Ian, known to Squadra Guzzista and forum regulars as "Hairybiker" set off on a trip to the Isle of Skye having showed his face at the Dalesman Rally in Yorkshire.

The Isle of Sky lies approximately 220 miles northeast of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. It is 620 miles northwest of London and about as far as you can possibly get from the capital in the UK.

Readers from larger nations may spit with derision at this mileage, we have documented the exploits of Australians who have ridden more than 1000 miles to attend an event, but this is a small country, and as you shall see, an incredibly beautiful one. In real terms, Skye is millions of miles from the bustling British capital...and is the better for it...take it away Ian!


"It’s a long one so grab a coffee, beer, glass of wine, sit down and enjoy.I took an impromptu weeks holiday to coincide with the Dalesman Rally which is held in Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, here in the UK. The idea being that having travelled 250miles north from my home in Suffolk to the rally, I would then head up to Scotland for a spot of R and R. The rally was a great weekend with plenty of “rallying”, a few pints of “Black Sheep Best Bitter” and an excellent ride out on the Saturday.


Sunday arrived and the tent was packed away for the run north. I headed across to Kendal from Aysgarth on the A684, which is a great little warm-up road. I then followed the A6, alongside the M6, up over Shap Fell about 1350ft above sea level and then down again into Penrith and on to Carlisle and the border.

I don’t enjoy motorways and would much rather follow a good A road and the A6 from Kendal to Carlisle is a great route to avoid the M6 along this stretch. It was the main west coast route from England into Scotland for centuries carrying trade up and down the country. From Carlisle to Gretna I did use the M6 to by-pass Carlisle and cross the Solway Firth, but at Gretna I jumped off the dual carriageway and then followed the B7076. This is another good road and is actually the old A74, it follows the M74 weaving its way alongside the motorway almost all the way from Gretna to Glasgow, but is dead quiet and was built to a good A road standard.

Just south of Glasgow I joined the M74, then the M8, in order to by-pass Glasgow, to the Erskine Bridge. This is where the fun starts again, along the side of Loch Lomond and then over “Rest and be Thankful” and down to Lochgilphead. After stocking up with enough provisions to feed me for the night I found a little bay on the road up to Oban for a spot of free camping.


Monday morning was another beautifully clear, sunny day and after packing up I carried on up the coast to Fort William on the infamous A82, taking a slight de-tour up Glencoe. Then onto Invergarry where I took the A87 and headed for Skye. What a stunning road, probably the best road on the Island, mile after mile of smiles and it looks like others agree.


It was getting late so I took the bridge onto Skye and headed straight up to Broadford for more provisions then on to Sligachan, where I camped under the shadow of The Cuillins.


Tuesday, another lovely sunny day and time to give the Guz a rest, take to my own 2 feet to have a walk in the Cuillins. Nothing too strenuous or dangerous, just a steady ramble in the foothills.


Wednesday dawned wet, but it didn’t last and I was able to get out on the bike to the north of the Island for a few photo opportunities.



I took the road over The Quiraing to Uig which takes you through one of the most dramatic landscapes I’ve ever encounted.


On the route back to the campsite I took the road to Dunvegan in the west of the island and then down the west coast back to Sligachan via a slight detour to Glenbrittle to get some more shots of The Cuillins, from a different angle.


The road round the west of the island is another stunner, A well surfaced A road, totally deserted and crammed full of 90mph+ sweeping bends. The evening was again wet and I was sitting in the tent cooking my tea when a bike pulled into the campsite, loaded up to the gills. The guy pulled up and proceeded to pitch camp. I noticed he’d left his ignition on and wandered over to let him know.

Imagine my shock to be greeted by a Blackbird sporting a New South Wales reg plate. Mike had had his bike shipped over and was taking 4 months to explore Europe. He’d been all over the place, down to Italy for the World Superbikes and all the way to the north of Norway and most places in-between covering getting on for 20,000 miles.

We spent the evening in Seamus’ Bar, over the road from the campsite and I introduced Mike to some local brews, which he seemed to enjoy. Thursday, I had a lazy day just venturing up to Portree for some window shopping and a few provisions.


Friday dawned, and it was raining and it continued to rain all day long, so not much got done. Saturday was the day to leave, so with the rain still falling I packed up. After having to break camp in the rain more than once I have perfected getting everything packed without getting wet and my tent is designed in such a way that the flysheet is the last part to come down. So with all packed up I headed for home. I have, on previous tours, done the return trip home in one go, stopping just for petrol and food, and so it was on this occasion.

I left Skye in the rain at about 11am taking the same route back down the coast to Oban and then down toward Lochgilphead, unfortunately the road was closed due to flooding so I had to take the road alongside Loch Awe, back up to the A85.


Then back down the A82 to Glasgow. Again I followed to B7076 alongside the M74 down to Gretna, A6 to Penrith and the A66 across to Scotch Corner. It was dark by now so for simplicity I took the A1 down to Newark and then the A17 to Kings Lynn, then Swaffham, Thetford, arriving home at about 2am…………….

The Guzzi didn’t miss a beat, covered 1725 miles and returned 55mpg, calculated from receipts. Great fun".

Words and pics by IanB.

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