# SAFETY WARNING: "THE CORKSCREW", Inverfarigaig, South Loch Ness.



## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

On my recent happy wanderings around the Highlands I decided to spend a few days exploring around the shores of Loch Ness. Not wanting to miss anything of interest, I bought the local Ordnance Survey maps and a very useful guide book to the area, referring to them as I travelled around.

On the south side I travelled along the single-track shore road from Foyers to Dores several times. Between these two villages is the lovely, unspoilt village of Inverfarigaig, which has some good views of the loch (especially if you walk through the overgrown undergrowth to the old derelict pier), plenty of forest walks and a picnic site etc.

Of this "main" road (the B852) passing through Inverfarigaig, the guide book says "..to follow this road without detouring would be to miss some of Scotlands most spectactular scenery....".  It later describes one of these alternative minor roads, known as "The Corkscrew", as "Definitely not for the faint-hearted, a narrow, twisty, unclassified road climbs steeply from opposite the houses near the shore....".

I've negotiated the more famous mountain passes such as Hardknott and Wrynose etc many times in the past (though not in this van) and earlier on this trip had travelled the drovers mountain-pass route to Applecross, along with some quite hairy cliff-top "roads" on all of Scotlands coasts, so I wasn't too worried about trying this for a change....  There was the sign saying "Not suitable for caravans or HGV's", but that's pretty standard on smaller roads, so I drove on.

When I reached the first bend, I got the idea that it was going to be too tight and too steep for my long-wheel-base, rear-wheel-drive van, and I needed a couple of attempts to get around and up it.  I did think of reversing back down to the main road, but then I decided that it would be safer to carry on forwards and hope that it wouldn't get any worse. 

The next steep hairpin bend wasn't any easier, and my fully-laden van was slipping and struggling to get traction. The sprinkling of wet leaves on the road didn't help. I inched forwards and backwards, trying to get around, but eventually lost all traction completely, so got out to have a look at my predicament.  The reason that I couldn't move was that one rear wheel was hanging off the edge of the road, and one small tree that it had wedged against was the only thing that stopped the van from plummetting down the steep sides of the ravine!

It was at this stage that I remembered the monument that I'd just visited half a mile away, that marked the spot where a geologist had fallen down the ravine to his death (also in the handy guide-book!).

I had some self-rescue gear in the back, including hi-lift jack, traction-tracks, towing gear and tools etc., but couldn't get to them for fear of over-balancing the van and sending it over the edge! (The ending of "The Italian Job" with Michael Caine came to mind, where they are trapped in the coach overhanging the cliff!).

Deciding not to panic, I thought that I'd better inform the police so that they could close the road to prevent any other vehicles from trying to get through. The road is in woodland, so I wouldn't be seen by anyone until they got to my location.  ... But of course, I couldn't get a signal on my phone, and before too long it would be pitch-dark!!

Now I know that other people use that pass without problems, and no doubt many of you may have travelled it in the past (I'm sure that one of you will have had a grandmother who used to drive a double-decker bus up it several times a day!), but seriously, my best piece of advice to anyone who isn't familiar with it is... DON'T ATTEMPT IT.....  especially in a long wheel base, rear wheel drive, fully laden vehicle!!  :scared:


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## mark61 (Oct 25, 2012)

Sounds scary. How did you get out in the end?


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

...to be continued........

( how's that for a cliffhanger?? )


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## elainekirk (Oct 25, 2012)

Perlease! I cannot sleep, I will have nightmares, tell us what happened!


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

OK, I'll just tell you a little more.....

I Survived!!


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## elainekirk (Oct 25, 2012)

Scampa I am holed up on a campsite due to battery probs been here four days and bingo a bit of excitement enters my life VIA your post , I feel alive again, memories of roads, lanes, tracks travelled come back to me in glorious technicolour (and black and grey for the midnight sortie down a wrong turning on skye) .... and what do you do??? Leave me in limbo... tis just not on!! Tell, now!!


