OV9

Thanks for putting some time into the write up! I really enjoyed reading it, I was traveling to Plymouth and the installments seemed to fall nicely around the day.

Really want to take the family up sometime, it's such a brilliant and beautiful place to travel round.

Amazing trip Jobbo…

All those place names brought the memories of my trip flooding back.

I really must do it again soon

Fab stuff

Was great meeting you and being a part of the road trip! Who'd have thought the weather would have been as good as it was. You got some amazing pictures although I'm currently fixated on the one of your cooked breakfast.

The wrap looks amazing btw, pictures don't do it justice. Especially with the way it changed depending on the light.

First or second breakfast photo, Mike? I am missing Scotland and its food very much. That does include Nef's chefery; I must recognise that because I am always amazed not just how well he cooks but how quickly he rustles up something amazing.

Two things which attracted most comments on my trip - the colour of my car, and the Beard Meats Food t-shirt I was wearing.

Thanks so much to you, Scott, Mik, Nef and all of the lovely people of Scotland. And I can entirely see why you live up there. Maybe I need to visit in January next time for a reality check!

Absolutely green eyed with envy!

This is bucket list material for me. Of course now, achingly expensive to make happen from NZ but it must. It's coming up on 18yrs since I left Scotland and I think about it almost daily - doing a drive for the sake of driving to take the bits in that I never/rarely saw gives me the tingles just thinking about it. I think I'm gonna be living vicariously through this for a while.

I’m up that way in the Autumn, I’ll be sure to arrive without warning at the Croft around dinner time then by the sounds of it

Really nice write-up there

Dave!

Great write up, definitely a trip I want to do in the not to distant. Scotland looks so beautiful.

Jobbo you do fantastic write-ups. Thanks for putting the time in to document this travelogue, your pictures are a big persuader in me and Mrs Newt wanting to go there! We have done elements of the SC300 last year...I should have documented it better as there are some terrific views, like the moment Ailsa Craig looms over you.

I am eyeing Supercar Hire Scotland's web site in terms of leasing their Vantage or F-type again to cover this ground.

Explosive Newt wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 10:50 am I am eyeing Supercar Hire Scotland's web site in terms of leasing their Vantage or F-type again to cover this ground.

Don't know much about them, but most Performance Car Hire places have their insurance excess set at a level that is specifically designed to curb your enthusiasm..... I know you can get independent cover for hire car excess (I have used it) - not sure if that stretches to this type of hire also?

In saying that - I am sure BenB rented an XKR-R with someone else for a trip North, and @Marv rented a Caterham from Inverness also - so it can prove a decent option.

I'd rather hire a car and stay in hotels than hire a camper van, certainly. I'd just look at car hire from normal places like Enterprise or Hertz, get something reasonable and enjoy the trip for what it is. If you have a passenger I really don't think they'll enjoy 6 hours a day of heavy braking for passing places etc

I hear good things about this company: https://www.highlandcaterhamhire.com/

mik wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 11:40 am

Explosive Newt wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 10:50 am I am eyeing Supercar Hire Scotland's web site in terms of leasing their Vantage or F-type again to cover this ground.

Don't know much about them, but most Performance Car Hire places have their insurance excess set at a level that is specifically designed to curb your enthusiasm..... I know you can get independent cover for hire car excess (I have used it) - not sure if that stretches to this type of hire also?

I have used them before without issues... but then again I didn't crash! The bloke was a bit cagey about showing me the details of the insurance but then again they aren't very expensive...

speedingfine wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 11:57 am I hear good things about this company: https://www.highlandcaterhamhire.com/

As per Mik's post above, that's who I hired the Caterham 7 from, when Duncs, YK and I did our NC500 trip in July 2017 (also 3 days)

If it's still run by the same person, he's a real nice bloke and all the good things are true IME.

He was based just south of Elgin when I went to collect the car.

Amazing how quickly time goes by, will be 8 years since that trip, in a few months time.

Lovely post. I keep putting off a fly&hire trip up there

Cracking pictures and write up.

We really should sort a Scottish coffee and drive type thing. There are quite a few of us within 90 minutes of Edinburgh I think and there are so many great roads, Borders, D&G, HIghlands, Grampian.

See loads of places and roads I have been on in the past, although mostly seen from my old Sigma repmobile rather than anything fun.

If you are ever up again, nip up the A68 from Newcastle (Atually it is the road that goes through Ponteland and Birse then joins the A68 I tend to use, but either ends up being bloody amazing to drive. I live about a minutes off the A68 and can always rustle up coffee and biscuits to an OV9 passerby.

I used the A74(M) both ways but I often used to take the A697/A68 route from Morpeth to Edinburgh. Way nicer than the A1. If I’m coming up that way at some future point I’ll drop you a line Gavin

Jobbo wrote: Sat May 17, 2025 11:25 am I used the A74(M) both ways but I often used to take the A697/A68 route from Morpeth to Edinburgh. Way nicer than the A1. If I’m coming up that way at some future point I’ll drop you a line Gavin

I am in St Boswells, about 30 miles, maybe 35 South of Edinburgh. Regularly see my local roads in EVO magazine. That would be great to meet you, like Mic said, I have been on some form of this forum for Goodness knows how long, but have only met Nef, Scott A and I think one other at Knockhill but can't think who.