Operation "Barchetta"

Part 1 - Middletown Dreams
"Dreams transport desires drive you when you're down, dreams transport the ones who need to get of town"

You know when sometimes you just need a break, get away from the job, people & life you have. Well i had been feeling a bit like that lately, so at late notice i booked a couple of days off work & booked a trip to the Scottish highlands, Isle of Skye here i come.

I needed a new cd player in the Falcon so purchased a Kenwood & got Big Paul to fit it for me. I borrowed a satnav from my brother & calculated the journey at over 9 hours, i planned to do a night drive with plenty of stops so estimated the journey would take at least 11 hours. Due to the prospective hours id spend behind the wheel i made a packed meal & got loads of cd's, the playlist for the trip would be, amongst others:

Rush
Marillion
Yes
Coheed and Cambria
Steve Vai
10cc
Foo Fighters
Dire Straits

I set off at 2300hrs, put my faith in the satnav & headed up the motorway taking a route which would pass Glasgow & then into the Highlands where i would take a ferry to Skye. Things were going well until i hit the outskirts of Glasgow then the satnav i had placed my faith in (i hate the f***ing things to be honest) started to develop a mind of its own. The satnav then diverted me straight across Scotland towards Perth but never having been north of Newcastle before stuck with it. I drove on for hours & the first shades of light began to permeate through the blanket of darkness on the Scottish sky. As the light grew i began to see how beautiful my surroundings were, which actually caused me a problem. I was so trasnfixed with the natural beauty that i had to keep pulling over & taking photos of the surroundings. One great place in particular was at Glenngarry, there is a parking spot & a viewpoint over a fantastic loch. I stood high above the loch i coudl see that it the way that the boundaries of it actually made resemble a map of Scotland, which i later found it is referred to.

Carrying on into the crisp morning i stopped a few more times, once just after Glenngarry where i realised i was actually above some low clouds, the sun was out & it was a fantastic view. As naughty satnav had f***ed up my route i ended up going a different way to Skye, over the Skye bridge which i was led to believe actually cost over £5 to cross each way. The Skye bridge is a massive structure that cover the gap between the Scottish mainland across to Skye, the distance is only short however & a boat crossing would probably only take a few minutes. Anyway after being on the road for over 10 hours i had finally hit Skye, bonus as well, there toll on the Skye has been abolished. Good job, i would be driving about 1,000 miles on this trip & the Falcons 2.7 litre V6 loves petrol!

I was staying in a place called Portree, which i think is the largest settlement on the island & home to about 2,000 people. I would be at my destination in about 30 miles, the sun was shining, it was a good day & i was pleased to be nearing the end of an epic drive.