So it has happened again, following on from LUBe last year and other previous pointless challenges, Pingu (Gary), Deano1712 (Mark) and I decided we needed another crazy caper, and having seen this post (https://zroadster.org/threads/zroadster-aa-box-challenge.59395/) about AA boxes we decided we would go and find them all in 1 mAAd roadtrip.
The challenge was simple. Out of roughly 1000 AA sentry boxes made, only 18 are remaining in their original locations across the length and breadth of mainland Britain.
Planning for this kind of thing is easy – basically we give Gary an idea, we sit back for a day or 2, and then wait for the influx of emails, texts and maps to come through!! To be fair, he is bloody good at it, as previous trips have shown, and if it was left to me and Mark then we would still be discussing it this time next year.
So, after just a couple of days, my phone had started to resemble Churchill’s war room with multiple different maps and routes but eventually, after a few different ideas and discussions about dates and availability, the final route was created, dates agreed, and lodgings were booked.
The Route…….
........and The Timetable
As I say…. Gary is very good at it !!
The planned route would take us 1971 miles, crammed over 5 long days.
The chosen dates were 5 days from the 7th to the 11th of August. We would all set off from our various homes and meet like long lost lovers in Gretna Green.
And so, some, not-so-wise, 50/60 year old men, set off in our cherished little Z3s, for 5 days of hooning across brilliant roads for absolutely no good reason – seriously someone should invent a TV show about it….
Day 1 – Home via Gretna Green to Tain – 429 miles – 9.5 hours – 1st AA Box #723
Day 1
We set off from home, and despite the rain, the top was lowered and was only ever raised when we got to the hotel each night – much to the bemusement of many motorists on the M6 as well as SWMBO whose eyelashes fell off as we ploughed on through the storm!!
However, following 2 stops for fuel, the rain had finally given way to sunshine, and we arrived at our agreed rendezvous point, the Old Toll Bar café in Gretna Green. We were the first to arrive at 11:30 and ordered a tuna sandwich and a breakfast butty….
30 minutes later, with the 3 members of staff busy doing not a lot, the unmistakable sound of a v8 signalled the arrival of Mark. Burbling and gurgling beautifully, the rumble would have would have rattled the plates - if we weren’t still waiting for the food!!
Mark went to order his food but was informed there was a 30-minute delay on food due to a rush of orders (there was 11 people in the café, including us 3 and the 3-bumbling staff) so he settled for a simple coffee and a scone, and we proceeded to wait for our esteemed leader.
At 12.15, Gary arrived, closely followed by our tuna and breakfast sandwiches !! Mark was still waiting for his order, so Gary duly kept it simple and ordered a cup of tea…
With time ticking on and Mark and Gary looking like extra’s from Oliver, SWMBO shared her tuna sandwich with them while I struggled to eat my breakfast butty which was so burnt that it had obviously been cooked for the full 45 minutes it took for it to be served !!
Eventually, Mark got up and got his scone himself – whilst at the same time making a 4th request for Gary’s cup of tea.
We begrudgingly paid and finally left about 1 o’clock with the conclusion that getting married in Gretna Green is easier and quicker than getting a brew.
So began 5 days of (s)miles.
We always do……
The roads may change, but looking at these 2 “arses” is a view that I have enjoyed many times…
Box number 1 on our challenge was AA Sentry box 723 based in Cappercleuch, near to St. Mary’s Loch, approximately 20 miles out of Moffat – it’s one of my favourite roads, and a great start to the journey.
We found the box easily – surely this was going to be a sign of a smooth trip. However, not long after leaving box 723, Gary announced over the walkie talkies that while we had stopped at the first box he had lost one of his EarPods. Confused we asked how he had not noticed something that seemed so obvious, but he said he only uses them to listen to sat-nav instructions and therefore only noticed when Waze stopped giving directions in stereo.
AA Sentry Box 723 – Cappercleuch
After leaving Cappercleuch we started the 230 miles to Tain, a picturesque little village 35 miles north of Inverness. Initially, the roads driving up were a pleasure, open country roads, hardly any traffic, pure driving bliss until we reached Edinburgh and a trip across the impressive Queensferry Crossing with views to the equally impressive Forth Bridges
Queensferry Bridge
After Edinburgh, the journey continued onto Perth where we were delayed for 30 minutes due to a car that had spun and been written off on the main roundabout – something that unfortunately, I know all too well !
It was while we were driving through Perth that we came across our first bout of road-rage – a chap in his bright blue Matiz (possibly one of the worst looking cars and colours ever) who was not happy being overtaken by us and proceeded to wring every one of its 60 something horses to get back in front of us at any opportunity, regardless of the high pitched screaming of his poor engine, other road users or our safety
(Image for reference)
His antics were made even more humorous when the slow creeping of the traffic jam meant that he eventually ended up surrounded by the 3 of us – the awkwardness of the situation was lightened further by the 3 of us talking and laughing about him on the radios while he starred directly ahead refusing any form of eye contact.
