some may remember a job i did a couple of years ago driving a rigid for the co-op to mallaig and i seem to remember saying that i wouldnt fancy taking an artic up that road and it was the toughest job i had ever done from a driving perspective. in fact, roads like the A82 were exactly what i was dreading when i moved back to scotland.
costa del sol this is not!
this is not a beach so bournemouth is ruled out
when the scenery is vertical and dwarfs the truck, you know you are in the highlands
im almost in the clouds. what goes up must come down. where is that exhaust brake again?
moto eat your heart out. THIS is an overnight parking repellant. scotland outlawed clamping so we throw bits of the countryside at you if you dare to park up
and of course, to tempt you to have a wee dram, the place names are only properly pronounced when you are legless and cant talk properly
on a serious note, fergusons transport seem to have priority over everyone up here. i nearly went off the road a few times avoiding mirror contact. there are a few bends where 2 trucks cant pass each other as you need to cross the solid white lines. most are switched on and one will give way to allow the other to clear. on my way back someone obviously wasnt paying attention and locked up. luckily i was playing it safe and stopped dead as it was a blind bend allowing him to get past me. its bad enough to have A roads that windy and narrow but the camber doesnt help either. that along with the uneven surface makes some sections very dodgey and it feels like the road is trying to throw you off it. being that high up with soft verges means that an off is gonna hurt when you finally stop rolling
the A84/A85/A82 stirling to fort william is easily the worst road i have ever had the misfortune to tackle and i was told to go that way as it is easier than the A82 from glasgow. i wouldnt like to imagine what that is like if it is worse
that ■■■■■■ road from fort william south bound through crainlarich is a right pain in the ■■■■■ I had to stop dead once with 28t of alloy on the back and ended up smoking the brakes it was that steep for so long.
that bridge at crainlarich is a pain in the arse too. im surprised there are no traffic lights. if an artic commits from both sides with following vehicles, it will be chaos. a height marker would be nice too. there is no way in hell that its 5 metres. its a low bridge yet no warning at all
scanny77:
that bridge at crainlarich is a pain in the arse too. im surprised there are no traffic lights. if an artic commits from both sides with following vehicles, it will be chaos. a height marker would be nice too. there is no way in hell that its 5 metres. its a low bridge yet no warning at all
I got a 15 6 under it with room to spare…not much though lol
i done a job up to mallaig once, the gaffer phoned where are you, i’d just passed the papermill, i said i’d be in mallaig under an hour, got to the 1st bridge & then the road narrowed big time i reckon i was an hour & a half, i met the geezer @ the harbour,i was then instructed to help the geezer load up his boat with the goods i had on,he made 3 trips in his boat 5hrs later i was free to go!!
I did a drop in Mallaig last year ,the road to the isles is definately a lot better now with the upgraded part that bypasses Arisaig, I used to hate the old coast road, many a time i nearly got my little 7.5 tonner written off by the freezer trucks heading out loaded from the docks
and as for the A82 from Tarbet to Crainlarich the less said , about that road the better , especially at this time of year with the kamikaze tourists and coaches that seem to haunt that stretch ,
went to cambeltown a couple of months ago with a load of cars.by the end of that trip i did feel like i did a full weeks work.i thourogly enjoyed it though.scenery was breathtaking,people were friendly,apart from the guy who tried to commit suicide at lochgilphead,was nice and chilled out.nice change.
scanny77:
the A84/A85/A82 stirling to fort william is easily the worst road i have ever had the misfortune to tackle and i was told to go that way as it is easier than the A82 from glasgow. i wouldnt like to imagine what that is like if it is worse
The 84-85 -82 Is a far better road than the 82- Glasgow.
If you have problems driving down the Stirling side. Don’t even think about going Crianlarich - Tarbet.
Both roads are passible with the correct approach.
Keep to your side of the road when possible. Be prepared to stop.
Look ahead, Be prepared to stop. if the road is 6 inches wider infront of you use it !!!, it will make the difference when trying to pass. Dont freeze up and stop, look for the widest straightest part and put your lorry as hard into the edge as it will go. Be prepared to stop.
I have done the 82- Crianlarich Tarbet many times.It gets easier, go by the rules above and you will lessen your chances of getting stuck. I’m not saying you wont… it will happen one day…
The biggest problem is other drivers, bikes,cars, buses, lorries… not reading what is happening…
I personally dont have a problem with any of the two roads mentioned
although the A82 at the top of loch Lomond can be a bit tricky, especially with a 9’6’’ cabin
I cant even add any more pearls of wisdom as i think McPloppy has got it spot on.
