Day 4 on the 'Follow the Blue Dot' Tour

** Route Plan

START: 7am - Whitley Bay - The Windsor Hotel, South Parade, NE26 2RF

FUEL: Belford - Adderstone Services, Warenford NE70 7JU

PHOTOS/MEET: Dunbar - Barrack Square / Leisure Pool, EH42 1EU

FUEL: Musselburgh - BP By Pass, EH21 8RE

FUEL:  Callander - ESSO, Stirling Rd FK17 8LE

FUEL: Crianlarich - The Green Welly Stop, Tyndrum FK20 8RY

FUEL: Fort William - ESSO, North Rd PH33 6TQ

PHOTOS: Fort William - Cruachan Hotel, Achintore Rd PH33 6RQ

MEET: Fort William - Railway Social Club, Nevis Rd, Inverlochy PH33 6LY

STOP:: Fort William - Cruachan Hotel, Achintore Rd PH33 6RQ

** Here we go - Day 4

Henry & Beef Riding - Whitley Bay to Dunbar to Fort William

Why is this whole series subtitled the Blue Dot Tour? Well ... riding and keeping 60 odd year old scooters on the road, is not really an exact science, especially when it comes to keeping to a timetable. We also knew that the majority of 'the Tour' would be during the day, during the working week. So it made sense to have an on-line, real- (or near-) time tracker that anyone wanting to come and meet us, could use to see where we were and when to come out to meet us without impacting on their lives so much.  I had used a nifty tracking tool back in 2016 for the Breasticle Run, for exactly the same reasons,  but couldn't for the life of me remember what it was called. I then remembered that my old friends Darren & Polly Tait used a tracking tool for their supply missions from Cornwall to Ukraine so I asked them. When they picked themselves up off the floor from laughing at me, they told me that they were using the tool I had recommended after the Breasticle Run. Oops. Luckily, they didn't prolong my embarrassment too much and I quickly downloaded the 'new' version and pretended I knew what I was doing all along. The stats that it collated were definitely an upgrade from 2016... more on that later! 

Day 4 started early(ish) - it was the second longest day mileage wise, with the least amount of stops and we really wanted to get on the road so the lovely David Tompkins arrived at our hotel bang on time at 7am. We were of course still faffing about but were mostly ready and didn't keep him hanging around too much. David very kindly had agreed to escort us out of town and took us via a quick look at St Mary's Lighthouse. The car park at St Mary's had been used as a rally campsite at one '80s rally but it is a bit of a way out of town and was all scaffolded up so we had decided not to use it as a focal point for the tour but it was still lovely to visit it briefly as we got on our way!  By 8:20 I was at Warenford services and trying to prove that I knew what I was doing as I used the Blue Dot to see where the boys were so I could film them pulling in. Unfortunately,  this was the first time on the tour we couldn't get E5 and the boys were loathe to put E10 in their highly tuned machines so after a very brief stop and a quick check of t'internet, we deviated from our strict route and headed towards another petrol station not too far away. With the E5 mission accomplished we got back on the road and just about an hour or so later we were at the English-Scottish border and managed to celebrate this achievement by taking pictures and adulterating a signpost but needs must as they say, so we curtailed our amusement and headed further north.   By about 10:20 we were on the A1 (roughly) at a place called Cockburnspath and I spotted some scooters in a lay-by. I pulled in (as you do) and the scooters all started up. It was a fabulous sight (and sound)!  

The East Lothian SC (for it was them) escorted us to Dunbar and through town right up to the Barrack Square; the site of 1983 and '84 rallies;  a further rally was held in '85 at White Sands but the Barrack Square site was perfect for us and I got to see more of Dunbar than I ever had previously! You don't see much from inside a pub... We had a bit of a chat and took the now obligatory pictures and were gifted with some lovely goodies that included some club merch and more importantly, some local beer (sorry East Lothian SC merch division)! When it was time to leave some of the lads rode with us further up the A1, for the 25 or so miles to Musselburgh to a petrol station selling E5 (thankfully) before they turned back.  Blooming marvellous. Definitely going back!!!  

