Pictures Of The UK

[BigHoss]

Man o man I wished I had gone over there.  I dated a girl from Scotland for a while, I don't remember the town she was from but I remember her talking about an extended train ride from Inverness. She was from the Highlands. Drever was her last name and she was one of the funniest girlfriends I ever had.

Keep the pics of the UK comming, one day I'll make it over there..

[Sport-Touring]

[Air_Bob1]

Beautiful pictures!

It makes me want to go home to Scotland!

[Orson]

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, South Wales



Preseli Hills



Elan Valley, Wales



Mid-Wales



Snowdonia National Park

[Explorer]

  You people are killing me here!!! I MUST make it over the pond SOON!!

[tenbears]

What a great collection of shots!

Odd, isn't it, that we don't often see this type of thing on the touring boards. I guess most of us natives are pretty complacent when it comes to our own roads, so we end up just writing and showing shots of the more exotic places we visit/ride.

Great stuff.

I'm off down to Devon for a few days....

[Orson]

What a great collection of shots!

Odd, isn't it, that we don't often see this type of thing on the touring boards. I guess most of us natives are pretty complacent when it comes to our own roads, so we end up just writing and showing shots of the more exotic places we visit/ride.

My friend in Nottingham said the same thing about my Yorkshire Dales pictures. He said he ridden those same roads numerous times but never thought it worthy to stop for a photo.

yes, complacency breeds contempt   I'd be the same way if I'd ridden those roads hundreds of times.

Of the countries I've ridden in Europe, the UK (ok, so it's not Europe) ranks highly with me  

[FJR-UK]

... the UK (ok, so it's not Europe) ...

Some of us think the UK is part of Europe, some of us don't. It could be as close as 49%/51%, but the government doesn't know which way we are swinging from moment to moment, so there has never been a vote.

I was thinking about you, Orson, just today on my way home from Lincolnshire. The A15 from Sleaford to Peterborough has some surprisingly beautiful, hilly, curvey places. As I was cruising by all the photo opportunities I wondered how often you actually stop and go back for a shot. I can't be arsed...  

[tenbears]

Yeah... for sure... I guess its that familiarity thing.

Mind you, one of the first things I always notice when returning from jaunts abroad is just how terrible the road surfaces are over here. When you consider just how much cash gets generated on our roads I'm left gob-smacked at just how poorly maintained they are.

Around here [in Surrey] they've chosen to resurface with what must be the cheapest, crappiest option going – somesort of tarmac base with liberal sprinklings of loose chippings.   On the surface it turns A roads into what looks like shitty D roads!!! WTF do they do with all those funds? Compounded, too, by the fact loads of Brits are facing huge back taxes on their vehicles...

It never ceases to amaze me just how incompetent local councils & government are – if it happened in the private sector they'd all be out of a job... yet they plod on, yeaar by year, repeating the same old hidious errors until such time they retire [dis]gracefully and feed off their handsome publicly funded pensions.

[Global Rider]

As I was cruising by all the photo opportunities I wondered how often you actually stop and go back for a shot. I can't be arsed...  

That is one thing that plagues me. I pass sooooo many great photo ops daily when I'm in Europe, but I can't be bothered stopping or turning around. The roads are just too much fun and I'm there to ride.

BTW, are there any on-line lists of "motorcycle friendly accomodations" for the UK, as there is for Europe? The only places I came across were very pricey.

[FJR-UK]

BTW, are there any on-line lists of "motorcycle friendly accomodations" for the UK, as there is for Europe? The only places I came across were very pricey.

Not that I'm aware of.

I've been actively touring in the UK (with the exception of Northern Ireland) since 1983 and I've never noticed anything like the Motorcycle Hotels that I spotted when crossing the Alps into Austria. Also, I noticed filling stations that had shelves over the toilets to place your helmet on. These accommodations are pretty much unheard of in the UK.

That's not to say that hoteliers are motorcycle-unfriendly. Um, unless you travel through Derbyshire. The RD350 set (and their descendants) ruined motorcycling for everyone in that neck of the woods. Some pubs in villages like Buxton won't allow entry if you are wearing leather.

Otherwise, the UK is pretty welcoming to bikers, we just don't have anything biker-specific. (Having said that, I did a quick search and found a motorcycle dating website that features a biker hotel in Blackpool. Lots of black leather and handlebar moustaches, I'll wager.)

[Pookie]

Just my 2p worth.......



Loch Carron



The beginning of the Pass of the Cattle



Applecross Hotel car park



Broadford, Skye



Coral Beach, Skye



Skye to Glen Elg ferry



The Falkirk Wheel

[Orson]

Isle of Skye, Scotland



Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

[Mr Sunshine]

Around here [in Surrey] they've chosen to resurface with what must be the cheapest, crappiest option going – somesort of tarmac base with liberal sprinklings of loose chippings.   On the surface it turns A roads into what looks like shitty D roads!!! WTF do they do with all those funds? Compounded, too, by the fact loads of Brits are facing huge back taxes on their vehicles...

That's called chip-seal here in the States.  Its tar with a bunch of chip rock thrown on top of it....then pressed in.  What sucks is when you ride the road right afterwards...rocks get thrown up alot and then you can't tell the difference between the "pavement" and the shouldars cause the color is the same.

[CDN]

Great pictures folks....but where's one of the Castle Anthrax?  Me REALLY wants to go there  

Buttertub Pass looks divine  

[yotes65]

It never ceases to amaze me the quality of Orson's Photo's. I would love to win the lotto & hire Orson as a guide to show me around Europe & the UK for as long as the money last... it never hurts to Dream...

[Orson]

I would love to win the lotto & hire Orson as a guide to show me around Europe & the UK for as long as the money last... it never hurts to Dream...

 

Thanks! But really, there's no need for a guide. Anyone can do it.

You just head on out, and you can't help but run into beautiful scenery  

[Orson]

Bump for winter viewing  

always nice to reminisce of the beautiful British Isles  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Says the man who submitted NO PHOTOS for this year's calendar  

[Orson]

I just couldn't bear to submit a non-2009 photo  

[Ralf]

Says the man who submitted NO PHOTOS for this year's calendar  

That's pretty rough considering the man's grief this year