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Route

In the early may of 2000 I drove coming from northern England along the eastern coast to the north up to Perth. From there I drove to the north to Braemar and again to the North sea coast to Aberdeen. Further along the coast up to Inverness, then to the south to Loch Lochy and again to the north along Loch Ness. After that I drove to Carbisdale Castle and up and down through the Highlands before I got a ferry to the Orkney Island in Turso. To the south I drove along the fissured west coast and ofcourse I didn't miss to take a trip on the Isle of Skye. Further on to the peninsula Kintyre, through the Isle of Arran and then back to England.

The red triangles shown on the map are youth hostels with their location. To stay a night will cost about 10 Pounds, sleeping in a tent is the only way to get a cheaper stay. In most Scottish youth hostel is no breakfast available.

Recommended map: Schottland from EuroCart, scale 1:300.000

Guide book: Lonely Planet Great Britain or  Lonely Planet Scotland

Generally informations Inverness Forecast The best time in year to go to the UK is May/June and September/October. In July/August it will be warmer but it also will rain more often.

Important Scottish words:  loch = lake,  ben = mountain,  glen = valley
schottisches Pfund It's strange that the Scots have got their on notes, but it's worth is 1:1 to the English Pound. You can also pay with English Pounds in Scotland and it's possible to pay with Scottish Pounds in the north of England, except with the Scottish one Pound note because the English have got a one Pound coin.
Comment Sep. 2006:
This is not entirely true anymore! The Scots use the coins now too, and the note is hardly to be found anymore. But they still release their own notes.
Dunnottar Castle The north sea coast of Scotland isn't really interesting except of a few castles. This is Dunnottar Castle, a few miles to the south from Aberdeen.
Braemar The road form Perth across Braemar to Aberdeen has got lots of lovely turns. Mostly it runs through a valley but it also has got some rises.
nice gravel road There are some really nice gravel roads around Braemar and you don't need a offroad bike for these. But some of this roads are dead end roads without a sign, what I noticed here again after driving about 20 km.