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Feeling the need to seek out some grey skies and rain after too long spent close to Aberdeen and the unremitting blue skies and sunshine of North East Scotland I headed west on Thursday morning. Took the Cabrach road across to Speyside to get to Findhorn Bridge which led to the back road across Glen Kyllachy to Farr and on round by Lochs Dunlichity and Duntelchaig to get to the Wade Road to Fort Augustus for an overnight stop for food and a couple of malts to aid the digestion. Friday found me wandering up by Drumnadrochit to Glen Cannich and Loch Mullardoch. The promisingly glowering skies of Glen Kyllachy on the first day matured into some proper hill mist and drizzle at Mullardoch on the second with the moss in the centre of the road up to the power station end of the dam making the ascent and descent pleasantly sporting in the three wheeler. Sunshine returned on descending back to Loch Ness and a good if very windy run home was had via much the same route as far as Grantown before crossing the Northern Cairngorms at the Lecht and then down Donside to the warmth of Aberdeen.

Glowering skies over Loch Tarff;


Scots Pining at Loch Farr;


Approaching Mullardoch Dam;


Under the dam;


Mullardoch Dam;


Loch Mullardoch;


In Glen Cannich;


Back into the sunshine on Loch Ness side;


Crossing Glen Kyllachy;


Gratuitous black and white on Findhorn Bridge;

Thanks for those.
A couple of pointers for September for me. Not been up to the dam. Not sure whether I've been along Glen Cannich (will dig a road atlas out later). Those are the kind of roads I like to travel, at a sedate pace. Slower pace makes it easier to spot photo opportunities (which some of my fellow travellers had no interest in).
Stayed a couple of nights at a B&B at Farr Mains (back in 2011) when on a LeJog trip. Having a Leica dealer not too far away is a bonus

Splendid vistas, that’s sort of where I intended to go last week for a roam, I’ll be making that my next “papers and milk” run

I didn’t know of Find horn bridge, the A9 is actually quite enjoyable in that area and I barrelled by, oblivious to the hidden spectacle.

I love to see old civil engineering and industrial architecture, it was so much more difficult to construct then and yet, it was usually done with more than a touch of style.

Did you meet any other interesting cars on the road?

Tempting photos. If it wasn't for the 600 mile+ journey to get there in an M3W, I would take mine round the NC 500 (already done, rather more comfortably, in a Merc) like a shot.

Definitely would not recommend trying to drive quickly on the Glen Cannich road! Maybe if it was closed, had marshals and you were in a fully prepped rally car it would be fun.
That would be ffordes up near Beauly for the Leicas, slightly strange and very good place for all sorts of camera gear.


I wasn't really aware of the bridge till I was checking out the route to take. Once I got there I realised it was the old A9 bridge up till the road was upgraded in the 70s. Last time I crossed it was probably back then! shocking thought but I would have been at school then and living in Inverness.
The bridge appears to be massively over-built but from what I've read, it might be that is about it; it just appears to be over-built, with some of the design features relegated to historical understanding of the forces involved rather than reality. Probably just as well they put in lots of concrete when they built it.
Very few interesting cars, one MGB with rally type markings, lights and numbers, an early MG (or similar - was going the other way with both of us in lines of traffic near Carr Bridge) and one red Ferrari, probably a 430. Most interesting car was an anonymous dark crossover type thing on British plates. Below Corgarff I came round the left hander immediately before the turn off for Glen Gairn travelling at a sensibly low speed since there are often cars waiting to turn at the junction only to find said crossover driving quite happily towards me completely in my lane. Cue the full scale panic brake, minor lock up and dive for the verge which luckily at that point is level hard pack with nothing to hit or drop into. Sat in a small cloud of locked up tyre smoke for a couple of minutes. I'd managed to pull off the road and stop before the offending crossover even swerved back into their own lane missing it by millimetres. I'll take a guess at it being a tourist in a rental not used to driving on the left, saying that the road there is fully two lanes not the narrow single track where these events usually occur.


Must admit, the North is a long way from the south
The NC500 road is excellent but there are so many more roads that are equally epic but unequally empty! Glen Cannich might be only nine miles long but I was there for a few hours wandering and taking photos and only saw two cars, a Hydro board pick-up and the postman's van.

What grand photos, captures the dramatic skies.

Many thanks for sharing these views, Callum.
Always a pleasure to view & read you.

Nice photo's as always Callum! Reminds me we have to plan our trip to Scotland this summer!👍😎

Nice! Particularly, I like the 1st one the grey couds contrast the red. Keep them comming these pictures.
Regards,
Bert

Wonderful shots as ever.