Another Scotland trip

[Badger110]

A fair few people have been to land of heather and superb scenery this year, we were amongst those lucky to get away for 3 weeks

We arrived and stayed alongside Loch Ness for a week, walking, kayaking and driving about and i did a little video of the area

 

We found fire/gravel roads which went a little off road using an app called Maps.me.  These roads were gated with latches and high deer gates, cattel grids.  It was nice to get off the tarmac roads for peace and quiet but i did get us into a bit of bother with a steep section ( sorry no photos or video of that! ).  One such road allowed us a few miles of gravel road and a river crossing at the end of it The only odd part to the river crossing was the dear heads under the water...abit spooky!

The second week we wanted to head north towards Cape Wrath and found a nice camping stop with showers and laundry in Durness.  The weather for the first 2 days was nice and we did some good walks around the area but it began to turn pretty bad the 3rd day. 

I was filming part of the coastline on the 2nd day and moved to another spot on the 3rd day ( Smoo Cave ) when disaster struck the UAV and it developed a fault.  I say fault, it fell into the sea off the coast!  Adamant it wasn't my fault ( i use UAV's for work ) i couldn't do anything except look dejected and know that nothing could be done until i got home near a pc. 

That afternoon the wind took one of the opening vents off the truck and a nice chap walking his dog brought it back.  Several rolls of duct tape ( thank to the Spar shop at Durness for stocking anything you might need! ) it was stuck down and we hunkered down for the weather.

The following day was worse and as we weren't able to go for a walk safely and we're 2 hours from the nearest large town, we bailed from Durness and headed to Glen Coe for a week.

Glen coe was stunning even if the weather followed us and we managed alot of walking.  One of dogs, Millie, is a basset hound and she managed to get within 100ft of the peak of the Pap of Glencoe which is a steep slog up 2000ft of trails and mild climbing.  She ran out of steam at the 2000ft mark and we were proud of her and her 4 inch legs to get that far!

This is the shot looking down at the villiage of Glencoe and Loch leven at the highest point she got to

 

2 days later i walked/climbed up the next munroe with Hudson our Old English Sheepdog then climbed down with him.  That peak was nearly 3000ft, both our dogs are climbing gurus now!

 

Travelling around at this time of year gives the most when it comes to the colours of Scotland. Reds, Oranges, Yellows with Greens inbetween it is a stunning location and i could happily spend my days walking the peaks

 

My only let down was the NC500 or the part we travelled.  It wasn't the location or the views as they were stunning, but the relentless single roads filled with motorhomes.  I get the attraction to everyone who wants to experience it, but it does make the journey tense, RV's slowing to look at the view, or frightened to pass each other or just huge gin palaces!  I dread to think what it's like at peak season.

Scotland has so much more than the NC500 and unless i was on 2 wheels, i wouldn't recommend it if i'm honest.

However not all expereinces with other vehicles was a downside, we also bumped into this guy with his G4 90 with original plates on board.  Nothing added apparently, except replacing the wheels, doors and one wing, it was orignal.

 

 

I do have some more pictures and some video before the UAV ditched ( the manufacturer has agreed to replace it free of charge after viewing the flight logs ) so another video will be availble soon.

[Stellaghost]

Wow cant wait for the next installment regards Stephen

[Peaklander]

That video is beautiful. What a great way to start my day.

[Arjan]

Very, very nice !!!!!

Please let us have more........

We can use it in these bleak times.

 

(Wished my Scotland pics came out like that..)

[Anderzander]

Wow 🤩 that video is a moment of magic !  Especially that encircling shot of the canoe - what a location and the light was amazing. 
 

I’ve got to go to Scotland again soon and I’ve got get my finger out and get myself a canoe 🛶 

[Daan]

Stunning video; Scotland should employ you to promote the country! I fancy going myself now. As a question, how much feasible is doing what you did in a usual Eurobox style car? I can entertain the idea of going with my family, but using the landy isn't really going to work I think. We would use local accommodation, rather than sleeping in the car. We are also limited to school holidays, which would make the before mentioned traffic problem worse.

Daan

[Bowie69]

Fantastic video, tells so much more than a photo, for sure. 

Well done, and nice to see the truck out and about!

[DaveSIIA]

3 hours ago, Daan said:

As a question, how much feasible is doing what you did in a usual Eurobox style car? I can entertain the idea of going with my family, but using the landy isn't really going to work I think. We would use local accommodation, rather than sleeping in the car. We are also limited to school holidays, which would make the before mentioned traffic problem worse.

Daan

Entirely feasible so long as you don't plan on taking the car too far off road - some of the forests have tracks you can access, and don't require serious ground clearance / gradient capability.

There's a lot more to the Highlands than NC500 (although it does pass through some scenic countryside). A bit of careful planning and the crowds can be avoided, especially if you can go once the Scottish schools are back.

Plenty of decent accommodation available. I was up there at the end of September for a couple of weeks cycling. Bunkhouses were very quiet, offered single occupancy rooms en-suite and most had a pub / restaurant within easy distance.

[Retroanaconda]

Lovely pics Badger, looks like you had a good trip.

For clarity - strictly speaking almost none of the forest tracks or other ungated unmetalled roads can be driven without the landowners permission. There are a few forest drives (tolled) and other examples of permitted access but there are no vehicular ‘rights of way’ beyond the normal tarred public roads like there are in England and Wales.

The good thing about Scotland is that you don’t need to get off the tarmac to explore it.

[Badger110]

30 minutes ago, Retroanaconda said:

Lovely pics Badger, looks like you had a good trip.

For clarity - strictly speaking almost none of the forest tracks or other ungated unmetalled roads can be driven without the landowners permission. There are a few forest drives (tolled) and other examples of permitted access but there are no vehicular ‘rights of way’ beyond the normal tarred public roads like there are in England and Wales.