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

I'm really sorry, but the memories are too traumatic for me to tell the story all at once, and I haven't even got to the part with the helicopter, or the connection to Nessie yet!

Spending four days on a campsite sounds much scarier to me though!  What's wrong with your battery, and can it be fixed soon??


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## elainekirk (Oct 25, 2012)

Oh goodness I can't wait.. but it seems I am going to have to.
My leisure battery is either on its last legs or was knackerated after months without a hook up so I thought a few days on hook up would give a clue how poorly it was and if a transplant was needed , then come day three and we set off for a wee tootle round the lanes. Or rather we didn't set off a the engine battery was dead.. have now got hook up switched to charge engine battery but hope is fading... I will give it till your next installment and if after it I still have the confidence to drive anywhere I will try again . I thought my eberspacher was the prob but it working perfectly now ... just a shame nothing else is ...


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

elainekirk said:


> Oh goodness I can't wait.. but it seems I am going to have to.
> My leisure battery is either on its last legs or was knackerated after months without a hook up so I thought a few days on hook up would give a clue how poorly it was and if a transplant was needed , then come day three and we set off for a wee tootle round the lanes. Or rather we didn't set off a the engine battery was dead.. have now got hook up switched to charge engine battery but hope is fading... I will give it till your next installment and if after it I still have the confidence to drive anywhere I will try again . I thought my eberspacher was the prob but it working perfectly now ... just a shame nothing else is ...



It seems too much of a coincidence if both your leisure battery and vehicle battery come to the end of their life at the same time, unless you haven't used them both for a long time.  Don't forget that the cost of a few nights on a campsite would soon go towards the price of a new battery!

Hope all turns out well for you!


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## herbenny (Oct 25, 2012)

oh scampa what a cliff hanger :scared::scared:....please post by tonight I wont have access to internet for ten days after tonight so you must ...I will have to cancel my trip if you do not spill the beans :sad::sad:..... gripping stuff !!!!!!


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 25, 2012)

Come on Jackanory, finish the tale you rotten swine... ! :lol-053:


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## n brown (Oct 25, 2012)

jeez wot a tease!


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

Bloody hell!  I too am dying to know how on earth you got out of that!!  BUt whats scary is how easily it happened, and if it hadnt been for that tree....???:scared:


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 25, 2012)

Pah! Kimbo has good stories .... and she gives you an ending! :lol-053:

C'mon c'mon - what happened next?!


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## kimbowbill (Oct 25, 2012)

herbenny said:


> oh scampa what a cliff hanger :scared::scared:....please post by tonight I wont have access to internet for ten days after tonight so you must ...I will have to cancel my trip if you do not spill the beans :sad::sad:..... gripping stuff !!!!!!



Its ok Jac, i have internet, over the weekend, but he must post before Monday, Scampa you torment you, tell us what happened.

As we are on the subject of cliff hangers, we was in a little village on the East coast somewhere, it was new years day night 2010 when the temp had been -18 so the whole of Scotland was frozen, i had drove from Stonehaven and needed to get settled for the night, just couldn't find anywhere to park, eventually i saw a sign for a coach park, pointing up a large hill, i got so far up the hill when i hit black ice, the van started to slide sideways, my partner got out to try and dig some ice off the road, but it was thick black ice, i was now facing sideways, looking to my right there was a house, i could see right in their dining room, they were sat having their tea, we just sat and stared at each other for what seamed like hours, lol, wondering what to do, i looked around me and the harbour was just at the bottom of the hill, with no barriers :scared: the van was sliding further down, i was stuck, for sure, i daren't move anymore for fear of sliding in the drink, as all the road was thick black ice, anyway after a long stand and many minutes of fear, a load of locals came out of the pub, with spades and salt manged to get me facing a way where i could roll back down, they were used to silly tourists trying to get up the hill, :rolleyes2:


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## sagart (Oct 25, 2012)

Wonder what Google Earth used to get up this...been down it on a bike.....equally scary!


