GLE across Scotland
WHO NEEDS ROADS WHEN YOU’VE GOT A SERIOUSLY TYRED 4x4? NOT US...
From coast to coast, without using one public road. In a Merc more used to pootling around town
“The route passed through the most spectacular scenery in the British Isles”
Driving from a beach on the Cromarty Firth – an arm of the Moray Firth that delves a probing fnger into the eastern side of Scotland from the North Sea just above Inverness – to Ullapool on the western shore, would usually take about an hour and a half. It’s a smidgen under 65 miles via the A835, and even though the roads are small, it’s not really a problem. But what if you were to complete said coast-to-coast journey without actually using any… y’know… roads?
It takes a wee bit longer, for a start. And a lot more organising. TopGear is aware of both of these facts, because we’ve done it. Coast to coast across Scotland, without using public tarmac, over two days and at an average speed of just 4mph. In a standard Mercedes-Benz GLE.
Both of those things probably need qualifcation though: one, the GLE came shod with “TrailBlade” tyres, last seen doing duty on some sort of industrial mining truck, and two: Mercedes had organised the entire event. That meant liaising with the 11 Scottish estates that make up the route, unlocking many gates and barriers between the various places, moving a few boulders and arranging a couple of small but important river crossings. We had a dozen cars – mostly of-road-hardy G-Wagens, a couple of GLS and
TG’s lonely little G LE–a G equipped with a satellite wif link up and cappuccino machine (seriously) and several of-road driving instructors to make sure we didn’t get lost or fall in a loch.
Mostly, the route fickered along unpaved estate roads and felds, avoiding the actual road at all times, through some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the British Isles. It took us through bogs and rivers, several of which would have given pause if you were attempting such a thing on your own, and via lonely crofts and outposts where local landowners are actually trying to reintroduce wolves to keep the burgeoning deer population to a manageable level.
We emerged 48 hours later by the beach in Ullapool, on a golf course. Reminded, in no uncertain terms, that the average 4x4 SUV has capabilities galactically in excess of what most people use them for, that there are still incredible adventures to be had in the UK, and that if you want world-beating scenery, you don’t need to look as far as you think.