Edinburgh, Isle of Mull & Fort William, 12 Days

It begins at the Geismühle Ost service area on the A57 near Krefeld, or you make your own way straight to the IJmuiden–Newcastle ferry. Since it is a night crossing you arrive rested in the northeast of England the next morning, machine and luggage along with you.

After the breakfast buffet on board the stage runs past a section of the Roman Hadrian's Wall and along the Kielder Water reservoir to the border with Scotland. It carries on through the Scottish Borders to the first hotel in Edinburgh, where there is time for the old town before dinner.

On the way to the first base hotel in Ballater, inside Cairngorms National Park, comes Edradour, the smallest distillery in the country. After that the route crosses the Cairnwell Pass, also known as the Devil's Elbow, the highest tarred pass in Great Britain.

The day loop is all about castles and stones: Dunnottar Castle on its cliff above the sea, the stone circle at Easter Aquhorthies, the Maiden Stone and Craigievar Castle. In between lie winding roads right through the Cairngorms National Park.

Through the Cairngorms National Park and the Highlands the route passes several distilleries on the way to Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, where the second base hotel waits. Depending on time and weather the Glenfiddich Distillery can be visited on the way.

Inverness and the country around it offer plenty to see. Anyone who would rather not sit still can take the short loop along Loch Ness of around 100 kilometres; the rest of the day is yours to spend as you like.

Today the group leaves Inverness and rides over numerous single track roads into the thinly settled northwest of the Highlands, as far as the hotel in Ullapool. The west coast shows its own character here, with its many sea lochs.

A good stretch runs down the west coast to the third base hotel in Fort William. The high point of the day is the visit to Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich, ancestral seat of Clan Macrae and a well-known filming location for Highlander.

Today the Isle of Mull is on the programme, with winding coastal roads and water in sight almost throughout. On the way lies the Glenfinnan Viaduct, known from several Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express crosses the arched bridge.

On the way back east the route runs through the Trossachs National Park with its dense forests and quiet lochs, a relaxed close to the Highland stages after the long days in the far northwest. The night is spent in the Cumbernauld area.

The final stage in Scotland leads back to Newcastle upon Tyne, from where the ferry sets off for IJmuiden again. Before that come small, winding roads through the Borders and the northeast of England one more time.

Time to say goodbye: after docking at IJmuiden the group heads together or individually to the Geismühle West service area and on home from there. Behind you lie around 2,900 kilometres through Scotland and northern England.