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## silverweed (Oct 25, 2012)

*SAFETY WARNING: &quot;THE CORKSCREW&quot;, Inverfarigaig, South Loch Ness.*

We'r waiting!!!  It's my day off and now I am tied to my phone for the rest of the day checking for THE POST. Spill the beans, I'm guessing you survived lol


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## mark61 (Oct 25, 2012)

runnach said:


> Awsome road, now on my "to drive" list :drive:




Yes, nothing like a warning to get a road on the "to drive" list. Might wait for the snow first.   lol


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## Teffy (Oct 25, 2012)

Oh Scampa I wish I hadn't read that!  I'm feeling sick.  I suffer terribly from vertigo and I can't even watch things like that in films.  We've been up and down some terribly frightening roads in the Highlands and Islands in a car and I just have to close my eyes in some places, the idea of it in a motorhome - well!!!!!! Hurry up and get to the rescue, please please pretty please.


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## elainekirk (Oct 25, 2012)

Waiting.... for both the next installment and the rac...most excited at prospect of next installment !


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

sagart said:


> Wonder what Google Earth used to get up this...been down it on a bike.....equally scary!



Yeah, thats a thought - wonder if they ever use helicopters..?:banana:


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

Well scampa, we can see why you got your name - you are a little scamp!!  Keeping everyone enthralled and anxious like this - you dont write the endings for soap operas do you? the cliff hanger followed by DUM DUM DUMti DUM etc ??  Anyway with your obvious talent for drawing in your audience my guess it will be peak viewing time when you reveal all - maybe 7.30 tonight??:lol-049:


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## landydriver (Oct 25, 2012)

.


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## Firefox (Oct 25, 2012)

Bunchrew Seer: Stuck on a Corkscrew! Bad News


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

Sorry Folks, I didn't mean to leave you all hanging in suspense! I'll try to finish the story tonight or tomorrow when I have more time. And don't worry Teffy, it does have a happy ending!

Just to answer some queries... I believe that Google Earth use a 4x4 when they're filming, which would be the best type of vehicle for this, especially with the transmission in Low Range. You can follow the route on Google Earth BTW.

As I've said, cars and vans do use this pass, but my worry, even in a more suitable vehicle, would be the chance of meeting someone else head-on halfway up or down. It's only single-track with no room to pass, so one of you would have to negotiate the very steep hairpin bends in reverse to get out! You can't see if anyone else is on the road ahead (or behind) because the road is within woodland, so if you decide to try it, that could be a real problem.

And I really don't want to over-dramatise or exaggerate the event, but as I peered over the edge into the abyss, hundreds of feet below I was sure that I saw the devil beckoning me with a huge grin. But equally, it may have been a hedgehog!


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

I would worry even if it was a hedgehog beckoning you with a huge grin Scampa!!!  God, I am NEVER going to go on that road!!  Have done the Lake district ones and they are bad enough, especially as ususally misty!!  Waiting for next installment with bated breath!!


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## Deleted member 14127 (Oct 25, 2012)

Last time we were in Montenegro we thought we'd take the mountain pass rather than drive through the tunnel. As we climbed higher and higher up each hairpin bend the view became more spectacular and scary :scared:

We had almost reached the top and as we turned the last hairpin bend.................... the road in front of us had disappeared - straight down the side of the mountain. There was only half a tiny bit of road left clinging to the edge.

We had my elderly parents and young Daughter in the car and by now everyone was a little bored with the breath-taking scenery and had become terrified. There was nowhere to turn round and we would have to reverse all the way back down to the bottom. 

With that another car came towards us, heading down the mountain close to the collapsed road but on the other side. We watched as he carried on negotiating the one tiny remaining piece of road and casually drove passed us.  If he could do it so could we..............so we slowly, slowly drove towards the broken road and hugged the mountain side holding our breath until we were safely the other side. Big cheers and sighs of relief followed and we decided to take the tunnel on our reverse journey.