As for the Ferguson guy’s , in all the years I’ve been running up the west coast I dont think i’ve had an issue with any of the local hauliers,coaches and caravans though are a different matter
alfa man:
As for the Ferguson guy’s , in all the years I’ve been running up the west coast I dont think i’ve had an issue with any of the local hauliers,coaches and caravans though are a different matter
alfa man:
As for the Ferguson guy’s , in all the years I’ve been running up the west coast I dont think i’ve had an issue with any of the local hauliers,coaches and caravans though are a different matter
Totally agree…
Just in case you were wondering that was me in the red and white scania 8 wheeler flashing at you on the M8 livingston on wed or thur.
If any one is interested that misty mountain is Beuchaille Etive Mhor on the other side of the road you have the Devils Staircase leading to Kinlochleven on the West Highland Way You could climb the Aonach Eagach ridge from there as well ,what were you saying about unpronounceble names.
alamcculloch:
If any one is interested that misty mountain is Beuchaille Etive Mhor on the other side of the road you have the Devils Staircase leading to Kinlochleven on the West Highland Way You could climb the Aonach Eagach ridge from there as well ,what were you saying about unpronounceble names.
Climbed the Aonach Eagach ridge a few times when younger - It is the true picture you get of standing on the top of a mountain i.e. balancing on a knife edge lol
Sorry for being an idiot and please chastised me if i’m wrong but the OP stated “we have a new champion”■■? of what■■? as you guys who do these runs on a regular basis,please could you confirm why he’s a champion and does he get a gold medal?? and who came in second for silver and so forth and is there a prize■■?
Thetaff:
Sorry for being an idiot and please chastised me if i’m wrong but the OP stated “we have a new champion”■■? of what■■? as you guys who do these runs on a regular basis,please could you confirm why he’s a champion and does he get a gold medal?? and who came in second for silver and so forth and is there a prize■■?
thanks in advance
Was kind of wondering that myself
Being born and bred in the area i look on these roads as "Normal driving conditions " and no mean feat.
To be honest their are some tricky bits , a nasty wee corner between Strathyre and Calender ,some narrow walls the top side of Lochearnhead (eh Greg ) and you have to watch the narrow bridges through Glen Coe.
Otherwise its a plain run all the way to Fortwilliam
The comment about Fergusons drivers kind of got my back up .
Looking from the other side i would read this as a stranger to the area bottling out every time he meets a local motor that is doing more than 20mph.
You will find that most of the locals will be “Keeping it going” , but will be tight on their own side of the road.
Extensive knowledge of the area would mean most of these drivers will happily travel at 50mph (some more ).
In the end its a different driving style ,running off the inside white line and not the center line, being able to give the motor a wee flick as you pass each other (swings your motor away from the other one ).
On the other hand the thought of the M25 scares the daylights out me now lol.
like the two previous posters i didnt know what the champion had won.from what i can tell it just seems a normal road in the country,could be any rural road in ireland/scotland/wales/england and could be nearly a motorway in some of these places pity a fergusons driver wouldn’t come on the forum to tell of the plonker who near took his mirrors off…
Thetaff:
Sorry for being an idiot and please chastised me if i’m wrong but the OP stated “we have a new champion”■■? of what■■? as you guys who do these runs on a regular basis,please could you confirm why he’s a champion and does he get a gold medal?? and who came in second for silver and so forth and is there a prize■■?
thanks in advance
the champion being the worst road i have ever driven.
i would welcome a fergusons driver here so i could ask them why they feel the need to ride the centre line when passing another truck.
as for booting it along these roads, yeah no problem if its clear both sides and you can take the whole road but when i am in an unfamiliar area, i drive safely since i have no idea what is coming and that is based on what i can see. i drive to the conditions and if other trucks come up behind me, i will pull in and let them pass but i wont go steaming ahead at a speed that i am not comfortable with. i wont prevent other drivers from getting on but i will not give in to intimidation either. the limit is 40 and i wont be pushed over it by another driver just like i wont intimidate drivers on roads that i am familiar with. we cant all know every single road we travel on like the back of our hands. apart from the elite drivers of course
Its simple scanny,these guy’s like mcploppy and dingo live on these roads day in day out so they know the lay out and know how to use the said roads.Because they go past you at 50mph or more don’t make them bad drivers or anything else that you want to call them.Yes it does scare you when you ain’t used to these type of roads,but if you did then you’d probably drive at the limits they guy’s drive at.If you take a note of what they say about driving on these road’s then it should stand you in good stead the next time your up that end of the country.
