Morris Minor Owners Club

James
If you want a introduction to fell road driving I can recommend that after crossing the Duddon Bridge on the A595 you turn right onto the Corney Fell road.
The road has gentle climbs with fantastic views over the Irish Sea to the Isle Of Man.
The fell road rejoins the A595 again on the Ravenglass side of Waberthwaite at Broad Oak.
Using the Corney Fell road cuts off going down the Whicham Valley and round the base of Black Combe.

So long as you have coolant circulation to and through the rear of the head there will be no problems with fitting a pipe from the heater take off at the rear of the head back to the heater return pipe which feeds into the bottom hose.
Phil

You may already have set off on your journey by now so maybe I'm too late.
I'd say route depends on how quickly you want to cover the distance and what you'd like to see.
As a child living in Inverness before the A9 was modernised, (happening again 30+ yrs later- road improvement not childhood!) it was normal to bypass Perth and Pitlochry by leaving the A9 at Braco (between Stirling and Perth) and travel via Crieff, (Sma Glen) to Aberfeldy and then past Schiehallion to Tummel Bridge to rejoin A9 at Drummochter or Calvine (there are two options for last bit, shortest one is an unclassified road from Trinafour which is steep and narrow for a few miles- but won't be much traffic). It won't be quick and petrol stations will be limited but far more scenic and more fun driving the than what can be a nose to tail trudge up the Av Speed Camera regulated A9 where driving standards can occasionally be appalling. After that only limited options to escape the A9.
Agree with other comments that A82 can be dreadful for slow traffic but with a clear run it is great scenery.

I've made it to Gosforth, I got all the way to Lancaster M6 services on one tank, from Hastings. It still wasn't on empty and I've got the original 6.5 gallon tank!

Phil, I took your advice on the route, taking the fell road after Duddon Bridge. It was indeed a nice route, albeit rather steep. I did encounter an Audi driver though who, even after I pulled over and let him pass, felt it necessary to hoot and make a rude gesture at me!

The heater bypass worked just as planned. I've got a nice cold air vent in the car and the cooling isn't at all compromised.

I'm here for a couple of days so I've not decided on the next route yet.

James

James
Congratulations in getting to Gosforth without any problems.
I used to drive my Triumph Spitfire Mk 3 over the Corney Fell road on a regular basis and whilst there are a couple of hills shown on the OS map I cannot remember anything of any steepness that impaired my progress which was always brisk.
Sorry to hear about the rude driver - but you appear to risen above it. Well done for that.
I wish you well with the rest of the journey.
Picture off the web looking down towards the Ravenglass estuary from the Corney Fell road.
Phil

Rather late I know, I took a while getting my photos developed. I promised pictures though so better late than never! The whole trip was a great success, apart from breaking down with dirt in the carb jet on the very last leg. It was probably the best holiday I've been on and it was an excellent experience seeing different parts of the country when I've never been north of London before!

I think the highlight of the trip was when I was on my way to the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway. I decided to go early to avoid it being too busy and took a route through Gosforth. I was just driving along, minding my own business, when a man in hi-vis stepped out into the road and diverted me left. I wasn't sure what was going on until I immediately found myself in the middle of a classic car show!!! I parked up and spent the next hour or two there and had a great time. What a surprise!

It was great fun driving around the Highlands Wildlife Park in the Morris too. Especially behind all the new 4x4s!

I can't wait to do it again!

Here are a few photos from along the way.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Wast Water, Lake district
Gosforth classic car show
Lanark town centre
Austin Allegro spotted in Wishaw

Airstream caravan in Kingussie
Inverness
Interesting shop in Inverness. Unfortunately it wasn't open!
Fixing a sticky brake cylinder
Broken down on the M25. I had to push it from the middle lane, across the inside, into the hard shoulder.

Excellent, and how often do you see someone working on their own car, on route today, a scene from the past! Glad you enjoyed the trip. Scotland takes some beating!

Fantastic, perhaps you have caught the bug for touring in your Traveller and will join the Minors on Tour next year? Belgium I think.

That last photo looks a bit scary !!
What went wrong ?

Phil

Monty-4 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:21 pm Fantastic, perhaps you have caught the bug for touring in your Traveller and will join the Minors on Tour next year? Belgium I think.

That sounds nearer to my part of the world - is there a link to a homepage?

I was thinking that from the south coast to Scotland musst be in the region of 600km ? It is less than the distance to me in central Germany where the views are also quite nice.

Nickol wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:48 pm

Monty-4 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:21 pm Fantastic, perhaps you have caught the bug for touring in your Traveller and will join the Minors on Tour next year? Belgium I think.

That sounds nearer to my part of the world - is there a link to a homepage?

Details will likely go up nearer the end of this year. It's always the same week at the end of May though.

http://minors-on-tour.org.uk/

Thankyou

Phil, That last picture was on the way home on the M25 just before Dartford. I got stuck in a traffic jam for about and hour and a half, the car got vapour lock and then sucked some dirt into the jet (expertly diagnosed by Philthehill). It was indeed rather scary! With no hazard lights, the best I could do was a slowing down hand signal. Luckily the truck drivers behind realised what was going on and I was able to get out and push it into the hard shoulder.

Nickol, Hastings to Inverness is about 600 miles (960km) but we took a rather roundabout route there and back, and did a lot of driving around, so I clocked up just over 2000 miles (3600km) on the whole trip. Incidentally, the week after, I drove to Mannheim which is a shorter distance. I didn't do it in the Morris though, I took a 'modern' car, a 2003 Vauxhall Zafira 1.8. I got lucky on that trip because the radiator went a couple of weeks after I got back!

Monty, I'll certainly give the minors on tour a thought! Assuming I'm not otherwise engaged then. Being a school teacher, I only get the set holidays.

Thanks,
James

James
You saw Wast Water at one of its better times.
Once the sun starts to set behind the ridge on the right of the photo the place takes on a morbid character and the screes look and feel positively evil. Not a place to dally after dark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wast_Water
Anyway enough of that !!!!!
Well done.
Phil

Phil,
That was in the evening and I left just as it was getting dark. It started to feel a little eerie but it sounds like I missed the main event! I didn't fancy driving on those narrow lanes in the dark!

James k wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:42 pm
Monty, I'll certainly give the minors on tour a thought! Assuming I'm not otherwise engaged then. Being a school teacher, I only get the set holidays.

Thanks,
James

Unfortunately, the UK "Minors on Tour" seems always to take place during term time thus preventing anyone who works in education or has school age children from attending.
On the other hand, the foreign "Minors on Tour" takes place during the half-term week at the end of May so that might suit you better.
Well done with your long journey. I have driven many long trips in my Minors both in the UK and abroad over the years but have never driven a Minor to Scotland yet. There is still time!

James k wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:42 pm

Nickol, Hastings to Inverness is about 600 miles (960km) but we took a rather roundabout route there and back, and did a lot of driving around, so I clocked up just over 2000 miles (3600km) on the whole trip. Incidentally, the week after, I drove to Mannheim which is a shorter distance. I didn't do it in the Morris though, I took a 'modern' car, a 2003 Vauxhall Zafira 1.8. I got lucky on that trip because the radiator went a couple of weeks after I got back!



Thanks,
James

Mannheim, I have been there a few times and is one of the less attractive German towns. One of the most bombed places in WWII ( because it was relativly easy to pinpoint on the Rhine) it was subsequently rebuilt as a grid - resembling a lot of the ugly american town planning. Fortunately the countryside east and west e.g Odenwald where I also lived for a while is very picturesque and hopefully you had time to go there.