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

Millie said:


> Last time we were in Montenegro we thought we'd take the mountain pass rather than drive through the tunnel. As we climbed higher and higher up each hairpin bend the view became more spectacular and scary :scared:
> 
> We had almost reached the top and as we turned the last hairpin bend.................... the road in front of us had disappeared - straight down the side of the mountain. There was only half a tiny bit of road left clinging to the edge.
> 
> ...



OMG what a story!!!!!  Thank god that car came - or you would have had to do the reversing all the way back down and who knows what the end of the story would have been then!!  I hope Scampa's tale isnt going to bring out too many more horror stories, poor Teffy will not sleep tinight!!:wave:


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## Beemer (Oct 25, 2012)

elainekirk said:


> I thought my eberspacher was the prob but it working perfectly now ... just a shame nothing else is ...



When I had one leisure battery, and it was low, our Erbespacher would not work, because of the volts it needed to start up and run the fan.
What type of 'Erby' do you have?

We now have two leisure batteries and a solar panel, cos New Years Eve is bleedin cold without heating!!!!!!:cool1:


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## elainekirk (Oct 25, 2012)

Well Beemer I have Erm ... I will look in my owners manual tomoro as I am ignorant of its model BUT I now have a working van , the rac man came and declared the problem to be the engine battery so he jump started me as he had no battery big enough and I rang the garage.in Hope, Derbyshire. who were awesomely helpful and managed to source A battery by 1.30 whereupon i drove the van the mile from site to garage terrified that at any moment I would stall it :scared:  and they spent the best part of an hour fitting it and checking everything on the electrics hab 
and engine before declaring it good-to-go and when I went to pay they only charged for the battery saying " we fit them for no charge" . Service above and beyond methinks.
.
SCAMPA please!!! Before I bore everybody.


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## Teffy (Oct 25, 2012)

Well looks like we're all going to spend the night hanging off the edge!!  :scared:


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

Teffy said:


> Well looks like we're all going to spend the night hanging off the edge!!  :scared:



Just a little more patience,

Hopefully the ending of the story should be on here within an hour or so.........   :sleep-040:


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## scampa (Oct 25, 2012)

*Part two.....*

Right, where was I? ...Oh yes, part way up The Corkscrew and feeling a little "on edge".....

First thing I did was to rescue my dog via the side door, then quickly summed up my options and priorities. For a brief moment I wondered if I could just walk away nonchalantly and abandon the van there, but I dismissed that idea. I had a couple of folding safety warning triangles in the van, but they were at the very back with my other gear, so I couldn't get to them safely. Instead, I took my hi-viz jacket, wrapped it around some branches and laid it on the road around the next bend to warn anyone coming down the hill.

To get the van back onto the road I would need either a tow from above, preferably from a tractor or 4x4, or the use of a winch and pulley, which could be sited either above or below my position on the road. The third method of recovery would be a vertical lift from a helicopter, but I put that to the back of my mind for the time being....

Although the easiest recovery would be from above, I knew that there were houses near the bottom of the hill, so I walked down to look for help and a telephone. After some door-knocking I found a lovely lady and some very helpful lads. Luckily, they knew a very useful local man called Rob who had a 4x4 complete with a winch! He was also ex-fire brigade, so I knew that he would be very capable! 

They managed to contact him by phone and he was very willing to help. Unfortunately, he was presently in a different vehicle on the road above The Corkscrew, and some fool had blocked his quickest route down, so he had to drive about nine miles on back roads to get to us!

Meanwhile, I was very kindly given the use of the telephone and contacted Inverness police to inform them of the blocked route. I told them of our plan, but for some reason they turned down my suggestion of a helicopter if it didn't work!

Anyway, a short time later Rob had arrived and had his 4x4 positioned on the road below my van, with a pulley attached to a convenient tree in front of the van so that it would be winched forwards onto the road. The van was back on the road in no time at all.

I was still thinking that it would be safest for me to continue driving forwards up the pass, instead of trying to get around the sharp bends in reverse, but Rob convinced me that the bends got even more difficult up ahead and it would be more sensible to go down again.

