Spirit of Adventure: Closer to Home

The last week or two have been pretty quiet for me, having arrived home from my Ultimate Journey around Britain. Taking three weeks out to explore this spectacular country has been a tremendous experience, and I can only thank Peter Vardy, and those who voted on this competition, for giving me the opportunity to take on this adventure.

Since my return to Glasgow, the Astra GTC has had to settle into the more mundane role of a commuting vehicle. From time to time, when I'm not delivering cars for people, I am asked to don a uniform and drive for a local chauffeur service. I've been doing that for about 8 years now and every job brings up something new and interesting. The other day, after signing out from the garage, I realised that I hadn't been anywhere interesting in the Astra GTC for a while. With the sun shining, and a few hours to kill, I decided to take a drive out to the sea-side town of Largs.

Largs

If you're feeling adventurous, I'll recommend the hidden gem of a road I discovered that afternoon.

I headed along the M8 motorway to Port Glasgow, and followed the main route into Greenock. After a few roundabouts I came to the junction at the Fire-Station and turned left. This road is sign-posted as an alternative route to Inverkip and takes you up-hill through a residential area, by-passing the town centre. Just before the road peaks and heads back downhill, there is a small road on the left, signposted “Scenic Route”. Shortly up this road you'll see another road to the left – the Old Largs Road. This is where the fun begins.

Roads like this developed from footpaths trodden over hundreds of years, so the narrow slither of tarmac, kept in good condition, meanders casually over the hillside, through open moorland, and along side small lochs and reservoirs. A handful of cars were abandoned by roadside as opportunistic anglers made the most of the good weather, trying to catch some dinner. Just 20 minutes from Glasgow City Centre, I felt like I was back in rural Wales. The scenery just got better and better as I followed the unpredictable route through the landscape.

Old Largs Road

The Astra GTC found its mojo again and was loving this new environment. Out here, in the wild, is where a car like this demonstrates its real potential. The GTC could do the morning commute as well as any other car, but few cars can match it out here. For the first time since my tour had ended I could hear the engine singing its heart out, and for those 20 minutes on that road, all was well in my world.

Gradually, civilisation began to take up residence along the roadside as I found myself descending into Largs.  Down by the promenade I stop to take in the view down the Firth of Clyde. Greater Cumbrae seemed a lot closer than it did when I used to go there on school trips. For a brief moment I considered jumping on a ferry to do a quick lap of the island but my fuel gauge suggested I shouldn't.

While it is a nice place to visit in its own right, there were two things that validate any trip to Largs: Fish & Chips on the sea-front, and an Ice-cream at Nardini's. Thankfully, after a long period of closure, this world famous restaurant, cafe and ice-cream parlour is fully open again, and looking greater than ever.

Nardini's

As the evening closed in, I got back on the road and this time took the slightly faster, but equally fun cross-country route home via Dalry and Barrhead.  Despite being a professional driver, I still find a drive in the country a fantastic way to refresh the mind and de-stress. I arrived home feeling good, and loving the prospect of one more month with the fantastic Astra GTC.

The Last Leg

After a second night in Edinburgh, I took to the road for the last time on my epic journey. I crossed the Forth Road Bridge out of Edinburgh and, with a motorway ban still imposed, I turned onto the A823 leading into Dunfermline. Following this route through Dunfermline requires a fair bit of concentration as the route is not straightforward, but having travelled this way many times over the years, I soon found the road leading north out of Dunfermline signposted to the National Motorsport Centre, at Knockhill.

On a dry day, with little traffic, and in a good car, this road is unbeatable. With a few long straights, brilliantly cambered corners, and fantastic dips and climbs, this road has as much variation and character as the famous racing circuit it passes. The Astra GTC had found a road that was built for it, and every mile just seemed to get better and better, as the sporty hatchback displayed precision and personality, powering through the wilderness towards Perthshire.

North of Yetts o'Muckhart, the road begins to climb through Glendevon. A combination of tight, wooded corners, narrow bridges, and long open stretches meet with approval from the GTC as it's engine sings it's heart out, revelling in the playground it's been let loose in. But the best section of this road is saved to last, and as I reach the summit, the view opens up to reveal the most fantastic descent into Gleneagles.

