p.m. the ship departed. We looked for a bench at the stern of the ship and watched full of anticipation for tomorrow as the lighthouse and the harbor became smaller and smaller until they could no longer be seen. After a very relaxed night, we reached the harbour in Newcastle the next morning around 9 am.
Confrontation with left-hand traffic
I got used to left-hand traffic in England faster than I thought. We just followed the other cars and after a few hours of driving it was already a matter of course. The only exciting moment came after a break on a single-lane road. The natural reflex led me to mistakenly avoid the oncoming vehicle on the right and we drove head-on towards each other. Fortunately so slowly that we were able to switch to the left side in time.
Newcastle is located far in the north of England and the border with Scotland was quickly reached. On the first day we drove – with a stopover at the beach – up the east coast to Tantallon Castle. We explored the old castle ruins, from which you have a beautiful view of Bass Rock, a rocky island full of thousands of birds. Afterwards we drove past Edinburgh to Glasgow.
Stopover in Glasgow
In Glasgow we had booked our first hostel and inspected one of the Scottish pubs in rainy weather to warm up there. The next morning we continued towards the Isle of Skye. We drove north directly along the shore of Loch Lomond. The route was very winding and beautiful to drive – on our left side forest slopes and on our right again and again the view of Loch Lomond with its numerous islands. That's exactly how I imagined motorcycling in Scotland. Around noon, the increasingly heavy rain forced us to take a longer break in Tyndrum.
Winding Highlands and Harry Potter
After our short forced break in Tyndrum, we set off again in the dry. It was now continuously uphill and the landscape became much more alpine. So this is where the Highlands began. While driving through the Glen Coe valley, we could still discover snowfields on the mountain peaks to the left and right of the route. Back down at sea level in Fort William, the sun finally came out and we were able to visit the Glennfinan Viaduct in beautiful weather. An impressive railway bridge that all Harry Potter fans should know from the films and is definitely worth a visit.
Arrival on the Isle of Skye
The next day we arrived by ferry from Mallaig at our most westerly destination of the Scotland trip and started our round trip across the island to the sights along the way.
The first destination was the Old Man of Storr, a 48 m high rock needle, which unfortunately disappeared in the fog that day. We therefore decided that it would not be worth hiking up and drove on. Halfway to Mealt Falls, one of the few waterfalls in Europe that fall directly into the sea, the rain was getting heavier and heavier and we were now completely soaked despite the best rain gear. But we decided to do the lap as planned and not turn around. At the Mealt Falls we had a clear view over the sea as a reward.
Marten Suhre: "Travelling, photography and filming have always been great passions of mine. So what could be more obvious than to document my travels in this way. I'm more interested in the lesser-known, adventurous destinations where there is still something to discover. I publish photos and videos of my travels on Instagram and Youtube under the name martensur."
