Kathy and myself had a couple of days away over the weekend and enjoyed some stunning scenery along the way. We started on Saturday afternoon and had a leisurely drive over Glenshee to Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, Killin, Crainlarich and then down to Loch Lomond to Arrochar for a short break together. We had a relaxing meal that evening and a little discussion on where we would like to go the following day for a drive. A long lie and a late breakfast before heading off for the days drive somewhere. I also got carried away like Kinger on the Sunday and 'our run' went a bit further than planned. We started at Arrochar and then went to Inveraray, where there was a huge motorcycle convention/meet. We deceided to stop and have a look around. The Police were also in attandance with a couple of camera vans and various cars and bikes. We had a try of the virtual reality headset which gives a 360' view and the short film highlights the dangers of distractions while driving, regarding the passengers mobile phones and the aftermath of an accident with the emergency services. The video puts you in the passenger seat and you can look all around you and see what is going on. Arguing over mobile phone content and struggles to hold it result in the driver not fully concentrating on the road. You can look around and watch the driver sitting next to you, turn around to see the rear passengers squabbling and when you look down at yourself you see a pair of legs. It is very authentic and I can see this equipment being used as education regarding driver awareness. The driver has the car all over the road and you are constantly looking behind you and at the road in front inevitably waiting for the accident to happen. A tractor with a trailer soon pulls out and then the screen goes blank for a few seconds. The next scene that you see is you looking at the driver with blood on his face and with his airbag having been deployed and someone from the emergency services standing at his door monitoring his situation. A quick turn to the rear and one of the passengers has the same injuries as the driver and there is someone at their door too. Once you turn back to face the front, you then see where the second rear passenger has ended up.......straight through the windscreen and lying on the bonnet. It is very realistic with all that is happening all around, which includes the Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service and even a helicopter sitting in the field. The next thing you see while still sitting in the passenger seat is the roof pillars being cut and the roof getting carried off and away. I mentioned how this tool would be great to show learner drivers as part of their driver training. The operator of the headset told us that Google are planning on using their recorded footage of areas around the world to be used in schools on different subjects, so the children can wear the headsets and the teacher can control the various locations and scenarios. I was very impressed by it all, as was everyone else who used it. We had a brief conversation with the operator of camera vans and motorcycles with their cameras mounted on a tripod and tethered to the bike. I asked if the camera automatically picked out all the speeding cars and was informed that the operator would be watching the small screen with the camera zoomed in to the relevant point. This can be up to 600mts away. The operator then has to trigger the laser if he thinks that the car is travelling above the speed limit which he sets in the unit. Speed limit plus 10% plus 2mph was his comment. He says that they can target both sides of the road and not just cars coming towards the rear of the van, the camera just indicates a negative number regarding the speed. So if you see a van and you just happen to lose concentration for a bit and have drifted over the stipulated speed limit, you would have the time the operator sees you and for them to pull the trigger, as it's not an automatic procedure. We were soon back on the road and noticed a big Police presence with cars and bikes. We were soon at our next point along our route which was Oban, before heading north to Fort William and then taking the road out to Malaig. We stopped here for a coffee and cake and a short break. A quick call to Russels in Spean Bridge and evening dinner was booked. We had plenty of time to enjoy the journey back to Fort William as the road was really quiet and I wished it was longer. A quick fuel stop before heading to Spean Bridge and a delicious meal was had together. Highly recommended if your in the area, but its better to book as its always busy. We have been four times now and if your ever up this way, then stop in by, you will not be disappointed. Once we finished we had a brilliant run back to Arrochar, via Fort William, Glencoe Tyndrum and Crialarich. Only a few cars on the road and it was brilliant fun. Driving through Glencoe and along Loch Lomond through the twisties when you are not getting held up with the usual traffic was a moment to saviour. We arrived back at our hotel just in time to settle down and watch the penultimate episode of 'Line of Duty'.
On Monday we left and headed back up Loch Lomond, this time being stuck behind traffic until Crainlarich.
On the road to Lochearnhead.
We headed through Crieff and to the Sma Glen then Dunkeld.
A nice drive towards Glenshee.
Overtaking easy for the V6.
New smooth road surface.
Perfect weather.
Photographs by Kathy, with my phone.
Heading down towards Braemar.
The V6 is an awesome piece of kit and it cetainly keeps me happy every time I take it out.
Roll on tomorrow when I can do it all again up over at the Northwest coast.
Cheers, thanks for reading,
Steve.
