I’m heading home tomorrow after a week in Scotland.

I really enjoyed my time, it can be summed up as follows.

Friendly people.

Incredibly beautiful scenery.

Great roads.

Wonderfully considerate drivers.

A bit windy.

Agressive midges.

If you’ve been reading my posts this will come as no surprise. If you haven’t read them, then please do. They contain pictures and a few videos that illustrate the above list.

All past and future holidays will now be benchmarked against this one. Scotland has set a very high bar.

This first video is a typical quiet country lane. You’ll notice no potholes. They do exist but unlike in Surrey and Kent they are the exception not the rule.

In this one you’ll see the typical overtake I experienced. There were some close and impatient ones. But they were the exception not the norm, unlike down south. The roads I used most of the time had sixty mph limits. Where I normally ride that would mean aggressive, close and sometimes incredibly dangerous overtakes.

Drivers of all vehicles gave me the space I needed to be safe. Here is an example of the default overtake.

They waited until it was safe, and then changed lanes.

I wanted, as I said yesterday, to visit the radar station at Lowther Hill. It was suggested by a guy I follow, who follows me on Strava. This morning I didn’t wake to the sound of heavy rain as was the case for the last few days. The clouds did look very threatening though. Eventually I decided to drive to Wanlockhead and walk from there. The weather looked promising during the drive. I had a coffee and chocolate shortbread in the visitor centre cafe and set off.

My phone and signs pointed me straight to the summit of the hill. As you can see above it was a long way off. I quickly decided I wasn’t dressed appropriately and turned back. The picture at the top of this page was taken near the start of my trek. Quite the view to have whilst bathing.

The next two were taken on the way back to the van.

As I reached the van the clouds opened. I could have got closer, parked and walked a shorter distance. But it just wasn’t for me. You read of people going for walks across exposed terrain and having to be rescued. I didn’t want to be on the local news so I drove home. 

I wrote this post and started packing for the long drive instead.