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

The Plan Day 6: Sneaking into Scotland

Plan for Day 6: Morecambe to Ayr

(350 miles, approx. 8 hours)

Day 6 can be summarised as "round the edge of the Lake District and along the south-west coast of Scotland". The day starts by heading north out of Morecambe and onto the A6 (single-digit A-road number 4) through Carnforth before heading on the A590 to Ulverston and then on to Barrow-in-Furness. The route then heads north to Whitehaven and Workington, both places where I thought "oo, I've heard of them" and then remembered that was due to a shooting-spree and a flood...

The A595. Could be interesting...
© Copyright Andrew Woodhall and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons Licence

Cheerfully onwards I will go heading back in-land towards Carlisle and on to one of Britian's newest roads, the snappily titled "Carlisle Northern Distributor Road". I'm told it has lots of roundabouts. Across the M6 and onto the A7 (number 5), I will then head back towards Gretna and head into Scotland on the B7076. Yes, the B7076, as I explained in my first post, the alternative is really, really, really far (up via Hawick and Selkirk). I can't use the motorway there instead either as you can't get onto the A74(M) northbound at J45 to come off at J22, which of course is the junction after 45. Makes sense, really. 

... and has more flowers of it's side of the border.
© Copyright Nicholas Mutton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Having left England (and it being 3 days until I will return) I will be heading west on the A75 and will then reach Dumfries. From there it's a long drive along the coast of the Solway Firth, Wigtown Bay and Luce Bay before eventually making it to Stranraer. From there it is north once again up the A77 and A719 to Ayr.

My directions are as follows:

1. A589 becomes A5105 towards A6 at Carnforth
2. Follow A6 to A590
3. A590 to Ulverston
4. A5087 towards Bardsea
5. Follow A5087 into Barrow town centre
6. A590, follow signs for M6
7. A595 towards Workington
8. Follow A595 until A5093 towards Millom
9. A5093 in and out of Millom, becomes A595
10. A595 through Egremont
11. A5094 into and out of Whitehaven
12. Almost at Workington, A597 to Harrington
13. Follow A597, then A596 towards Carlisle
14. A595 towards Carlisle
15. A698 around Carlisle
16. M6 J44, take A7 north
17. At Longtown, A6071 to Gretna
18. Follow B7076 through Gretna to A75 towards Dumfries
19. At Dumfries take A780.
20. Left at mrb towards Solway Coast (A710)
21. Follow A756 then left onto A710 towards New Abbey
22. Follow A710 to Dalbeattie, then left and left for A711 to Auchencairn
23. Follow A711 to Kirkcudbright
24. At town centre in Kcb, left onto A755
25. Left onto A75 to Newton Stewart
26. R/b at Newton Stewart, left onto A714 to Wigtown
27. Follow signs for A714 Port William
28. Becomes A746, then A747
29. Left onto A75 at Glenluce
30. Follow A75 to Stranraer
31. At Stranraer, right (kirkholm) then right to A77 (Ayr)
32. At Turnberry, left to A719 (Ayr)
33. Follow a719 to Ayr 

Maps:

Morecambe to Stranraer (couple of mistakes in this one, but you get the idea)

Stranraer to Ayr

The Plan Day 5: Nimbly through North Wales and North-West England

Plan for Day 5: Holyhead to Morecambe

(226 miles, approx. 7.5 hours)

Day 5 is about lots of tunnels, well, 4 of them.  The day starts by crossing out of Holy Island on the bridge next to the one that I came into it on, skirting around the edge of Anglesey and heading back to Llanfair PG. Crossing the Menai Bridge this time (that's the one in my blog background) I will head through Bangor, where I may or may not have a lovely time, and then onto the whizzy, shiny, A55. There's a couple of somewhat odd tunnels heading on the A55 eastbound, both of which date from the early 1930s. Westbound has 2 more modern constructs built in the 1980s with the plan having once been that eastbound would get new tunnels later. Hasn't happened yet. There is then the tunnel under the River Conwy before a dash into and out of Llandudno, another place that looks like it will have rubbish signing.

Tunnels at Penmaen-bach, so you know what tunnels look like.
© Copyright Ian Warburton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Through Colwyn Bay I will leave the A55 around Abergele and wind my way around to eventually end up at Wallasey. Bizarrely the map indicates "Spaceport" as I head towards the A59 and the Wallasey tunnel (toll number 4). The route then runs along the docks, and out of Liverpool to Crosby, through Southport and on to Preston. Preston is almost famous for it's relation to motorways, so I'll be on the other side of the town and avoiding them all. Next up will be Blackpool, right along the seafront and then up round Fleetwood and onto what looks like a very faffy road, the A588. Eventually the A588 reaches Lancaster, though it makes a bit of a meal of it. Through Lancaster, down to Heysham and then into Morecambe and the day is done.

