Audi S3 8V

[Boydie]

Revo do provide a forged map which we found out just before installing the new map to mine but I personally think that is one step too far lol

Unless I was keeping the car to race only but its still expensive to use it just for racing. No matter how class it would be.

 

[Todd]

This must be a complete animal!!

 

[Boydie]

@Todd - a lot of Revo haters would hate it as its so calm and smooth but when you want it to go it friggin does. This is my daily driver and it does get driven everyday without fail

I didn't want something that would annoy me or be harsh so it drives like a 1.0 litre lol

 

[Ged]

Spent a while catching up watching your videos today and yesterday, some yolk uve built, must get a look at it in person some day!

 

[Boydie]

Anytime @Ged - hope to make the next cars and coffee meet!

 

[Boydie]

Been a while since I have posted in general but hopefully this post will be worth it so please bear with me, this will be long or just scroll through and admire the photos

If you have kept up to date with this thread, I had the fuel pumps installed and software updated to deal with the heat soak issues I experienced at the last drag event. I was then planning to compete at the next event in Enniskillen but unfortunately this was cancelled.

The next event "locally" (Dublin) wasn't until October but that was not confirmed. I would have loved to have gone to Santa Pod but was just concerned about the overall cost (you may quote me on that later) and timing.

Crail Raceway, Scotland run an event every month and the next one was 21/07/19. Every year, my family have a reunion in Findhorn in Morayshire so the timing was perfect as it was the following weekend so what better time for a road trip!

My wife and wee boy were not available for the whole trip plus I would have felt guilty so had @Carson as the next best thing to keep me company.

So, we left Belfast harbour at 0730 on Saturday 20th July

Boat ready and tank near empty, ready for some 99!

Time to set the Revo map via SPS to 98-100 ron!

So this is the route that Carson and I had planned for the Saturday, head straight to Loch Lomond via the Crow Road to the Trossachs and Dukes pass, head north to Ballquiddher to McLaren grave, then over toe Crieff to Dunkeld which Top Gear had listed as one of their top driving roads in Scotland - it did not disappoint! Finished off at my mates in Cowdenbeath where we would rest our weary heads after a few drams of whisky!

Callander - Trossachs

Stopped off at this lovely pub for a quick half pint of Caledonian before heading north to the grave site

Must have been a MG TF run that day as there were at least 6/7 parked up as well as this lovely car:

Then mine

Then onto the grave site in Ballquiddher, pretty cool spot and run

Please don't post yet

 

[Boydie]

The road from Crieff to Saint Fillans to Dunkeld, my word!!


Carson doing his best Dirty Dancing routine

The picture doesn't capture it but we just had to stop and just look around, a theme of the trip, just mind blowing!

So that was Saturday done and stayed at my friends house in Fife. Took the train to Edinburgh for a night out and meal - great craic! Next on to Crail!

Raceday!! Was really looking forward to this, car was stripped the night before and all systems go! Had 13 runs in total for £20!! Such a well ran event, so smooth and quick, people were great and competitors all up for a bit of banter.

My S3 didn't perform as well as I had hoped. Kept spinning the wheels at the line (even with pressures altered) and if I had a good start, I would have hesitations or misfires maybe higher up the revs! Strange day but had 2 good runs and recorded a time of 11.38 (slower than previous run) which was quick enough for 4th place behind a GTR (9.6), RS3 Stage 2 (10.6) and R8 V10 (10.8).

What a cool place, such a lovely area and perfected by the weather!

Once were done for the day, another driving route was to St Andrews called the East Neuk, just lovely scenery and had a cheeky stop over at Kingsbarn distillery for a gin tour!

The onto St Andrews for coffee and a tour around!

Headed back to my mates for dinner, drinks and early night to then hit the road early to spend times in the Cairngorms

 

[Boydie]

Monday, our tour really started. If anyone follows Carfection on youtube, you will know about the two main roads Henry Catchpoole does in Scotland. The return home in the McLaren which we did on Saturday to the grave site through the Trossachs and Dukes Pass, then the Old Military Road through the Cairngorms.

This is my 3rd or 4th time doing this run but it will never become tiresome.

You head to Blairgowrie which is the starting point, head to Spittal of Glenshee then follow the winding road through the vallies and glens, just unreal!

The weather as quite poor which we had expected but it wasn't going to get in our way!

Spittal of Glenshee just before the ski centre

As said, I have a family reunion around this time of the year so randomly met up with my parents and puppy at the ski centre for a coffee, nice to see them all!

During our coffee, never seen sheet rain like it, came down in waves! Then once we left and came down the other side of the mountain, it was like another world!

At this stage I crashed my drone ffs, hit a phone line of all things in such a vast area! After a moment of panic and heading over to find it, i had turned off my remote. Next thing we see this drone fly through the air back towards my car! Couldn't believe it! Turned everything back on and brought it back to me, thankfully just a broke propeller but amazed it was able to fly!

Then progressed through the route as detailed below:

At this stage, my parents were in Ballater, so we headed there to get lunch. From there we took the B976 to Tomintoul to rejoin the Old Military Road

Pictured at the top of the Lecht at 2020ft

Then on down to Nethy Bridge to drive along the loch towards Aviemore

 

[Boydie]

Finished up in Aviemore at a lovely Air B&B and headed into town for plenty of gins and dinner! Love Aviemore, such a nice place!

Anyway, this was our planned route, long way ahead!

Our plan was to head straight from Aviemore to Inverness, head down Loch Ness to Fort Augustus but my Sat Nav took us a detour at Invermoriston along the A887 and my word, what a surprise!!

Our stop off was Portree in Skye to hike up Old Man of Storr - weather was dull and foggy but had to get up to the top to see what this place was like. Oh, my, days!

