Right, don't drink too much of the stuff Jim, your Gulf seems to be the one!

However it would still be good to meet up with the guys on the outskirts of Inverness and create an impressive posse to invade Beauly

That sounds like a plan Simon, a posse of Coops coming into Beauly will be an impressive sight & sound....

I'm beginning to suspect I'll have to drop out of this.
Still going to be at the Scottish Italian Car Day, so I'll come and say hi to whoever is there.

Nooooooooooooooo! Hope you reconsider.

It does sound as if we're getting a bit rowdy and we haven't even got Marko and family chipping in yet

There's time yet, perhaps a compromise will emerge

I do hope that all the excitement is not putting you off Jimbob. If truth be told there was a time but our schoolboy humor is all talk...

Yes, know the Shell garage, so can meet there when you have a TOA. Now staying in Inverness on 14th, 15th and 19th. Got to make the most of civilisation when we get off island. Shopping Lucky to get a room at all, There is a Rod Stewart concert at the football ground on the 16th. Have to confess if I could have got tickets .... Car or Rod would have been a tough choice, but car trip would have won out.

Sad news, she failed MOT, coil spring, so waiting for parts
Unlike all you guys, can't do it myself, plays havoc with the nail polish

This shouldn't be a problem to get hold of but if so post on here

Sounds like you have some serious potholes up there but you should notice a difference in the ride!

Hope you get it sorted D. I'm in a bit of a pickle myself, known for a wee while now, coolant leak which I've located, wee hose top of heat shield, but I've also no brakes. Fluid leak somewhere dripping right down from centre of engine. Hopefully a mechanic will be looking into this at the end of the month. (busy man)

Trying to put a brave face on things but in reality, every time I jump into my hack, I see my sprinty looking at me in the rear view mirror. Hey ho.....

Thanks for offer of help, should be Ok, fortunately my friend's son has his own garage which specialises in high performance cars, so lucky to have him up here.
It is not uncommon to have a few suspension problems here, I'm usual more worried about the clearance in the middle of the tracks than the potholes. We do have proper roads too though.

Oh dear, that's not good at all, no brakes a bit of a drawback. Really hope you get her fixed and can get back on the road soon.

Coolant leak now fixed. Easy at that, the difficulty was tracking it down. Sunny day here so spent some time on the old girl. Lets hope mechanic can work his magic with the brake fluid leak....

Ah, that's all great.

It's all coming together. Thank heavens I haven't got anything to sort out.

Hangon! What's that in my BATH???!!!!

Hey you beat me to it

I've done camcovers in the dishwasher but never bumpers in the bath

You know you can wash the car outside Jim? Will take ages bathing each panel!

don't do it Jim... it will rust

You've no idea lads...

The real problem was the bonnet in the sink. I took the window out in the kitchen as it wouldn't go through the door...

LMFAO! I think you just made my night. Brilliant.
And Simon. You didn't?!

I actually saw this blatant piece of cleanliness a few days ago and threatened to post it, forgetting that DG has now mastered the art of imgpop


But it gives a whole new meaning to "drive-in carwash" ..

Now then,

Everyone needs to see this- or as much of this as they can stomach,

Had we planned further North, we'd have seen all of this, but as it is, it does include good footage of the Applecross pass and many things we will see.

Ignore the cars and soak up the location & photography...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUhKhQP4PBo

Good find Jim.

And The first road view you see in the video(and at 2.04)- you will miss if you take the alternative route to Poolewe via the A835. It's not by chance that it's the first road you see in the video. I've seen it and driven it several times and won't be missing it this time. No picture I have ever seen does it justice, it is breathtaking.

@ Jim - Excellent video.

@ Mark - Can you revise the map and repost? I've never visited the area so don't know which routes are the most scenic. It is important to be very clear and agree in advance exactly where we intend to go, hence the use of Google Maps.

Just removed the Dundonnell bit.
This was the original route. Though they both end up at same place so I don't have a problem if you all want to go the other way. I'm ultimately going to Gairloch so it would save me around 30mins driving and you get to see that view down to Loch Maree.

Via Loch Maree and 20 mins or so quicker to Poolewe

The A835 made sense as the alternative route means we'll be covering a lot of the same ground on day 2, albeit travelling in the opposite direction. I do hope we intend to stop now and again to take in the views and take some photos.

Well done everyone- thanks for that Mark- I didnt know exactly where that was and I think it's important we do that bit! Which, without your input we might have missed.

Thankyou for taking that video in the right way.

Yes- photography- I think we might need to discuss that Bernard- I've been experimenting with a timelapse app over the last week, and I've fabricated a modified Tom Tom mount to hold my phone. The footage is getting better and better actually, but it would be nice to co-ordinate some kind of strategy... (Given your recent purchase)

Jings crivens & help ma boab! It's winter up here.....

Glad to see spirits are high though.

Well done chaps, great mod

Good to hear from you Marko, stop giving us scares

We've had snow here too Jimboy, amazing the change in temperature. Hope it warms up, I've bought new camping chairs to bring along in the hope of absorbing a stunning view one afternoon.

Re cameras, the dashcam records 1080 and I've put a 128GB card in. Will back up on an evening so basically every minute of the journey will be recorded. No problem sharing but can't promise you'll appreciate my taste in music!
It has a time lapse feature but I'd prefer smooth, real-time video. Come to think of it, I have an older dash cam you can borrow though it is lower resolution and 4:3 ratio. Quite watchable nonetheless.

Erm, I'm old skool, such gadgetry & electronic wizardry is way over my head........

I agree Bern, A835 makes perfect sense on paper. The A832 is a truly great route so I'm sure you won't mind driving part of it again in the other direction. I only just noticed today that there had been an amendment or I would have pointed it out sooner.