Lukas

Together with my friends, we have been planning a trip around UK for a long time now, them in the car, and me on my motorcycle.
When preparing for the trip I read about the Ducati 60k event and realized that the dates for part of that trip, were around the same time our trip was planned so I decided to apply. Moreover, apart from exploring the UK, having a chance to test a V4 Rally sounded like an amazing opportunity as I was part of Ducati family already, owning Multistrada 950s that I brought with me to the UK.

When It turned out that my application succeeded and Ducati UK invited me to take part it that adventure, I didn’t think twice – we immediately re-adjusted our initial plans, to make it all
possible. Our adventure had started on Saturday, 29th of June.

We spent a few days driving around Cotswolds and Wales, and finally on the 2nd of July, we arrived at Ducati Preston to collect the V4 Rally, Martyn and the Ducati Preston crew warmly welcomed us, and after re-packing and taking some photos, we finally hit the road, this is where the main part of that journey starts for me!

Initially, we planned to visit the Isle of Man, but because of the tight schedule, we decided to visit it next time, heading straight to the Lake District.
First stop – Backbarrow and Lakeland Motor Museum – it has an imposing collection of
30,000(!) exhibits, including vehicles of different shapes and forms, cars, and of course
motorcycles! We learn a lot about the Isle’s famous TT races thanks to a special museum display that pays tribute to the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) and that contains an overview of the history of that legendary motorcycle race starting from 1907! Another display worth mentioning was the exhibition dedicated to the racing career of Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell. There was something for Ducatisti as well, so keep your eyes open when visiting!

After having lunch in a restaurant nearby, we headed to Coniston Water and then we searched for Swinside Stone Circle – unfortunately the only way to get to the stone seems to be on foot – we gave up and continue driving via Fell Road, where we found some amazing Lake District views. It started getting late, so we headed towards Holling Head Campsite, located in a beautiful and remote valley. When we arrived, it turned out we were there all by ourselves, and the whole comp site was ours. We set our tents and fireplace and had a great time chatting and absorbing great views.
On Wednesday, we were wandering around Lake District, and accidentally we drove through a Nuclear Plant near Seascale, apart from the impressive power plant architecture, we had
experienced some offroad paths: nothing too hard, but and an opportunity to switch Multistrada into off-road mode. Even though the track was quite easy – I still was
massively impressed by the way this bike handled its weight – it was an agile bike that built a lot of confidence, even though it was wet and slippery.
From the power plant, we headed to Buttermere Lake, where we decided to leave our vehicles and go for a little trekking, to catch some lake view from above.
We continued our ride, from Buttermere via road B5289 – Honister Pass towards Keswick town, where I did a little shopping and had some proper lamb pie. From Keswick, we got to Lowther Castle but unfortunately, the place was already closed, so we were only where able to check it from the outside. Lowther Castle was the last day of the trip I spent with my friends as they had their flight from London the next day. So, we quickly drove all the way up north to Glasgow, where I stayed since there were some heavy rains – I booked Airbnb accommodation and stay overnight.
The weather got much better on Thursday, so I got back to Ducati Glasgow – my solo trip will take only one day as in the evening I’m picking up my fiancé from Edinburgh airport, she will be my passenger for the rest of the trip. I’m happy that I will be able to share that adventure with her but also super curious about her experience of riding V4 with a pillion and her impression. First thing first tho – I need to make sure we can both pack in those Ducati cases – so I leave some space. Since I have a whole day of solo riding, I decided to get back south, staying it Scotland to check the Galloway Forest Park briefly, I’m visiting beautiful Loch Doon and Lock Don Castle ruins, and from there decide to check the coast, so I’m heading to Ayr. The weather is a bit windy but overall beautiful and sunny, still having plenty of time I decided to do a coast trip; through Glasgow and Edinburgh I leave Scotland just for a moment, to pay a visit to a stunning Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.
From there, heading back to Edinburgh where I booked the place before – around midnight I pick up Ola from the airport, next day we want to wander around Edinburgh before we go up North to the famous Highlands, as the next stop is Isle of Skye!

The next morning, we paid a visit to the Waterstone library, from its cafe on the third floor, we found a beautiful vista of Edinburgh Castle, we also paid a visit to Victoria Street, which
supposedly was an inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. When in Edinburgh I checked our options for staying in the highlands. We go north, taking a break
at Loch Long, we grab lunch in Arrochar town, passing Loch Restill and Loch Fyne we head towards Oban town where we booked our camp. In Edinburgh our host warned us about highlands midgets, tiny little insects that gather in clouds and can be an actual issue – thankfully we experienced them only once, on one of the stops when doing pictures.
After spending a night in a camp with a beautiful coastal view – we pack our gear and head to the Isle of Skye, destination Neist Point Lighthouse – the twisty way brought us amazing
views, and apart from short but intense rain showers at Fort William, we still are pretty lucky with the weather as it’s mostly warm and sunny. Neist Point is one of the most famous lighthouses in Scotland, near the township of Glendale. We make a short walk down towards the lighthouse, having stunning views of the high cliffs and the lighthouse itself. It’s pretty late and we need to get back to Fort William.
Driving slowly, we arrived at a place only after midnight – that day we had covered 306 miles on twisty roads, around 9 hours: it was a real test for us and the bike. V4 really had passed that test, it was super comfortable not only for me but also for Ola. On the way back she felt a bit too comfortable as she was falling asleep and I felt her head falling when she knocked on my helmet with hers.

The next day we decided to visit places around Fort William, so we
visited Glennfinnan Viaduct – another place that draws a lot of attention from Harry Potter fans as much of the sweeping scenery during the characters’ journey to Hogwarts was filmed in. In Corpach village, we paid a visit to a Corpach Caol shipwreck, a great fishing vessel that rests on Caol Beach, from which we had an amazing view of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the whole of the United Kingdom. We visited the famous Loch Ness. We didn’t spot Nessy but we had really good fish and chips.
From there we went south – we passed the famous Glen Coe and Three Sisters, the weather was perfect, the sunlight soft and warm and the visibility was perfect – endless green hills are truly breathtaking: I can say that those views where one of the most beautiful things I saw in my life.
We camp in small-town Drymen at Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, not far away from Loch
Lomond.

The next day, early morning, we explore nearby Devil’s Pulpit, 70ft deep gorge; afterward, we head toward Stirling, where we pay a visit to William Wallace Monument, a 67m tower that commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero. From Stirling, we are heading back to Glasgow, where we spend the rest of the day wandering around the city.

On Tuesday morning, after visiting Glasgow Cathedral and Wallace Memorial we reached our Ducati Glasgow, to unfortunately say goodbye to Multistrada V4 rally, passing it to the next rider that was already waiting at the place.

It was an amazing adventure, huge thanks to Ducati UK for that opportunity. And about the bike itself – Multistrada V4 Rally – all I read and watched about this bike turned out to be true, for me, V4 Rally is the best big adventure bike money can buy at the moment. Time to start saving.