Eventually we crept past the wreckage on the roundabout, left Mr Angry-and-Awkward behind and set off up the never ending A9 towards Inverness.
Unlike the road out of Moffat, this is NOT one of my favourite roads. It is endless with miles upon miles of average speed cameras interrupted by the occasional dual carriageway where you can get past the various lorries, coaches and the occasional blue Matiz.
Thankfully, the mind-numbing journey was broken again on 2 occasions by Gary. Firstly, he announced that Waze had stopped giving him directions completely, signalling the loss of the 2nd EarPod. Ironically the loss of the 2nd one was when we stopped for fuel, and he had been looking for the first one!!
Then, whilst driving through an even duller section of roadworks, Gary announced that he couldn’t wait any longer and needed to answer a call of nature before he promptly drove between roadwork cones and onto the closed section of road.
Without thinking, Mark and I duly followed like obedient puppies, followed by 3 other cars until they realised and quickly rejoined the traffic. Gary got out of the car and disappeared over the embankment to answer “his call” leaving me and Mark to sit and watch as the unhappy Hi-Viz brigade slowly made their way towards us in their truck.
The unhappy chap in his bright, ill-fitting vest came up to the car and asked if we had broken down. Thinking on my feet I apologised as sincerely as possible before I said that it was not the car, but the driver who had a medical condition and needed to take an emergency break.
I was quite proud of my little white lie as the guy nodded and seemed to be understanding of our colleague’s misfortune until Gary appeared back from over the embankment adjusting his shorts whilst laughing and shouting “thanks for that mate – I was busting”. I knew the look Mr Hi-Viz gave me was not good and so we quickly apologised again and filtered our way back into 20mph of average speed boredom before he had chance to radio for people in different coloured vests.
After yet another fuel stop, the A9 finally ended, and we reached our digs for the first night, a beautiful little B&B in Tain which is 1 mile from the Glenmorangie distillery and 4 miles from the Balblair distillery. With these being 2 of my favourite whiskeys, it’s a place that I think I could move to!!
After checking in and dropping the bags off, we left our guesthouse and took a short 10-minute stroll in search of food, the first couple of places were either closed or closing but finally we stumbled upon a lovely little restaurant called Greens who agreed to stay open for us.
After a lovely meal and well-earned couple of beers, we returned to our equally impressive bedrooms and turned in for the night.
429 miles, 1 box down, 17 to go….
The challenge was simple. Out of roughly 1000 AA sentry boxes made, only 18 are remaining in their original locations across the length and breadth of mainland Britain.
Planning for this kind of thing is easy – basically we give Gary an idea, we sit back for a day or 2, and then wait for the influx of emails, texts and maps to come through!! To be fair, he is bloody good at it, as previous trips have shown, and if it was left to me and Mark then we would still be discussing it this time next year.
So, after just a couple of days, my phone had started to resemble Churchill’s war room with multiple different maps and routes but eventually, after a few different ideas and discussions about dates and availability, the final route was created, dates agreed, and lodgings were booked.
The Route…….
........and The Timetable
As I say…. Gary is very good at it !!
The planned route would take us 1971 miles, crammed over 5 long days.
The chosen dates were 5 days from the 7th to the 11th of August. We would all set off from our various homes and meet like long lost lovers in Gretna Green.
And so, some, not-so-wise, 50/60 year old men, set off in our cherished little Z3s, for 5 days of hooning across brilliant roads for absolutely no good reason – seriously someone should invent a TV show about it….
Day 1 – Home via Gretna Green to Tain – 429 miles – 9.5 hours – 1st AA Box #723
Day 1
We set off from home, and despite the rain, the top was lowered and was only ever raised when we got to the hotel each night – much to the bemusement of many motorists on the M6 as well as SWMBO whose eyelashes fell off as we ploughed on through the storm!!
However, following 2 stops for fuel, the rain had finally given way to sunshine, and we arrived at our agreed rendezvous point, the Old Toll Bar café in Gretna Green. We were the first to arrive at 11:30 and ordered a tuna sandwich and a breakfast butty….
30 minutes later, with the 3 members of staff busy doing not a lot, the unmistakable sound of a v8 signalled the arrival of Mark. Burbling and gurgling beautifully, the rumble would have would have rattled the plates - if we weren’t still waiting for the food!!
Mark went to order his food but was informed there was a 30-minute delay on food due to a rush of orders (there was 11 people in the café, including us 3 and the 3-bumbling staff) so he settled for a simple coffee and a scone, and we proceeded to wait for our esteemed leader.
