Researching for our trip came across this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt7irtLhaNk

Hope to drive this road as staying near Bruck Austria on our Luxembourg/Interlaken/Garda/Austria/Zell am Zee/Rhine Taunus Eurocamp trip in June.

Wonderwoman already gripping the grab handle at thought of this and the Swiss passes into Italy.

Cheers

Peter

Looks stunning!

Inspired by the Hairy Bikers and their friends from Huddersfield?

Yep thats what got me thinking Hairy Bakers visit was excellent with some good Yorkshire bikers and evidently the route starts near our campsite as address is Grossglockner Strasse!!.

Walked on the Grossglockner glacier in 1969 on school camp to Kitzbuhl where we saw man walk on the moon on an old black and white telly.

What a wonderful road & scenery.

Mind you, if that was in the UK, half the view would be obliterated by ARMCO barriers at every turn - accompanied by a severely potholed surface!

Check this one out , Colorado, "Million Dollar Highway". Few crash barriers, not even lumps of rock!

tom

....Hope to drive this road as staying near Bruck Austria....

Peter

Is that a 'Warning! Yetis!' triangle on the road at about 2.09?

Transfagarasan in Romania!!! Try it!!! Or even Transalpina, the new road!

All of the above would be better ridden on a motorbike, however I am sure they will provide plenty of entertainment in a yeti.

You can reassure the wife that the Großglockner will be spectacular but not very scary. For something more challenging you don't need to leave the UK:

It can still be a right handful in the wet and dark. Try to imagine what it was like 40 years ago, which is when I first started driving it, with the hairpin bends not widened and most of the Armco not there.

r999, thanks for the Bealach na Ba preview. All being well, this will be part of the X-T's last expedition for us, later this year. This pass, the Hard Knot / Wrynose and the Tomintoul to **** Bridge are the UK classics, I think? The HK/W is particularly distinctive in that the driver often can't see the road in front, because the bonnet gets in the way; you have to commit the next bit of road to memory before it disappears - fun on 1:3 corners!

Good grief!!!

You see what a naive old **** I am! That place that the A939 goes to from Tomintoul is clearly marked and named on the OS maps - surely respectable enough? It's named after the hen's husband.

Edited 1 May, 201214 yr by brijo

Brio,

When you say Hard Knot are you referring to the road that goes from Broughton in Furness to Eskdale and on to Ambleside?

I've not done that one yet, or the Tomintoul.

Both are on my list to do this year during our annual Scottish trip.

I have done the bealach na ba twice.

First time on a bike and got caught out by thick fog which came down very quickly 2/3rds of the way up. Scary!!

2nd time in the Yeti last autumn, this time in good weather. SWMBO wanted to drive so I sat back enjoying the views.

Well worth the trip

If you do it south to north, follow the coast road all the way up, then down the western side of loch torridon, to Shieldag and stop off there, at Nanny's tea shop on the right as you enter the village. Fab cakes and good tea

Sorry - spelling amiss. The Hardknott / Wrynose proper runs eastward from (at its extreme) Gosforth on the A595 through Eskdale to Santon Bridge, Beckfoot and Boot, then over the tops to Ambleside. If you start from Broughton you must go north to join the pass at Beckfoot. Great fun - enjoy!

Bealach na Ba and Tomintoul to Hen's-Husband Bridge will be new to us. We will indeed be doing the coastal circuit from Applecross through to Shiedaig, so grateful thanks for the tip about Nanny's Teashop for tea and cakes!

Thanx.

Enjoy the home made cakes.

While I think about it, if you are looking for an excellent BnB on the doorstep of Bealach Na Ba, I have found a really nice one.

It all depends on how many of you there are?

CFB - A final word about the Hardknott-Wrynose. I mentioned the road 'disappearing' on odd occasions. This can have different effects on the nerves depending on whether you are climbing or descending, and whether there appears to be anything closer than a distant mountain straight ahead. Think about it! Personally, I think eastbound might produce a slightly lower laundry bill than westbound, but it's several years since I last did the route and things change.

I believe that the A939 south from Tomintoul is the highest main road in the UK, and Bealach na Ba the second highest (though hardly 'main'!).

Re tea, cakes and things, I don't want to highjack any further, so I'm starting a new thread for touring hints and tips. See you there, perhaps?

Edit: Really the final word on the H/W pass! The fun part of the road is done in first and second gear only. The last time I did it was in a car with shot synchro on first and I nearly sprained my left ankle with all the double-declutching.... Next time, in my DSG Yeti (I live in hope).

Edited 3 May, 201214 yr by brijo

The best/worst road I know is the Killikratis pass on South West Crete. I have driven on it many times. The photographs on the following link were taken by me. It is single track, up a near vertical face and certainly no crash barriers etc. The Cretan drivers make for it an interesting experience If you meet one on that road

http://harribobs.smugmug.com/gallery/3626531_yBRcY#!i=206564608&k=9En9D

John

That looks horrendous! I can only hope that the road goes somewhere really worthwhile!

The Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse is superb. I'm a frequent visitor to the Austrian Tirol (summer and winter) and try to do the Grossglockner. The road isn't as scary as it looks on the video. In fact the worst thing is having bicycles pass you on the descent (I kid you not!).

Also worth trying is the Gerlos road and the Krimml waterfalls (http://www.gerlosstr...s-alpenstrasse/).

The thing that amuses me with these roads is the number of German and Dutch bikers who turn up. In the main they carry their biles to the area in vans and on trailers. When you see Brits, you know they've ridden all the way.

I really fancied doing the Grossglockner on my 1200 Harley Davidson but as that's now been replaced by a 150cc Vespa, I'm not so sure!

John

Edited 6 May, 201214 yr by jst_at_home

I really fancied doing the Grossglockner on my 1200 Harley Davidson but as that's now been replaced by a 150cc Vespa, I'm not so sure!

John

I don't see why not? The Vespa is as quick and handles better

From a Street Triple owner

I don't see why not? The Vespa is as quick and handles better

From a Street Triple owner

I'm still laughing . To be fair, the Harley was an XR1200 so it did handle reasonably. Actually the Vespa's pretty good. I would have to trailer it though as I coiuldn't face the trip.

I've wondered about hiring over there.

John

I'm still laughing

Actually the Vespa's pretty good. I would have to trailer it though as I coiuldn't face the trip.

John

What was that about the Germans and the Dutch? :rofl:

Ride it all the way