Plan for Day 11: Easing down the East Coast

Plan for Day 11: Scarborough to Great Yarmouth
(268 miles, approx. 8.5 hours)


Only a few days to go now. The directions are pretty much done, just adding the bits to get from the route to the places I'm staying. Just hoping I won't get to Wick and find there's a shortage of petrol...


Day 11 will see much progress back towards home and after all that city driving on day 10 is thankfully mainly through rural countryside. The day starts unsurprisingly by heading south out of Scarborough and compared to a lot of this trip the route is actually somewhat direct. To Hull. The route goes through what looks like most of Hull before crossing the Humber Bridge (toll number 7). When it comes to "major sights of Day 11", that's it, the Humber Bridge. From there it's along to Grimsby, hugging the coast to reach Boston (still without a bypass) and round The Wash to Kings Lynn, which I shall go through and not around as the map suggests. I'll then head round the top of East Anglia and onto Great Yarmouth. 

The Fifth Longest Bridge in the World.
 © Copyright John Wardell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

That's kinda it really! I'm sure the towns and villages on my route will be lovely, but there's not much to comment on them before I've been there.

Directions are:

1. A165 south to Filey
2. At r/b Left on to A1039 through Filey, back to A165
3. At double r/b follow signs for Bridlington/ town centre
4. Follow one-way, shared space section
5. Follow signs for A165 Hull back onto A165
6. In Hull follow signs for Humber Bridge
7. Cross Humber Bridge, A15
8. Junction after bridge, onto A1077
9. Follow A1077, left onto A160
10. Right at r/b onto A1173
11. Follow to A180 (Grimsby)
12. Follow A180 Cleethorpes
13. Follow t/c A1098
14. s/o, right, s/o at 3 r/bs
15. Follow A1098 to A1031 for Mablethorpe
16. A1031 to A1104, Mablethorpe
17. Right onto A52 at T/l in Mablethorpe
18. A52 to and through Skegness, then to Boston
19. A16 at Boston
20. At r/b left on to A17
21. A47 over Ouse, off at junction
22. A148 into Kings Lynn, follow straight through town, then left onto A149 at r/b
23. Follow A149, through Cromer and on to Great Yarmouth

Maps:
Scarborough to Cromer
Cromer to Great Yarmouth

The Plan Day 10: Edinburgh and North-East England.

Plan for Day 10: Rosyth to Scarborough

(249 miles, approx 8.5 hours)

I'll start with a bit of an update on the A890 situation: it is open some times when vehicles are being escorted along the railway line. Bit like a giant level-crossing. Still may be of no use to me depending when I'm likely to be there. Could use the ferry, but priority is given to local traffic and I don't know how long I would have to wait. Might get away with being local though if I wear a kilt and put on a Scottish accent... 

Day 10 will likely be all about returning back to England and then generally getting lost. If I tell you I will be driving through Edinburgh, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool you'll get the idea. The directions list for this one is looooooooooong.

To make up for not actually being on an A-road when I entered Scotland I'll leave via the A1.
© Copyright peter robinson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence 

The day starts by trundling over the Forth Road Bridge and into Edinburgh, skirting past the port of Leith and the Royal Yacht Britannia. The A1 (single-digit A-road number 8) will be my friend for a long part of the morning, with various diversions to visit the places it bypasses. North of Berwick I will of course return to England having left 4 days before. I'll leave the A1 at Alnwick as it decides to head to more central parts and start the long slog through the towns and cities of the North-East. My first toll for a long time will be paid to use the new Tyne Tunnel. This will be toll number 5. I probably should be thankful that Scotland scrapped all it's road tolls and in turn has saved me some money! 

Looks fun.
© Copyright Alexander P Kapp and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons Licence

Through Gateshead, Sunderland and Hartlepool, yet another toll will occur in Middlesborough at the Middlesborough Transporter Bridge. I was debating whether or not this counted as a ferry, but thought the clue was in the name really. For those unfamiliar with what a transporter bridge is, basically the vehicles sit on a platform suspended from the actual bridge structure which is then hauled across. I checked it runs on Bank Holidays and even though the alternative isn't that far I thought it looked like fun! Next is Redcar and suddenly after all that city and town driving I'll be into the North Yorkshire Moors National Park for the run down to Scarborough. 


Epic list of directions:

1. A90 across Forth and into Edinburgh
2. Leftish at t/l, A902 to Leith
3. Straight on at r/b then left at traffic lights by church
4. Large r/b, last exit Lower Granton Road
5. Left at t/l A901 Leith
6. Follow road, becomes A199
7. Keep following A199, left at A1 traffic lights for A199 Musselburgh
8. Left at t/l after bridge in Musselburgh
9. Follow A199 to A1 for Berwick
10. Leave at next junction A198 North Berwick
11. Follow A198 to and through North Berwick
12. At end of A198, Left for Berwick (A1)
13. At roundabout, A1087 for Dunbar
14. Follow A1087 through Dunbar, right at mr/b in town centre
15. Left onto A1 for Berwick
16. Straight after restart of D/C, left onto A1107
17. Follow A1107 back to A1
18. A1167 through Berwick and back to A1
19. Lots of A1, then junction at Alnwick onto A1086, right at both r/bs
20. At roundabout, A189 to Newcastle
21. After 2nd river bridge, left at junciton, A193 Blyth
22. Follow A193 towards Whitley Bay
23. At A193 in Whitley Bay, follow one way towards town centre
24. Right then left at T/Ls
25. Follow A193 signs, right at stop sign in Tynemouth
26. Left onto A187 at t/l (town centre)
27. Follow signs for A187 and Tyne Tunnel
28. A19 Tyne Tunnel
29. After tunnel, immediately A185 then A194 to South Sheilds,
30. At traffic lights take A183 (straight on)
31. Follow signs for town centre then beach
32. Continue on A183
33. Road becomes A1018 at one-way, across Wearmouth Bridge
34. Left after bridge to stay on A1018
35. Follow A1018 to A19
36. Off at junction, A1086 Easington
37. Follow A1086 in to Hartlepool
38. Left at r/b A1049 Headland
39. Right at end of road (A1048)
40. Straight on at r/b A179
41. Left at t/l A178 Seaton Carew
42. Follow A178, across MTB
43. Right before low bridge
44. At A66, left towards Teesport
45. Follow A66 then right onto A1085 for Redcar
46. At stop, left across L/C then first right
47. Follow A1085 to A174
48. A174 to Whitby
49. At T/L in Whitby straight on for A171 Scarborough
50. Left at mrb, A165 to Scarborough

Maps are: 

Rosyth to Blyth

Blyth to Scarborough

The Plan Day 9: East Coast Scotland for Easter.

Plan for Day 9: Wick to Rosyth
(384 miles, really not the 11hours Bingmaps say, probably more like 8.)

I said in my last post that Day 9 now won the longest stint prize by a long way, because I had only looked at the hours it would take according to Bing Maps. In fact, it's only 2 miles further than day 2, and I have no idea why it is suggested that this should take 11 hours. The roads look similar in quality, if not better, than those of Day 2. From the links I will post at the end it is suggested that the last 95 miles will take 3 and a half hours! That's an average speed of 27mph, despite quite a lot of the route being on rural roads. Something strange going on there and it will be interesting to see how Bing's estimates match up with reality.

Scottish Roads: All about the bridges.
  © Copyright Toby Speight and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence 

Day 9 starts by heading south from Wick, down the A99 then A9 (single-digit A-road number 7) to Inverness and I will marvel at how quickly I will have gotten there considering how long will have taken to get anywhere up the Scottish west coast. The east coast journey is much quicker all around really as the whole of the east coast of Britain is somewhat flatter and straighter than the west coast. Eastward from Inverness, next up will be Fraserburgh before heading down to Aberdeen.


Appropriate place to be driving through at Easter.


The route continues through Abroath, Dundee and lots of other places known for having football teams. Across the Tay it will be down through St. Andrews, around to Kirkcaldy before reaching Rosyth. I then have the longest trip off my route to my accommodation, as the Travelodge for Day 9 is in Dunfermline, mainly due to all the Edinburgh ones being in the middle of the city and Edinburgh is not a car-friendly place. Day 9 will also happen to be Easter Sunday, which will bring hopefully nice quiet roads, but also slight logistical issues regards eating and possible getting petrol, though I think a lot of the major chains open on Easter Sunday anyway. 


Directions for the day are:

1. A99 then A9 to Inverness
2. At junction at Inverness, A96 to Nairn
3. Follow A96 through Elgin
4. At Fochabers, left onto A98
5. Left onto A990 Portgordon
6. Follow A990 along Buckie seafront
7. Left onto A942 to Portknockie
8. Follow A942 back to A98
9. Continue on A98 throgh Banff and Macduff and then to Fraserburgh
10. In Fraserburgh, follow A98 which becomes A90
11. A982 in and out of Peterhead, back to A90
12. Left onto A975, Crudden Bay
13. Follow A975 back to A90
14. At Aberdeen onto A956
15. Left at traffic lights at Arts Centre (looks like a church)
16. Follow signs for Dundee and Perth (A90) - still A956
17. A90 towards Dundee
18. At Stonehaven, junction for A92 to Montrose
19. Follow A92 through Montrose, then Arbroath
20. At junction, A930 to Carnostie
21. Follow A930 into Dundee
22. Straight on to A92 at traffic lights
23. Tay Bridge (keep left)
24. Second r/b after bridge, left, A914 Cupar
25. Road becomes A919, follow to A91
26. A91 towards St. Andrews
27. In St. Andrews, straight on at R/b, A917 Crail
28. Follow A917 signs, throug Crail and Anstruther
29. Road becomes A915 in Upper Largo
30. Left at r/b in Leven for A955
31. In Kirkcaldy, straight on at r/b, A921
32. Follow A921 to A90/M90 J1

Maps:
Wick to Montrose
Montrose to Rosyth

The Plan Day 8: Nine-Oh....