At 12.15, Gary arrived, closely followed by our tuna and breakfast sandwiches !! Mark was still waiting for his order, so Gary duly kept it simple and ordered a cup of tea…
With time ticking on and Mark and Gary looking like extra’s from Oliver, SWMBO shared her tuna sandwich with them while I struggled to eat my breakfast butty which was so burnt that it had obviously been cooked for the full 45 minutes it took for it to be served !!
Eventually, Mark got up and got his scone himself – whilst at the same time making a 4th request for Gary’s cup of tea.
We begrudgingly paid and finally left about 1 o’clock with the conclusion that getting married in Gretna Green is easier and quicker than getting a brew.
So began 5 days of (s)miles.
We always do……
The roads may change, but looking at these 2 “arses” is a view that I have enjoyed many times…
Box number 1 on our challenge was AA Sentry box 723 based in Cappercleuch, near to St. Mary’s Loch, approximately 20 miles out of Moffat – it’s one of my favourite roads, and a great start to the journey.
We found the box easily – surely this was going to be a sign of a smooth trip. However, not long after leaving box 723, Gary announced over the walkie talkies that while we had stopped at the first box he had lost one of his EarPods. Confused we asked how he had not noticed something that seemed so obvious, but he said he only uses them to listen to sat-nav instructions and therefore only noticed when Waze stopped giving directions in stereo.
AA Sentry Box 723 – Cappercleuch
After leaving Cappercleuch we started the 230 miles to Tain, a picturesque little village 35 miles north of Inverness. Initially, the roads driving up were a pleasure, open country roads, hardly any traffic, pure driving bliss until we reached Edinburgh and a trip across the impressive Queensferry Crossing with views to the equally impressive Forth Bridges
Queensferry Bridge
After Edinburgh, the journey continued onto Perth where we were delayed for 30 minutes due to a car that had spun and been written off on the main roundabout – something that unfortunately, I know all too well !
It was while we were driving through Perth that we came across our first bout of road-rage – a chap in his bright blue Matiz (possibly one of the worst looking cars and colours ever) who was not happy being overtaken by us and proceeded to wring every one of its 60 something horses to get back in front of us at any opportunity, regardless of the high pitched screaming of his poor engine, other road users or our safety
(Image for reference)
His antics were made even more humorous when the slow creeping of the traffic jam meant that he eventually ended up surrounded by the 3 of us – the awkwardness of the situation was lightened further by the 3 of us talking and laughing about him on the radios while he starred directly ahead refusing any form of eye contact.
Eventually we crept past the wreckage on the roundabout, left Mr Angry-and-Awkward behind and set off up the never ending A9 towards Inverness.
Unlike the road out of Moffat, this is NOT one of my favourite roads. It is endless with miles upon miles of average speed cameras interrupted by the occasional dual carriageway where you can get past the various lorries, coaches and the occasional blue Matiz.
Thankfully, the mind-numbing journey was broken again on 2 occasions by Gary. Firstly, he announced that Waze had stopped giving him directions completely, signalling the loss of the 2nd EarPod. Ironically the loss of the 2nd one was when we stopped for fuel, and he had been looking for the first one!!
Then, whilst driving through an even duller section of roadworks, Gary announced that he couldn’t wait any longer and needed to answer a call of nature before he promptly drove between roadwork cones and onto the closed section of road.
Without thinking, Mark and I duly followed like obedient puppies, followed by 3 other cars until they realised and quickly rejoined the traffic. Gary got out of the car and disappeared over the embankment to answer “his call” leaving me and Mark to sit and watch as the unhappy Hi-Viz brigade slowly made their way towards us in their truck.
The unhappy chap in his bright, ill-fitting vest came up to the car and asked if we had broken down. Thinking on my feet I apologised as sincerely as possible before I said that it was not the car, but the driver who had a medical condition and needed to take an emergency break.
I was quite proud of my little white lie as the guy nodded and seemed to be understanding of our colleague’s misfortune until Gary appeared back from over the embankment adjusting his shorts whilst laughing and shouting “thanks for that mate – I was busting”. I knew the look Mr Hi-Viz gave me was not good and so we quickly apologised again and filtered our way back into 20mph of average speed boredom before he had chance to radio for people in different coloured vests.
After yet another fuel stop, the A9 finally ended, and we reached our digs for the first night, a beautiful little B&B in Tain which is 1 mile from the Glenmorangie distillery and 4 miles from the Balblair distillery. With these being 2 of my favourite whiskeys, it’s a place that I think I could move to!!
After checking in and dropping the bags off, we left our guesthouse and took a short 10-minute stroll in search of food, the first couple of places were either closed or closing but finally we stumbled upon a lovely little restaurant called Greens who agreed to stay open for us.
After a lovely meal and well-earned couple of beers, we returned to our equally impressive bedrooms and turned in for the night.
429 miles, 1 box down, 17 to go….