Being a true gentleman, he even offered to reverse my van down for me, which in the end I very happily let him do! I figured that he knew the bends better than I did, plus to be honest, I was feeling just a little shaken (but not stirred!) by my experience earlier. It must've been that nasty glare from the hedgehog!

I think he said that on average he rescued two or three vehicles each year from The Corkscrew. Some of the locals completely refuse to use it, and none of them could believe that it appeared in a guide book!

After a chat I gave them my sincere thanks and said my goodbyes. I'd had the pleasure of meeting some genuine, friendly and extremely helpful people!

We all lived happily ever after....


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## lotusanne (Oct 25, 2012)

Aww, a very heart warming ending Scampa!  You must have been soooo grateful to them, its lovely to hear stories of people helping others like that, thanks for sharing, and I dare say the members of this forum will rmember to give that one a wide berth!!  Though maybe not - a couple have already sounded like they were rising to the challenge!!


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## mark61 (Oct 25, 2012)

Great news, sounds like a well thought out recovery. Good job keeping on top of it and getting it organised while your MH was hanging over the edge. My first port of call in a tricky situation is the kettle, have a brew and hope everything will be alright. lol


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## Minisorella (Oct 26, 2012)

Did anyone else have flashbacks to _The Italian Job_? :lol-053:     Yikes! Lucky escape there Scampa and a happy ending as promised - thank goodness!  The kindness of strangers never ceases to amaze me... aren't people wonderful?


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## silverweed (Oct 26, 2012)

*SAFETY WARNING: &quot;THE CORKSCREW&quot;, Inverfarigaig, South Loch Ness.*

What luck, could have had a nasty end that one


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## rugbyken (Oct 26, 2012)

Last autumn in France we aimed to visit Conques officially the most beautifull village in the world (Sunday times) stopped on an aire nearby got up in the morning for Tom Tom to tell us Conques was only 15kms away so set off , when we went straight up should have realised not on main route but carried on , when we got above the clouds should have given it a second thought, when the French lady driver going up the hill as we descended shook her head as we passed we thought only that she didn't know I was an experienced driver and single track roads held no fear's , 
    As we went down the hill could see across the valley a lovely little village stopped to take some photos eventually realised this was where we were headed no road signage carried on got close to the village could see a picturesque stream in the valley stopped for more photo's , carried on and got to the bottom with a bridge over the stream barely 4ft wide my Bessie is about 7'6" and 23ft long luckily there was a gateway and after a 27 point turn got about checked all the way back up the hill no warning signs anywhere had to go back about 10k to find a main rd back, worth it though the village is stunning though a bit of a tourist trap


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## Teffy (Oct 26, 2012)

Scampa that was just scampish waiting until I'd gone to bed to finish your story.  Glad to hear it all worked out so easily in the end.  Yes, the world is full of lovely people, a great many of them in Scotland.


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## scampa (Oct 26, 2012)

That reminds me...

When you've driven over the mountain-top route towards Applecross and are descending down the other side, you see a road sign that reads "Toilets 2 miles ahead".

I couldn't help thinking that they might be 2 miles (or more) too late for some drivers!!


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## 2cv (Oct 26, 2012)

scampa said:


> That reminds me...
> 
> When you've driven over the mountain-top route towards Applecross and are descending down the other side, you see a road sign that reads "Toilets 2 miles ahead".
> 
> I couldn't help thinking that they might be 2 miles (or more) too late for some drivers!!



I was over there recently in the 2cv, agree about the toilets! I met a group of traction avants touring Scotland after the ICCCR at Harrogate in dense fog on the summit. Can't wait to try the corkscrew in the 2cv.


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## scampa (Oct 26, 2012)

The idea of this thread was to warn and discourage anyone from driving The Corkscrew, although that seems to have had mixed results!

