TEAM ADVENTURE
The PC team attack the loftiest lane in the UK and have the drive of their lives
It was meant to be a swift blast back from our winter adventure in the Highlands, but at the last minute we’ve decided to take a detour. On a road junkie’s tick list, the highest road in the UK must feature somewhere, and seeing as the sun was making a rare appearance, we chose to give it a go. It would only add a few hours to our return trip and my Fiat Coupé 20v was still in one piece. Game on.
Matt George sniffs the air as we prepare to leave Beauly and takes the obvious decision to lower the roof on his E36 once we hit the big hills, while our man Craig Cheetham sizes up his Primera and decides not to press Sport mode on his auto gearbox (‘It doesn’t make an awful lot of difference’). Off we set, south past Inverness and then up to Slochd summit on the A9.
Then it’s time to leave the big road and its rather annoying average speed cameras and head on to the roads less travelled; the sparsely trafficked A-roads of the Cairngorms. This is where the real adventure will begin.
From Carrbridge we head towards Grantown on Spey, acutely aware that off to our right the Cairngorms are sugar-frosted with snow; and also that, with every mile, the roads seem to get more and more interesting. They’re also becoming even emptier, especially after we turn right off the A95 towards Tomintoul on the A939 – which is often closed due to deep snow.
What an environment – wild country all around us, and winding roads with undulations that are testing all three of our sub-£1500 modern classics. Matt George, now topless (the BMW, that is) wringing every ounce of power out of his 1.8-litre lump and I’m playing tunes with the Fiat’s five cylinders.
Craig has drawn a slightly shorter straw – he is charged with taking the photos today and he is also in a car that was built to provide safe and comfortable family transport with minimal input from the driver. His reports of an automatic gearbox that, as the hills steepen, is becoming increasingly unable to select an appropriate ratio keep both Matt and me thoroughly amused.
The smiles broaden as we head higher and the sun beats down. We’re revelling in one of those special cut-glass winter days when the views go on for miles, focus sharpened by the near frozen air. It’s a feast for every sense; and by the time we reach Tomintoul we need a brew. Which we find at the W
