Lotus Elan Central

by **BigErch** » Sun 20.05.2007, 13:11

Hi Michael,

what roads have u been on around here?
i thought it'd be good to take u on a wee spin on some of the twisty roads with nice scenery.
Are there any distilleries you've not been to before? is that a silly question :lol:

?
Mark, getting some Angus and Venison burgers from Braemar - our chickens are a bit old and tough ;-)

John, r u comming for a bbq?

cheers Arch

by **Michael** » Sun 20.05.2007, 17:59

Hi Arch,

Last time we were at the Royal Lochnagar with John and we visited Macallan but they were closed at the time and we went to the Cooperage.
In the region we drove the A93 from Ballater to Pitlochry.
Other then that we did not explore the region extensively.

This year we plan to travel from Strathpeffer to John via:
Inverness, along the coast to Macduff and on to Aberdeen.
Speyside, the Crampian Mountains and a castle or two are still to be explored

It would be fun to do that together?

M

BTW. On the way up we'll visit the Oban and Talisker (my favourite, together with Laphroaig) distilleries

by **DeeAitch** » Sun 20.05.2007, 19:08

Michael, if you are going to Keswick from Newcastle be sure to take the A686 via Alston & Penrith, one of the best roads around here. The B6306 / B6278 / B6277 to Alston, then the A686 to Penrith would be even better if you have loads of time. Avoid the ford at Stanhope tho' :wink:

by **John_W** » Sun 20.05.2007, 19:23

Archie,
Yes, Maggie & I will be delighted to come to your place for a barbie on Sunday 24th. We'll drive out with Michael; probably along the Don via Alford as we came along the Dee last time and it also gives us a chance to visit the motor museum and pose by the signpost to Lost (assuming it hasn't been nicked again). I'll try to persuade Andrew Ennis to come. Any other Elan drivers fancy a wee day out?

As a reciprocal invitation, why don't you & Justine come to a party we're having on 2nd June? I appreciate you're probably busy, but we'd love to see you. Andrew should be there.

I'd love to show Kitty & Michael the road from your place to Tomintoul. For some inexplicable reason they missed it last time they were here. As well as the drive, we could stop for some photo opportunities in that fantastic scenery, have tea or lunch at Goodbrand, Allargue or Bridge of Brown, and visit the whisky shop in Tomintoul.

Michael,
I haven't checked possible routes from Macduff to Aberdeen, but whatever you do, avoid the main road which goes through Huntly as much as you can. It's single carriageway, it's full of lorries, it's boring, there are long queues of traffic which can't/won't overtake the lorries in front, it's full of speed cameras, and there are many much better roads for an Elan on holiday.

Maggie & I are going to the Applecross inn next weekend (in the Elan, of course), so we'll let you know if the seafood's still as wonderful as always, and what beer's good.

John

by **Michael** » Sun 20.05.2007, 19:45

Thanks John,

No worries. We stay as far away as possible from any red marked (national) roads on the map en choose the yellow and white ones, preferably with the green markings, to drive along

We HATE speed camera's :twisted:

We downloaded on www.pocketgpsworld.com all the known speedcamara locations plus the preferred mobile locations

Tomintoul and the motor museum sound great to us

CU
M

by **Michael** » Sun 20.05.2007, 19:46

THNX Dave, we'll sure follow your sugestions

by **John_W** » Sun 20.05.2007, 22:16

Michael wrote:We stay as far away as possible from any red marked (national) roads on the map en choose the yellow and white ones, preferably with the green markings, to drive along

Good man. I'm not sure why you're going to Macduff (seeing an Elan owner?), but since you're going there, may I suggest en route:
- Cullen: where the skink come from (just ask at Applecross)
- Portsoy: a nice wee harbour. They have an annual boat festival, but it's probably not when you're going to be there.
- Pennan: of "Local Hero" fame. About 6 miles east of Macduff, so probably not on your route.
- Spey Bay: but only if you're into hugging dolphins.
- Baxters factory at Mosstodloch (near Fochabers) is OK for lunch, but don't worry if you miss it.
- Johnston's woolen (cashmere) factory (and shop) at Elgin. Keep the cheque book away from Kitty. They also have a tearoom/lunch place. http://www.johnstonscashmere.com/

Then head south through Turriff, Oldmeldrum, Inverurie, Kintore (bypass), then to us.

Michael wrote:We HATE speed camera's We downloaded on www.pocketgpsworld.com all the known speedcamara locations plus the preferred mobile locations

Glad you found that website. Unfortunately it's necessary to make use of such databases these days in Britain, and that one is about the best.