The good thing about Scotland is that you don’t need to get off the tarmac to explore it.

My ignorance shows through   I wasn't aware this was the case. 

The roads we found were clearly marked on the app with notices on the gates asking people to keep the gates closed at all times due to deer crossing over into areas with indiginous trees and destroying them, these were aimed at walkers no doubt.

I shall be aware on the next trip

[elbekko]

On 11/11/2020 at 10:44 PM, Badger110 said:

My only let down was the NC500 or the part we travelled.  It wasn't the location or the views as they were stunning, but the relentless single roads filled with motorhomes.  I get the attraction to everyone who wants to experience it, but it does make the journey tense, RV's slowing to look at the view, or frightened to pass each other or just huge gin palaces!  I dread to think what it's like at peak season.

Reminds me of my experience in Norway. Especially around Geiranger.

[landroversforever]

Stunning video Badger! Such beautiful scenery up that way, I'm ashamed to say I've never been north of the border!

Good find with the Camel Trophy 90 too.... they didn't use them for many, I think only 1 or 2 events were 90s.

[RedLineMike]

if i remember correctly he also has a camel 110, or one of his relations has a camel 110 which i believe is a sister car to my mums camel 110

[Badger110]

The guy who owned it was from Perth. 

Nice chap who gets stopped alot!

[Badger110]

6 hours ago, landroversforever said:

Stunning video Badger! Such beautiful scenery up that way, I'm ashamed to say I've never been north of the border!

Good find with the Camel Trophy 90 too.... they didn't use them for many, I think only 1 or 2 events were 90s.

 

Well worth it, beautiful country

[RedLineMike]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:48 PM, Badger110 said:

The guy who owned it was from Perth. 

Nice chap who gets stopped alot!

paul bracey i think is his name

[Badger110]

That's the chap 👍

[darthdicky]

Fab video, what drone were you using?

Having done the NC500 on a bike it's definitely the way to do it as overtaking traffic is so much easier (when the motorhomes don't deliberately try to hold you up). Would quite happily go and do it again.

Rich

[Badger110]

For trips out i carry a mavic zoom as it's small and portable and is a great all rounder.

 

Definately worth doing on a bike, we did the Cairngorns on our Triumphs a few years ago and the roads are superb for biking

 

 

[Badger110]

I’ve found another video of where I live...no Landy’s in it so it may not coincide with the rules but I figured some of might like to see more and appreciate the music.

 

I’d advise you to take 15 minutes with some headphones or decent sound output to gain the experience.

 

This isn’t a public video due to licensing laws by YouTube so don’t share...just enjoy.

 

I’ve got another one from Scotland which is waiting for my MacBook to arrive....delayed for 2 weeks now

 

 

[Arjan]

Awesome Video !!!

[steve b]

The sound track fits so well , I'm amazed at the quality of drone video's , it truly shows just how far tech has moved over a very short time.

Do you program a route or control it from a device in your hands ? ( novice alert ) 

Thanks for putting it up on here , I ,for one would like to see a few more

Steve

[Anderzander]

I loved it too.  I only got it in 360p though? I wondered if YouTube had not fully processed yet....

one of my favourite pieces of music too.

I’ve thought about a drone a number of times - especially one that can follow my on the 80” when I’m laning. I’ve looked enough to know there is a lot of choice, a lot of knowledge, and that I think you need to spend quite a bit to get something that follows well, has decent flight time, and a good camera. 

[Badger110]

 

11 hours ago, steve b said:

The sound track fits so well , I'm amazed at the quality of drone video's , it truly shows just how far tech has moved over a very short time.

Do you program a route or control it from a device in your hands ? ( novice alert ) 

Thanks for putting it up on here , I ,for one would like to see a few more

Steve

With this particular video i wanted to get the distance so it was done using 4 people ( plus myself ) as spotters along the route which was roughly 3 miles out and back again to my house.   I use spotters mainly for legal reasons but also as a safety aspect. 

Manned aircraft aren't allowed to fly below 500ft unless landing or taking off ( drones can't go higher than 400ft ), but military and emergency services will fly below this level.  Once a drone is out of sight, i have no way of knowing if a helicopter from either of those is near my drone without a spotter.  If one turns up, i get radioed and land the drone until they've passed. 

There are a lot of videos of people flying drones well beyond their LOS ( line of sight ) and it's only going to be time before one causes an accident in the air.

This one was done with a Mavic 2, the camera is great, the machine is a well rounded one and i've only had one issue with it ( which the manufacturer replaced )

I also have an Inspire 2 but i don't use that unless it's paid work as the drone and camera are nearly £7000 and i have commercial insurance to use that!

Drones are great bits of kit and allow you the ability to see the world from another angle and show others

10 hours ago, Anderzander said:

I loved it too.  I only got it in 360p though? I wondered if YouTube had not fully processed yet....

one of my favourite pieces of music too.

I’ve thought about a drone a number of times - especially one that can follow my on the 80” when I’m laning. I’ve looked enough to know there is a lot of choice, a lot of knowledge, and that I think you need to spend quite a bit to get something that follows well, has decent flight time, and a good camera. 

Tbh i uploaded that in 2019, but i think the issue is this site only showing the smaller version.

Here's a direct link; https://youtu.be/-DJRnJafKdo

 

Mavic Mini's are good little drones which will do just that, however it's a lot more difficult to get a drone to follow you down a lane without it hitting anything or provide a good shot.

I did a few shots in scotland but the wife was driving and i was piloting the drone, however even then it's difficult to explain to her how to drive and direct the drone at the same time without having to keep going back and re shooting the footage.  Single takes are very rarely perfect!

 

[steve b]

Thanks for that explanation of How and Why , very interesting stuff . Was this a preset route programmed in ?