What a view!

The descent is fast and free-flowing, with visibility clear, allowing some of the wiggles in the road to be straightened out if you pick the right line at the right time.  At the foot of the hill, just before the road crosses the A9, there is a tight turn across a narrow bridge, so take it easy at this point.

It would be rude to get this close, and not stop in at the world famous hotel and golf resort, so I turned in for a short break at the magnificent Gleneagles Hotel, before returning to the Dual-Carriageway for my last stint.

Gleneagles

After about 15 minutes on the A9 I finally made it to Perth, and Journey’s End. 18 days and 2500 miles after leaving the Peter Vardy Dealership on Dunkeld Road, I was back, and the fantastic little car, hadn't let me down once. And it truly is a fantastic car. Not only have I become quite attached to it, I have been able to forgive and forget the little things that I criticised on day one. I have become used to the slightly awkward handbrake position on the Sport Model, and the Start-Stop function, which I thought I'd be over-riding all the time. That system is so smooth and quiet that I barely notice the engine cutting out at all at traffic lights. At idle the engine is tremendously quiet anyway, but give it the beans and the sound the car makes is terrific. As a regular visitor to my local Glasgow Chiropractic centre, I was concerned my back would be in all kinds of trouble after a journey like this, but the seats, even in this basic model, were perfectly comfortable, and I had no problems at all.

Peter Vardy Perth

I said I would keep an eye on the thirst of this car.  Despite all the eco-features, the car isn't the most frugal of hatchbacks, but then again, you'd probably have to invest in a classic to get more smiles-per-gallon than you get from the Astra GTC.  As a Car Delivery Driver I have had the opportunity to drive many great cars, but I can honestly say the Astra GTC is, by far, the most impressive.

And so, after all that, it was time to go home. Now that the journey was over, I decided to lift my self-imposed motorway ban and take the A9 and M80 back to Glasgow.

That plan lasted all of 5 minutes when, mid-way between the Inverlalmond and Broxden Roundabouts, I saw the sign to Crieff.

I couldn't help it.  The A85 takes you across Perthshire, through Crieff, and onto Callander, and any serious driver will know where I'm heading now.  Just before reaching Callander I turned onto one of the most famous driving routes in Scotland.  The Duke's Pass rises from the banks of Loch Achray, through the Trossachs and down a hairpin strewn hill into Aberfoyle.  This is a spectacular route on a summer's evening, but even in the misty dusk, it was a tremendously atmospheric drive.

The Dukes Pass

From Aberfoyle, the route south passes Glengoyne Distillery and through Strathblane,  before bypassing Mugdock Country Park & reservoir, dropping straight into Milngavie, and along the road known as the “Switchback” to Anniesland in the extreme West of Glasgow.

Twenty minutes later I was home, and while relaxing with a nice warm cuppa, I couldn't help pondering where the Astra GTC was going to take me next.

Climbing Snowdon

The final leg of my great drive took place last week end.  From Scafell we took the windy A595 onto the A590, enjoying Lake District scenery before hitting the M6 until junction 20a where 20 miles on the M56 takes up into North Wales.  The A494 joins the A55 and more breath-taking scenery awaits.  My passengers are very happy with the comfort and ride, stating that they are not sure if it my driving or the car that is to congratulate. The road runs along the coast providing a wonderful backdrop for the drive.  

We join the A5 for a couple of minutes before picking up signs for Llamberis and the A4244. Traffic was very quiet on this Saturday morning and the car again did us proud.  Our ETA of 12:00 was beaten by 30 min and we took to the mountain kitted and watered.

The Llamberis trek is one of the longest but easiest routes, hopefully emulating aspect of Kilimanjaro. Three hours and up and two down resulted in a well-deserved pint (not for me), before returning home, reversing much of the above route.

The weather began to cloud over producing a moody backdrop of lakes and mountains. Queen entertained us as we pulled in loose ends as this was the last time we would be together before meeting in Tanzania.

There will be no blog for the next few weeks, however I will be doing a lot of filming as we climb, leaving the beloved GTC in Heathrow car park.

Thanks again Peter Vardy for this great car!