The next stint was Musselburgh to Fort William and at approx 150 miles, it was the longest single stage of the whole tour.  With the limitations of standard fuel tanks though, we had reason to stop fairly often and the next scheduled one was Callander. I'm not sure if the boys even saw the Falkirk Kelpies from the M9 but I managed to get a couple of dodgy pictures from the van! Thankfully, we turned off the motorway and on to the A84 but this coincided with a change to the weather as the grey but dry weather turned much greyer and more than a little bit threatening. Scottish scooterist Alan Millar was already waiting when I got to our next scheduled stop in Callander and I chatted with him as we waited for the rest of our little convoy to turn up. Alan was another of those early responders to the launch of our FB page; spurred on by Alzheimers being something that his family are dealing with at the moment. He wanted to join us for the whole of the Scottish part of the tour and we were pleased to have him, so I issued him with his team high-viz and he told me all about his fund raising efforts. Essentially Alan works for Micheldever Tyres and had held a collection at work that he immediately added to the pot. A massive thank you to Alan's family, friends and colleagues who sponsored his riding with us.  

By the time that we had done all that, the boys had finished fuelling up and it was time to continue northward, heading into a much darker sky.  By the time we got to The Green Welly at Tyndrum it was decidedly moist. Not quite persistently raining but definitely a miserable drizzle that was enough to make the roads a bit slick and a bit less enjoyable riding.  And there was no E5 either - Alan was running a standard Vespa engine so filled up safely but the boys filled up from cans and we got back on the road after taking a few pictures. Our route took us pretty much up the A82 and the views were spectacular. We didn't stop in Glencoe but carried on to the Ballachulish Bridge following Loch Linnhe to Fort William and straight to our hotel.  Being mid-August and at a popular tourist spot, we had really splashed out on our hotel in FW, choosing to stay at the Cruachan Hotel, just a stone's throw from the loch. Best of all, the hotel was on the way into town so we didn't have any traffic to negotiate and the bar was open so even before we checked in, beers were bought and we sat down for a drink. We finally checked in, had a shower and conveniently opted for food in the hotel restaurant. Before too long though, it was time to go out to meet some other scootering folk and that takes me to yet another sidenote.... 

Back in the planning stages, a lovely gentleman by the name of Steve Wilson from the A92 Vespa Club messaged me and said that his club had a ride out with an overnight stay every summer; he said that he wanted to plan 2024's ride out to coincide with our event so after comparing routes/plans, he confirmed that they would ride from Dundee to Fort William, stay overnight and ride back the next day. A few days later, he messaged again and said he had booked a venue, sorted out records and decks and 30 odd club members had already booked hotel rooms. I might have been a tad overwhelmed. 

So ... back to the main story. After our dinner in the hotel, we booked a taxi and headed over to the FW Railway Social Club. We were met at the door by some lovely people and then looked for somewhere to drop our stuff (buckets, stickers etc). Henry then noticed that one of his oldest friends, who had emigrated to Canada back in the early 90s, was sitting in the room with his wife. That wasn't emotional at all!  Essentially, Ian Rothery and his wife Donna were over visiting her Scottish relatives and had driven up to FW to spend some time with us. And then drove back. Absolute bloody legends.  Once the tears had dried up, there was a bit of speechifying, a bit of dancing, a bit of drinking and more than a few grass skirts. Steve and his club handed over not only their fundraising on the night, but also the proceeds from t-shirt sales and a couple of do's they had held earlier in the year. An absolute diamond in the room (who preferred to remain anonymous) then rounded up their collective donation to a phenomenal £1000. That wasn't emotional either.  Soon after though, common sense and the thought of the day ahead won out and we headed back to the hotel! 

This was definitely the best day for video footage so far and I make no apologies for the plethora of visual delights you will see by clicking on the 'pictures and video' link below.