If anyone is silly enough to attempt it, then please make sure that you have a suitable vehicle and take extra special care.   :drive:


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## Teffy (Oct 26, 2012)

scampa said:


> The idea of this thread was to warn and discourage anyone from driving The Corkscrew, although that seems to have had mixed results!
> 
> If anyone is silly enough to attempt it, then please make sure that you have a suitable vehicle and take extra special care.   :drive:



It's called natural selection, Scampa.  There will always be daft beggars who will try anything.  The sensible ones learn from others.
You can never be sure what will happen though.  The worst thing that ever happened to us was at Mull of Kintyre.  The road wasn't that bad, the trouble was that it just suddenly disappeared without warning into a dense fog and we literally couldn't see anything at all. That was quite scary.


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## Dowel (Feb 3, 2019)

scampa said:


> DON'T ATTEMPT IT.....  especially in a long wheel base, rear wheel drive, fully laden vehicle!!  :scared:



Good story but you haven't said how long your van is. At what length and width do you think the road becomes impassable?

EDIT: no good video of climbing Corkscrew but this gives an idea: The Corkscrew - Inverfarigaig - Loch Ness - K1600
YouTube


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## mariesnowgoose (Feb 3, 2019)

Dowel said:


> Good story but you haven't said how long your van is. At what length and width do you think the road becomes impassable?
> 
> EDIT: no good video of climbing Corkscrew but this gives an idea: The Corkscrew - Inverfarigaig - Loch Ness - K1600
> YouTube




Have you noticed the dates on this thread, Dowel? 
Nearly 7 years ago... don't know if scampa is still around to answer your question!


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## yorkslass (Feb 4, 2019)

mariesnowgoose said:


> Have you noticed the dates on this thread, Dowel?
> Nearly 7 years ago... don't know if scampa is still around to answer your question!



Just watch on catchup the programme about crossing the highlands featuring Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison. Oddly enough it was on this weekend gone.
Sometimes it's  entertaining reading old threads, a glimpse into the past. Good to see some members are still active too.


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## Pauljenny (Feb 4, 2019)

What a fascinating thread!
What made Dowel decide to pick it up, after all these years?
.
Call me suspicious... But look at the first 4 letters of the O.P.s user name...?


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## Deleted member 5816 (Feb 4, 2019)

Paul if you read the other thread  on car journeys by Marie I posted this link yesterday at 14.27. 

Alf





Pauljenny said:


> What a fascinating thread!
> What made Dowel decide to pick it up, after all these years?
> .
> Call me suspicious... But look at the first 4 letters of the O.P.s user name...?


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## Dowel (Feb 4, 2019)

mariesnowgoose said:


> Have you noticed the dates on this thread, Dowel?
> Nearly 7 years ago... don't know if scampa is still around to answer your question!



Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I might have dropped off the perch without ever seeing a reply!

No I didn't notice the date, but it was a good link which I enjoyed reading and for which I thank Alf. 

I did rather wonder if it was a tall story but as it wasn't written as an "ego boosting tale" decided to take it at face value.

I would like to take a crack at Corkscrew, maybe in the van but better on the motorcycle!


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## Deleted member 5816 (Feb 4, 2019)

If in a short wheelbase van as in my post on the other thread it is doable coming down but beware underslung water tanks. 
We managed in a Auto - Sleepers Flair many years ago. 
Alf




Dowel said:


> Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I might have dropped off the perch without ever seeing a reply!
> 
> No I didn't notice the date, but it was a good link which I enjoyed reading and for which I thank Alf.
> 
> ...


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## yorkslass (Feb 4, 2019)

Alf said:


> If in a short wheelbase van as in my post on the other thread it is doable coming down but beware underslung water tanks.
> We managed in a Auto - Sleepers Flair many years ago.
> Alf



Having watched it the other night Alf, i think sharks pony is the way to go unless there's a mad Motorhomer about.


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## landoboguy (Feb 4, 2019)

overview of it

YouTube


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## trixie88 (Feb 4, 2019)

dont much care how old the thread it......jolly good and entertaining......ohhh my, what a position to be in.

reminds me of watching utube....worlds best coach.bus driver........he was doing a multi point turn with his back wheels overhanging a big drop.......

THANK YOU...


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