The car, this was the third year with our Mazda MX-5. It’s a MY23 ND2 Sport. So, it has the Recaro seats, Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs, limited slip differential plus front upper strut brace. We continue to use the tailored set of bags plus the Mazda suitcase for the luggage rack.
When going on these longer trips, we change tyres to a set of Yokohama AD08RS. Since these are better in the wet compared to the Michelin Cup 2 we use at home. But still very grippy when dry for those twisty roads.
For navigation we use a combination of Apple Maps and the app Calimoto. The later is excellent at finding winding roads plus you can plan and share routes with your travel companions easily.
Ferries, we took the Gothenburg-Kiel, Elbe and Hoek van Holland-Harwich ferries in both directions.
In order to avoid the queues around Hamburg, we opted for the Elbe ferry. This most likely didn’t save us any time. But it was a much nicer route. However, we have been warned that during the peak holiday season there can be very long queues for these ferries.
While in Scotland, we also took ferries to and from Isle of Mull and Iona. On the way back through Germany, we ended up on a small ferry across the river Weser as well. This wasn’t part of the plan. More of a consequence of choosing a route from Groningen to Rotenburg with the Calimoto app.
Stena Line operates the ferries between Gothenburg and Kiel plus Hoek van Holland to Harwich. It’s a smooth operation and there is plenty of space on the car deck. The timing of the ferry back from Kiel to Gothenburg is a bit challenging since it departs already at 17:45. We didn’t gamble on being able to catch the ferry the same day as we arrived to Hoek van Holland. Thus spent an extra night in Germany. The ferry between Hoek van Holland and Harwich on the other hand leaves late in the evening.
Weser fähre: https://www.weser-faehre.de
Elbfähre: https://www.frs-elbfaehre.de
Accomodations, we stayed at the following hotels and bed-and-breakfasts: The White Swan, Arundel, was a good hotel to stay at. We have driven past it several times before. Lot of parking spaces and just a short drive to Goodwood. The hotel is situated outside Arundel and it’s a 20 minute walk through the woods to the village.
Next stop was Lake District and The Coniston Inn in Coniston. Located near the shore of Lake Coniston and about 15 minutes walk from the village. There is a large pub on premise.
The hotel is located in the middle of Lake District. Worth noting that there are single track roads leading to Coniston.
After two nights we continued north to Oban. This is a larger city on the west coast where you find several of the ferries that take you to various islands. We stayed at Muthu Alexandra Hotel next to the shoreline. The hotel had seen better days and there was limited parking spaces. But there are several bars and restaurants in the city.
We can recommend visiting EE-USK on the North Pier. It’s an excellent seafood restaurant with very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Next stop on our way north was Tingle Creek Hotel near Kyle and the Skye bridge. Despite the name, it’s a bed and breakfast. It’s a very nice accommodation but you obviously need to go elsewhere for dinner in the evening. By the time we got there, all restaurants in the Kyle harbour were closed and we ended up at Kyle hotel. That was not something we can recommend. The staff was friendly but the food was not worth coming back for.
But Tingle Creek Hotel as such can be recommended. Nice rooms, great views and lots of parking spaces.
We continued north to Gairloch and Millcroft hotel. We got a rather small room but is was nice and clean. The hotel had parking spaces just outside. There isn’t much to do Gairloch as such. But it’s an ok place to stay over night.
Next on the list was Ullapool and Harbour House Bed & Breakfast. This is a large B’n’B near the village center. Nice rooms and friendly staff. Also good parking area outside.
Ullapool is well situated for exploring the northwest part of Scotland. There are several restaurants in the village but make sure to book tables in advance. Or you can visit The Seafood Shack which is excellent. Although outdoor so subject to weather conditions.
The last stop, in England, was Tan Hill Inn. We’ve been there two times before. It’s a spectacular place and as quirky as it may seem. Located on the moors with no other buildings in sight. The rooms have been renovated but the windows are still not completely tight. But there are thick curtains to deal with that. Good pub food, a warm fireplace and beer. What else can you ask for? The breakfast is also good. Well worth a visit.
In order to make sure we would catch the ferry from Kiel. We opted for a hotel night near Hamburg. Hotel Heidejäger in Rotenburg. We stayed at the same hotel back in 2023. Already then there was an issue with the booking. And it was the same thing this time. Despite having received an e-mail with a confirmation when we booked. When we wanted to check-in, they couldn’t find any reservation. This in combination with a not so friendly staff makes us not recommending this hotel in the future. Imagine coming there when fully booked and being turned away because your booking isn’t recognized.
Things to do, the theme for this year was Goodwood and the annual GRRC Members Meeting plus revisiting Scotland. For petrol heads, the various motoring events at Goodwood is a must. Members Meeting in April, Festival of Speed in the Summer and Revival i September.
Then there are a lot of museums to visit. As well as gardens, castles etc.
An important aspect of all our journeys are the driving experience. There are a number of nice roads to take on in UK.
See the daily blog entries for details and more photos.
Costs, we spent 8 307 SEK on petrol. By far the most expensive was in the Netherlands, where the cost per liter was 28,23 SEK! Furthermore, we spent 21 686 SEK on hotels and 15 739 SEK on ferries. Food, drinks and museum entrances not included.
Conclusion, revisiting Scotland was a great idea. The scenery in highlands as well as along the coast and the isles are spectacular. Lake District was good and we will be back for more exploration at some point. Using the Ferry from Gothenburg to Kiel is a good option to save some driving. The downside is the timing when returning back home. We ended up driving 6 107 kilometers. Lastly, doing this in April was very good. Very little traffic both in Lake District as well as in Scotland and along NC500.
Europe by car 