Island hopping in a 718 GT4

Written by Jonathan & Adela Edgoose

It was a spur of the moment thing: let’s drive to the Orkneys with the dog in a Skoda Yeti so my wife, Adela, could visit the many archaeological sites on the islands. Unfortunately for Gershwin the dog, he was quickly excluded from the plans, opening up the chance to take the Python Green 718 GT4 instead. 
 
It’s a long way to the Highlands from Winchester, but we managed to get to Tebay in Cumbria in just four hours for some cake, then went on to the first overnight stop at the Trigony House Hotel close to Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway. We’d recommend this place. It’s not too much of a detour off the A74M and it gives you the chance to visit places like Drumlanrig Castle and Gardens, which we did. There are some fun roads in Dumfries too, such as the A702 between Thornhill and Abington.
 
A relative from Scotland advised that we should stop for a break in Culross, which has featured in many films and the TV series Outlander. Sitting on the north bank of the Forth to the east of Falkirk, this 16th century village grew on the back of the coal industry. National Trust for Scotland has been preserving its historical buildings, which include Culross Palace, since the 1930s.
 
We headed north and, while skirting around Perth, stopped off for more cake at Branklyn Garden on the edge of the city. It’s well worth a visit and a real oasis close to the A93. We then followed the A93, noting that we were now on the scenic snow route through the Cairngorms towards our next destination, Dalmunzie Castle Hotel in the Spittal of Glenshee. The A93 is a great driving road and just got better the further into the Cairngorms we travelled.



Northern delights
The Dalmunzie Castle Hotel was interesting – not posh but great service and staff, with plenty of opportunities for walks in the glen. The many stags around the hotel were bellowing, perhaps to warn each other about the arrival of three generations of a Danish family we met in the bar. They were staying at Dalmunzie for a week of stalking and complained bitterly about the effect Brexit was having on taking antler trophies home!
 
In the morning, we continued along the scenic snow route up the A93 for about 20 miles, stopping at Balmoral Castle to walk around the gardens. We then went on to Ballater, turning left onto the A939. Don’t be tempted to take the B road shortcut. This is another great drive through the snow-capped Cairngorms, with lots of gradient changes and sweeping bends past the ski slopes to enjoy. There’s also very little traffic in October.
 
We followed the road to Grantown-on-Spey, then onto the A9 through Inverness and towards the north, stopping at Dornoch for another break. The A9 east coast route is not my favourite but, with little traffic and decent weather, it wasn’t too arduous and we reached our next stop, the Forss Hotel in Thurso, ready for our crossing to the Orkneys the next day. The crossing from Scrabster to Stromness took 90 minutes and we spied the Old Man of Hoy on the way. However, the weather quickly deteriorated and we arrived on Orkney Mainland in heavy rain.
 


Ancient wonders
There was no turning back, so we headed straight for Skara Brae. It was blowing a gale and pouring with rain but, after a hot chocolate and more cake, we braved the elements to visit the best-preserved neolithic village in Western Europe, dating from around 3,000BC. There are 10 clustered houses and an exhibition centre. We also visited Skaill House next door, which dated from 1620 and was home to Major Malcolm Macrae, who was responsible for the early work in uncovering Skara Brae.
 
We stayed on Orkney for three nights at the Lynnfield House Hotel. This is a real gem and is owned and run by Malcolm Stout. Malcolm is the proud owner of a Jowett Jupiter, with a Maserati Quattroporte as a daily runner. He’s a real character and runs a lovely hotel with top-notch food and very smart rooms. It’s a good base, being near to Kirkwall and next door to the Highland Park distillery.
 
While on the Islands, we also visited the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, all well-preserved neolithic relics. Since the weather had perked up, it was easy to enjoy being outside all day too. We also saw the Churchill Barriers, built by Italian POWs to deter U-boat attacks, and the Scapa Flow Museum. Reached by ferry from Houton, the latter is a brilliant museum on Hoy that takes you through the base’s history through two world wars.



Homeward bound
After enjoying the museum, we returned to mainland Scotland and headed for Kylesku along the NC500 route. The road is great in places and challenging in others. We received a very friendly welcome at the Store Café in Bettyhill. No cake this time, but the chips were very welcome.
 
We also stopped to admire the view at Loch Eriboll before the lovely section of road between Durness and Ullapool. We actually stayed in Kylesku for two nights and drove up and down this section a few times, deviating to Lochinver for another section of A837. The food at the Kylesku Hotel was great, the room was tiny and the bill was unrealistically large.
 
We then headed home via Edinburgh, with an overnight stay at Prestonfield House Hotel. This was a real treat, with truly amazing food and a massive room. I would definitely recommend it for a special occasion.
 
Finally, we got back to Winchester, having travelled 1,900 miles in 10 days. We had a lovely time and Orkney is well worth the effort. You can definitely have fun along the way, but I’m glad we did it in the GT4. The dog may disagree.

This feature was written by Jonathan & Adela Edgoose, and first appeared in the March 2025 issue of our monthly Club magazine, Porsche Post. Join today to receive your copy, as well as enjoying a host of exclusive member benefits and savings.