JOIN ACCLAIMED MOTO-JOURNALIST AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUTHOR, PHOTOGRAPHER & EXPEDITION LEADER CHRISTOPHER P. BAKER ON AN EXHILARATING 9-DAY MOTORCYCLE TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS VIA SCOTLAND’S MAGNIFICENT ‘NORTH COAST 500’ ROUTE
9 DAYS/8 NIGHTS
DATES (TENTATIVE)
June 20-28, 2022 (private tour BMW Riding Academy of Turkey)
PRICE TBA
ITINERARY
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Day 1 EDINBURGH
Afternoon meet and briefing in Edinburgh – the beautiful “Athens of the North.”
OVERNIGHT: Royal Mile Hotel, Edinburgh
Day 2 EDINBURGH – INVERNESS / @ 285 km
Transfer to the Edinburgh suburb of Dalkeith to pick up our BMWs. Then leave Edinburgh behind as we head north via the original Scottish capital of Perth, and continue through the Cairngorms National Park to Culloden—site of the seminal battle of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. Continue into Inverness.
OVERNIGHT: Royal Highland Hotel OR Bunchrew House Hotel, Inverness
Day 3 INVERNESS – TONGUE / @ 338 km
Today follow the iconic ‘The North Coast 500’ bikers’ route to John O’Groats, the most northerly point in the British Isles. Then turn west through the lonesome and spectacular coastal heathlands to Tongue.
OVERNIGHT: The Tongue Hotel, Tongue?
Day 4 DURNESS – TORRIDON / @ 288 km
Turn south and follow the North Coast 500 through spectacular landscapes, including some technically challenging terrain on the ultra-scenic secondary road via Drumbeg and Lochinver through the remote Assynt Peninsula. After lunch in Ullapool, we’ll continue via the ‘West Coast Route’ via Poolewe and majestic Glen Torridon to Torridon.
OVERNIGHT: Torridon Lodge, Torridon
Day 4 TORRIDON – ISLE OF SKYE / @ 175 km
Today, we turn west and circle the Applecross Peninsula—a sensational ride of full of sweepers, twisties, and fast straights, culminating in the switchback climb and descent over the Beleach na Ba: the United Kingdom’s third-highest mountain road pass. We then ride to Kyle of Lochalsh and Eilaen Donan Castle (perhaps Britain’s most photogenic castle) and over the bridge to the beautiful Isle of Skye.
OVERNIGHT: Royal Hotel, Portree
Day 5 ISLE OF SKYE / @ 150 km
Our circuit of the Isle of Skye provides a sense of just how rugged and deserted Scotland can be. The dark brooding Cullin mountains dominate our lonesome route, with stops to visit Dunvegan (the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland) and the world-famous Talisker whisky distillery.
OVERNIGHT: Royal Hotel, Portree
Day 6 ISLE OF SKYE – LOCH NESS – OBAN / @ 350 km
Back to the mainland today as we ride through gorgeous Glen Shiel to Loch Ness. We’ll lunch at Urquhart Castle, in Drumnadrochit, then ride south along Loch Ness and Loch Lochy. We’ll pass beneath Ben Nevis—the highest peak in the British Isles—and through the magnificent Glen Coe (stopping to visit the site of the massacre in 1692) to reach Oban.
OVERNIGHT: Perle Oban Hotel, Oban
Day 7 OBAN – EDINBURGH / @ 230 km
Head east today through the rolling Trossachs National Park and along the “bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond,” then via Stirling—with its magnificent hilltop castle—to return to Edinburgh for a farewell dinner.
OVERNIGHT: Royal Mile Hotel, Edinburgh
Day 8 DEPART
Transfer to Edinburgh airport for your departure.
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BIKES
Choose from a selection of new BMWs
READ CHRIS’S ARTICLES ON ROAD-TESTING A 2017 INDIAN ROADMASTER ON THE NC 500…
Australian Road Rider
Robb Report
Motorcycle Consumer News
Wow! Magazine
Photographs are copyright Christopher P. Baker and may not be reproduced without permission