Bridges just aren't quite so impressive sometimes... © Copyright Tom Richardson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

My directions for the day are thus (town driving making them long-winded again...):

1. A55, off second junction to A5, back on again
2. Off next junction to A4080
3. Right at Llanfaelog, unsigned
4. A4080 to A5 across Menai Bridge
5. Follow A5, stay straight through Bangor back to A55
6. After Conwy Tunnel, A546 to Llandudno
7. On seafront, 4^th right is A470, unsigned.
8. Follow One-Way system, round right then A470 signed
9. A470 back to A55
10. A55 to A548 to Ryhl
11. Long stretch of A538 to A550 n/b
12. Left on A540 up to Hoylake
13. A553 to Moreton
14. In Moreton, left at r/b onto A551
15. In Wallasey right then left at R/bs to stay on A551
16. Follow signs for A551 to Seacombe
17. Left at T/L by Tesco Express then first right
18. Right onto A554
19. Follow signs to Liverpool/Wallesey Tunnel
20. Left out of tunnel, then left and left again towards Docks
21. Right at T-junction onto A5036
22. 12^th right is A5058 by Regent Maritime hotel
23. Left onto A556, follow through Crosby, to and through Southport
24. A59 for Preston
25. Left slip off A59, to A5072, A583 for Blackpool
26. A584 to Lytham St Anne's
27. Follow A584 along Blackpool seafront
28. A587 to Fleetwood follow signs then right at T-junction
29. Left at mini-roundabout
30. Right at r/b onto A585 towards Preston
31. Follow A585 then right onto A588 to Hambleton
32. Follow A588 to Lancaster
33. A6 north through Lancaster; one-way system
34. Left onto A589 towards Morecambe
35. A683 towards Heysham
36. A589 into Morecambe

Maps are:

Holyhead to Wallasey

Wallasey to Blackpool

Blackpool to Morecambe

The Plan Day 4: Arfordir y Gorllewin Cymru

Plan for Day 4: Pembroke to Holyhead

(255 miles, approx. 6.5 hours driving)

Having likely got thoroughly lost on Day 3, Day 4's directions can briefly be summed up as "Mainly follow the A487", which will be a relief. The day starts (and mainly continues) by heading north, first to Haverfordwest then on to St David's. For those who don't know, St David's is the smallest city in the UK, population somewhere just shy of 2000 people, and I grew up in what many regard as the largest village in the UK (Lancing, population around 19,000), so, yeah, that's just a bit silly isn't it?  

Ah, so if Lancing had a cathedral it too could be a city!

                        © Copyright Martin Bodman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence  

Onwards through Fishguard and Cardigan to Aberyswyth. I may even wear a cardigan in Cardigan just so I can say I have done so. Continuing northwards the place names get ever more unpronounceable and hoard "L"s as if there was once a shortage. Skirting the Snowdonia national park it will be onwards to Porthmadog, and then west to Pwllheli before heading onwards to Caernarfon. North once more to cross the Menai Strait on the Britannia Bridge at Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, the place with the really long rail station signs and then skirting the edge of Anglesey on my "wrong way round" bit of my trip. I will actually have crossed over my route for Day 5 at Llanfair PG as I will be using the Menai Bridge to get back onto the mainland.

I would claim this is a future picture of me, but I've been to Llanfair PG before!

Directions for day 4 are:

1. A477 to A4076 at Johnston
2. Right onto A4076
3. A487 thru Haverfordwest, not clearly signed, s/o at Merlins Bridge
4. Follow A487 for ages through St Ds and onto Fishguard
5. Short bit of A40 then follow signs towards Fishguard ( unsigned A487)
6. Left at roundabout in town centre
7. Loads of A487 through Cardigan, Aberaeron to Aberystwyth
8. Follow signs for A487
9. A487 to Machynlleth, then A493 towards Tywyn
10. Follow A493 to A470. Left onto A470
11. Off at roundabout, A496
12. A496 to A487
13. Onto A497 in Porthmadog
14. A497 to Pwllheli then right onto A499
15. Back onto A487
16. Follow A487 through Caernarfon
17. A487 onto A55 Britannia Bridge
18. Off at next Junction, A5025
19. Follow A5025 to Valley
20. A5 to Holyhead

Maps:

Pembroke to Valley (The route is wrong in a couple of places, but I can't be bothered to correct it!)

Valley to Holyhead (in case you couldn't work it out...)