Plan for Day 8: Fort William to Wick (Caithness, not Littlehampton)
(369 miles approx 8.5 hours)


Day 8 leads me round the top end of Britain, heading around the Scottish north coast. Or that's the plan at least. What was originally planned as the longest day of the trip (I was going to go to Inverness) is now the second longest, with Day 9 winning that dubious prize now by a long way. With the places I wanted to stop I was going to get a really long day on one of the Scottish legs, and thought it more sensible to at least do it on the side of the country with better roads. Day 9 will also be Easter Sunday which will mean I can hopefully make lots of progress by leaving early! Anyway, back to Day 8...

Before going into detail on the route, there is a wee problem with the Day 8 route at the moment. The A890 is closed at Stromeferry due to a landslide. It has been so for months. There is a 6-car ferry in operation instead, but with priority to local traffic (which won't be me obviously) and the diversion by road is 120-miles. Needless to say, I have an alternate route planned as well, which is about the same length but leaves out the A890.

The sign was unfortunately correct.
© Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Both routes head north out of Fort William on the A82 heading up alongside Loch Lochy, which really is my favourite name for a loch. At Invergarry it's a left onto the A87 and at the A887 the planned route is left, with the alternative to the right. The planned route then heads to Auchtertyre where it is hopefully onto the A890 and then the A896 to Loch Maree. A lot of this bit of the route is on single-track roads, which will slow progress down somewhat, though looking at the street-view images "single-track road" in this case means plenty of passing places and being able to see anything heading towards you well in advanced. As opposed to in Sussex where "single-track road" usually means being surrounded by steep banks on both sides, passing places if you are lucky, lots of blind corners and drivers heading at you without taking a lot of notice of these things! The alternative route heads up the side of Loch Ness, through Muir of Ord and onto the A832 much further west. From this point both routes are the same.

After a lot of wiggling around on the A832 its then up the A835 to Ullapool. There are then various roads that meet at nowhere in particular as I will make my way around the north coast. Epic scenery will ensue no doubt. Eventually I will get to Thurso and then will get to the most northerly point of my journey about here. Which I will probably miss. It will then be right onto the A99 at John O'Groats for the last short stretch to Wick.

Single-Track road Scottish-stlye
© Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for
 reuse under this Creative Commons Licence 

Single-Track Road, Sussex-style

 © Copyright Shazz and licensed for 

reuse

 under this Creative Commons Licence 

Directions for the planned route are (note the lack of roads meeting in actual places...):

1. A82 to Invergarry
2. At Invergarry, left onto A87
3. Follow A87 to Auchtertyre
4. Right onto A890
5. Left onto A896
6. Left onto A832
7. Left onto A835
8. Stay on A835 through Ullapool
9. Left onto A837
10. Right onto A894
11. Becomse A838 at Laxford Bridge
12. Road becomes A836 at Tongue
13. Follow A836 through Thurso
14. Right onto A99
15. A99 to Wick

Maps are: 

Planned route

Alternative route

The Plan Day 7: Wiggle Around the Scottish West Coast

Plan for Day 7: Ayr to Fort William

(224 miles approx. 6.5 hours)

Having made it into Scotland, Day 7 will involve a lot of shuffling around the west coast on my way to Fort William. Heading north out of Ayr I'll meet the A78 which is another one of those roads that seems determined to spend a lot of time near the coast, but not quite all the time, causing me to turn off to trundle through bypassed towns. Alongside the Firth of Clyde eventually the route makes it's way into Greenock. 

The Erskine Bridge. Subtle.
 © Copyright william craig and licensed for reuse under  this Creative Commons Licence 

Through Greenock and onto the A8 (single-digit A-road number 6...)  there'll then be some faffing around to avoid the M8 and get across the Erskine Bridge, which will be about as close as I get to Glasgow. Through Dumbarton and then it's on to... well... not to degrade the places I will be going through, but beyond Dumbarton the only large towns are Oban and then Fort William. There'll be a lot of epic scenery no doubt, this is the Scottish Highlands after all, hopefully no landslips at Rest and Be Thankful and a number of photogenic bridges. 

Rest and Be Thankful. Good advice.
© Copyright Stephen Sweeney and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

In all seriousness though, I have planned for day 7 to be shorter as day 8 is a long trek around the north coast. The directions are fairly easy:

1. A79 to A78 northbound
2. Onto A737 through Irvine
3. Back onto A78
4. At roundabout, left onto A738
5. Follow A738 back to A78
6. A78 through Largs to Inverkip
7. At roundabout after Invekip, left on to A770
8. Follow A770 through Greenock to A8
9. Off at M8 J31 to stay on A8
10. Left at roundabout onto A726
11. A726 to A898 Erskine Bridge
12. Immediately after Bridge, A82 to Dumbarton
13. At Dumbarton A814 through town and then Helensburgh
14. Follow A814 to A83
15. A83 towards Campbeltown
16. Follow A83 for ages to Lochgilphead
17. At Lochgilphead, A816 to Oban
18. A816 through Oban
19. At Connel, right onto A828 to Fort William
20. At roundabout some way on, right onto A82 to Fort William

Maps are: Ayr to Kimelford

                  Kimelford to Fort William