Bon voyage,

John

(edit: PS. I forgot to mention that Fyvie castle is worth a visit as you're passing. Most of these castles are National Trust properties, so depending on how many you intend to visit, it might be worth buying an annual family membership rather than paying for every entry fee. Ask at teh first one you visit.)

by **BigErch** » Mon 21.05.2007, 11:10

Yeah John,

I was hoping to do the Tomintoul Road (infamous Cock Bridge to Tomintoul - highest road in Britain) it's good for testing yer brakes! The Whiskey Castle is a definite stop then it's simply a choice of which distillery :twisted:

I was hoping to get a few more Elan's up for the night. I'll send some PM's tonight.
How do you put a link from Scottish Events thread to this one?

Arch

by **Michael** » Mon 21.05.2007, 16:47

@ John,

We're not actually going to Macduff John. Just mentioned that one to indicate our possible route along/near the coast.

Do you have any interesting suggestions for us concerning a quick but scenic drive from Balater to Edinburgh on tuesday jue 26? We plan to spend a much time as possible in that city withoud having to race on national roads or highways.

by **Scott J** » Sat 26.05.2007, 08:37

Archeee of da north,

Back from LeMans on 19th, 10 days in cheeseeatingsurrendercountry, will try to make it, let you know post LM.

So maybe its aye an maybe its naw.
Slainte.

by **John_W** » Fri 01.06.2007, 14:42

Michael,
I've sent you some tourist information I picked up in Kishorn last weekend. There's no note in the envelope, so I thought I'd better let you know who sent it. :wink:

We stayed at the Applecross Inn. Great food and lovely weather. But the place had as much traffic as Sauchiehall Street. I think the secret's got out.

Mind you, it was an English Bank Holiday weekend, so maybe it was busier than usual. There were lots of Dutch number plates around, several of the cars with caravans. There are also lots of those motor-home things on the road now which you hardly used to see in Scotland (RVs as our cousins from the USA call them).

It was still great to be there. Try the Kishorn Seafood Bar for lunch.

John

http://www.asnu59.dsl.pipex.com/general ... ardban.jpg

by **Rambo** » Sat 02.06.2007, 18:51

John_W wrote:We stayed at the Applecross Inn. Great food and lovely weather. But the place had as much traffic as Sauchiehall Street. I think the secret's got out.

Shame about that John - my favourite place in Scotland. Been raving about the prawns and scallops for years. Maybe the sign at the bottom of the Bealach na Ba should say "Keep English out" :wink:

by **Michael** » Sun 03.06.2007, 13:07

Wonderfull pictures John. Great Views!
Kitty and I very much look forward to that kind of weather during our trip

It's just a few more days untill then. The Elan is ready and we are busy preparing the last details.
We have not yet received the tourist info you sent us but I'll let you know as soon as we do.

Hopefully the roads will not be totally blocked with (Dutch) campers & caravans. We like those just as much as speed camera's :twisted:

June 13th we'll be on our way!

Michael

by **Rambo** » Sun 17.06.2007, 21:55

Michael and Kitty stayed with us in Innerleithen last night and this morning headed for Oban on day 4 of their 2nd Scottish tour. I have learned several interesting things from our Dutch cousins:-

1) Michael very much likes Caol Ila whisky - although he prefers Talisker

2) Kitty is very organised. Have a look at her 14 day tour plan. She could be our Dutch rep at next year's Donny for the colour co-ordinated run in.

3) Michael likes bread, butter and sugar pieces for breakfast !! And that can be Caster sugar, Granulated, Muscovado or Demerera. He's not that fussy !!

Looking forward to seeing you all at Archie's BBQ next Sunday.

PS Don't forget to bring sugar and peaty flavoured whiskies !!

by **BigErch** » Fri 22.06.2007, 23:14

All you guys comming on Sunday, if you could get here for about 2pm then we could head out to Tomintoul.
I was gonna phone a distillery to organise a tour, any preference?
I might try Glenfarcas, it's independant so might be quite interesting.

I'll fire up the BBQ at 7pm for those who can't make it for the drive in the afternoon.

Look forward to seeing everyone. Arch

by **Rambo** » Sat 23.06.2007, 07:11

Archie,

I'll be heading over from Aviemore so see you in the square in Tomintoul about 14:30.

I've a nasty feeling that distilleries are closed on Sundays ??

so will phone you or JohnW on Sat/Sun to find out further details

Slainte,

PS Heavy rain predicted for Sunday and most of this w/e

by **John_W** » Sat 23.06.2007, 11:27

Archie, Mark,

I'll make sure we're at Gairnshiel at 2pm so that we can meet Mark in Tomintoul on time. If you can't find a distillery that's open, we can go for a drive then sit & bullshit at the bridge of Brown or Goodbrand or wherever.

Andrew's not coming as he has a charity bike ride somewhere near Perth tomorrow (he's going to get very wet).

I was going to take Michael & Kitty to the Grampian Motor Museum or maybe Crathes or the Knock or Lost Galleries on the way. I'll tailor the journey to make sure we get there at 2.

Look forward to seeing you all.

John