The weather changed in a heart beat, just amazing. So spectacular and could have spent all day there - I have so many photos from my iPhone and Go Pro HB 7 so if anyone wants any, just let me know!

Next stop, Applecross!

 

[Boydie]

The Bealach na Ba, literally, no words!


Single track road, some crazy foreign drivers, perfect weather and just breath taking views!!

Once we picked our mouths off the floor, we continued on to Applecross for dinner....

 

[Boydie]

The Applecross Inn, heard so many stories about this place and its fish and chips so that was an obvious choice for us both!

Then onto the road after to hug the west coast to Sheildaig. We literally had the entire length of road to ourselves, just amazing. Weather was great and clear, could get up to decent speeds between sheep barricades. I read an article in Top Gear magazine after I got home which quoted exactly how both Carson and I felt:

"its starting to get a bit silly now. we turn corners and are consistently ambushed by the glory of the view. Mugged of metaphor. Completely stuck for sensible simile. Brains become devoid of intelligence. Poets would be struck dumb, their inspiration adrift!"

Basically, we were done, our brains could not cope any more. Every turn there was something new, something to absorb and remember but we just couldn't! Such a class, class place. Have to go back!

So this run ended the trip for Carson, we were headed back to Inverness for him to catch a flight home in the morning - got sorted with a hotel, out for a few drinks then into town next day for breakfast/coffee, then to the airport.

I saw him off then picked up my wife and baby boy from the inbound flight, drove to Findhorn (where we would have our reunion later in the week) to meet up with my parents and stay the night.

 

[Boydie]

My wife and I were then going to spend the next couple of days completing the NC500 - left our boy with my parents at the caravan and headed back west from Findhorn to Ullapool, hug the coast to Kylesku then finishing our day outside Thurso.

Ullapool

Lairg, Lochinver - a usual sight!

Clashnessie - the beaches were amazing!

Kylesku, what a place. So breath taking and beautiful

 

[Boydie]

Drumbeg

Lairg

An old limestone quarry on an island in Loch Eribol

Smoo Cave

The north west was just great. Big regret of the trip was not staying somewhere on the west coast around Kylesku to Durness but we stayed in Olig House just outside Thurso which was awesome!

Like a dark hedges entrance:

The house and grounds itself. I did a 500m drone shot direct above and it didn't even capture how large the estate is!

 

[Boydie]

That then took us onto Friday where we would return back to the campsite and our son. Plant was to stop at Dunnet to go to the gin distillery, John O'Groats and then just stop where we felt like on the way down. I knew the east coast wasn't the most spectacular but I wanted to finished a version of the NC500.

JoG

As said, not much happening on the east. Some nice castles and decent roads but I wish I spent more time on the west and maybe come further inland or back tracked on myself for another perspective.

Anyway, got back to Findhorn, went to a few whisky spots with my brother and his wife

Visited Cardhu as well. That was basically it, family reunion went well, few more drives around the area, then a bee line Cairnryan 5 hours away on the Monday morning to make the 3.30 boat!

Conor loved it:

And that was it. One of my dream driving trips complete and it has by far been the best. Scotland is such an underrated place to visit and when its a good day, you think you are elsewhere in the world. Carson and I were so so lucky to have the weather we got and same with the second half of the trip - i think it rained only twice in the 10 days I was away.

There was no way to capture what we saw in photos and it is something I wish I could share with you all. I have so many photos and I am sure Carson has as many so if anyone wants them, I can send them or just post more below. I am sure I have missed things out or areas but our brains were just mush and its hard to believe what we saw.

I completed 1725 miles and best mpg (which wasn't the aim) was 43.6 which is just amazing for a 480bhp car. The car was brilliant after competing at the drag racing just a week before, couldn't fault it.

Nothing else to say except cry that I am not still there, just means I have to return again!

 

[svensktoppen]

That's literally the best of Scotland in one trip! And weather like that, you lucky bastid

Not jealous at all

 

[mcmurray]

Great write up and fantastic pictures, especially the drone ones.

 

[Captain Starlet]

Amazing trip, the surface of the roads are amazing, even the ones in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Mark_C]

Next time spend a bit of time round Aberfeldy / Kenmore etc you have Glen lyon, Schiehallion etc there and close to rannoch moor as well. Also the estate up round Ben lawers is pretty lush. Counting down the days until we're back over there at the Inlaws!

 

[Lyons]

Great shots Boydo. Looks like a super trip. It’s amazing that you can get roads which appear to be equally as good as some of those in Gav’s thread, just across in Scotland.

 

[zafturbo]

Never mind the photos ,how the hell did you manage to get 43 mpg from your car .

 

[Boydie]

Haha yeah I am amazed too. Economy mode and slow traffic down the east coast.

I will post another collection of photos later and correct some spelling mistakes, had a few whiskies lol

 

[Chris Mac]

That looks like a brilliant trip @Boydie, some absolutely stunning scenery! I love the west cost of Scotland in particular, the golf courses at the end of the A77 are some of the most stunning anywhere on the planet.

 

[Burt2000]

Great posts! That looks absolutely amazing. Definitely on my to do list. Looks a bit like New Zealand in a lot of those new pics so I can appreciate the beauty of the place.

 

[DC.]

You made a Top Gear/ Grand Tour episode! Drag racing, whiskey, a broken propeller, incredible views, lots of miles and sheep!

Something I’d fancy myself sometime.

 

[Carson]

That looks like a brilliant trip @Boydie, some absolutely stunning scenery! I love the west cost of Scotland in particular, the golf courses at the end of the A77 are some of the most stunning anywhere on the planet.

Lochcarron Golf Club, unreal spot.