View Full Version : The best way to Scapa
I will be making my way oop north to Scapa next year, and I thought I would touch upon the wisdom of anybody who has travelled up there; such as what mode of transport works out best etc.
I had the idea of maybe making my way up by car or hired van, possibly staying nr Edinbrough on the first night with the following day spent on the road to catch a ferry from somewhere that serves Orkney.
Does this seem like a fair game plan? would be interested to hear of those who have actually done it.
ta, Rich.
I had the idea of maybe making my way up by car or hired van, possibly staying nr Edinbrough on the first night with the following day spent on the road to catch a ferry from somewhere that serves Orkney.
Does this seem like a fair game plan?
Depends - if your starting from Aberdeen then no.
How about a clue?
:=I had the idea of maybe making my way up by car or hired van, possibly staying nr Edinbrough on the first night with the following day spent on the road to catch a ferry from somewhere that serves Orkney.
:=
:=Does this seem like a fair game plan?
Depends - if your starting from Aberdeen then no.
How about a clue?
I'm coming up from Kent. Is Aberdeen the only ferry then?
angiemac
12-06-2003, 09:05
We're off to Scapa tomorrow. Taking 12 divers, a mini bus and a van and driving through the night to Scrabster for the ferry Saturday.
We've done it before (2 years ago) and it works really well. Designated drivers drive for a 4hour stretch before we stop for a break and a driver swop. I've not been one of the drivers but they have all told me it's OK, because the driving is split and everyone can get some shut-eye. You arrive in Scrabster in plenty of time to have a slap-up breakfast at the hotel on the top of the hill over looking the harbour.
Since no-bodies diving on the Saturday you get to sleep it off Saturday afternoon and are fresh for the first dive Sunday.
We're from Essex so if we can do it, it should be OK from Kent too.
Angie Mac
I'm coming up from Kent. Is Aberdeen the only ferry then?
No but its further north than Edinburgh so that would be a daft break point
We're off to Scapa tomorrow. Taking 12 divers, a mini bus and a van and driving through the night to Scrabster for the ferry Saturday.
We've done it before (2 years ago) and it works really well. Designated drivers drive for a 4hour stretch before we stop for a break and a driver swop. I've not been one of the drivers but they have all told me it's OK, because the driving is split and everyone can get some shut-eye. You arrive in Scrabster in plenty of time to have a slap-up breakfast at the hotel on the top of the hill over looking the harbour.
Since no-bodies diving on the Saturday you get to sleep it off Saturday afternoon and are fresh for the first dive Sunday.
We're from Essex so if we can do it, it should be OK from Kent too.
That's pretty much the way people I know have done it. If you want an over night then your best bet is likely to be Glasgow rather than Edinburgh and its more on the route. Personally though I would stop out of the cities, last time I drove north I stopped in a B&B in Blair Athol.
You can also fly if the boat will hire weight belts and cylinders. Couple of friends did that last year. I think the route is Stansted -> Aberdeen -> Scapa
HTH
Pete
We're off to Scapa tomorrow. Taking 12 divers, a mini bus and a van and driving through the night to Scrabster for the ferry Saturday.
We've done it before (2 years ago) and it works really well. Designated drivers drive for a 4hour stretch before we stop for a break and a driver swop. I've not been one of the drivers but they have all told me it's OK, because the driving is split and everyone can get some shut-eye. You arrive in Scrabster in plenty of time to have a slap-up breakfast at the hotel on the top of the hill over looking the harbour.
Since no-bodies diving on the Saturday you get to sleep it off Saturday afternoon and are fresh for the first dive Sunday.
We're from Essex so if we can do it, it should be OK from Kent too.
Angie Mac
Have done the same twice now except we left late on thursday night and arrived at Scrabster/Thurso on friday afternoon. This give you Friday Afternoon and night to chill out and mabye visit John o'groats (who ever he is)Get as drunk as you like and have all Saturday to recover from the trip and booze before diving on Sunday. but comming home we got off the Ferry on Saturday morning and came straight home arriving early hours Sunday
By the way travelling from South Wales
We're off to Scapa tomorrow. Taking 12 divers, a mini bus and a van and driving through the night to Scrabster for the ferry Saturday.
We've done it before (2 years ago) and it works really well. Designated drivers drive for a 4hour stretch before we stop for a break and a driver swop. I've not been one of the drivers but they have all told me it's OK, because the driving is split and everyone can get some shut-eye. You arrive in Scrabster in plenty of time to have a slap-up breakfast at the hotel on the top of the hill over looking the harbour.
Since no-bodies diving on the Saturday you get to sleep it off Saturday afternoon and are fresh for the first dive Sunday.
We're from Essex so if we can do it, it should be OK from Kent too.
Angie Mac
Cheers Angie, hope you have a good trip up there and of course safe diving...
Rich
Paul Oliver
16-06-2003, 23:29
Rich
We are also travelling up from Kent (Canterbury) next year and have planned to use a mini-bus and van for the 12 of use and to drive through.
We looked at flights, flying Thurs was very cheap but the last leg is a cripler to our budget. So we are also looking at a fly drive option, flying to Aberdeen Thurs, drink beer with the natives then drive up the rest subject to hire availability.
A Ferry from Aberdeen has also been mentioned/recomended.
I have also had recomended a stop off in the Farnes with a couple of days diving, and a quick dip in Loch Ness on route, though you must be aware of the altitude change on the route further North so tissue codes can become a problem.
I have done the trip as far as Avimore before and did a full days skiing on arrival for the first lift and it was fine.
Have fun.
Regards
Paul
norman lomax
17-06-2003, 11:37
Hi
I've travelled to scapa from london many times using different routes. By far the easiest is get a trolley ( black and decker is superb)and catch the train ( gasp!)to Aberdeen, walk 200yds to the ferry ( brand new boat)taking you to Orkneys. Get your boat skipper to organise a minibus to pick you up...( they do it all the time). Taking kit on the train is suprisingly no problem. Just load it into the guards van. I've taken groups of 12 this way complete with twin sets and stages. The hardest bit is getting to Euston , after that it's plain sailing. Back at work on Monday fully refreshed !
Hi
I've travelled to scapa from london many times using different routes. By far the easiest is get a trolley ( black and decker is superb)and catch the train ( gasp!)to Aberdeen, walk 200yds to the ferry ( brand new boat)taking you to Orkneys. Get your boat skipper to organise a minibus to pick you up...( they do it all the time). Taking kit on the train is suprisingly no problem. Just load it into the guards van. I've taken groups of 12 this way complete with twin sets and stages. The hardest bit is getting to Euston , after that it's plain sailing. Back at work on Monday fully refreshed !
How long is the journey and what do I expect to pay for a return fare? (train and ferry)
thanks.
norman lomax
19-06-2003, 09:40
How long is the journey and what do I expect to pay for a return fare? (train and ferry)
thanks.
Direct train is about 7 hrs . Can't remember cost, take a look at <a href="http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/" >http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/</a>. You'll have to find ferry details yourself.We catch the morning train from Euston, arrive in Stromness about 10.00pm, time for a couple of pints and you don't start your diving week knackered. Return journey means overnight ferry to Aberdeen, back in London early Sunday afternoon.
Last trip we did was in November, one madman in our party decided he wanted to drive, he got stuck in Stromness for 3 days 'cos the weather was too bad for the Scrabster Ferry to sail across the Pentland Firth. The ferry to Aberdeen had no problems.
norman
:=How long is the journey and what do I expect to pay for a return fare? (train and ferry)
:=
:=thanks.
Direct train is about 7 hrs . Can't remember cost, take a look at <a href="http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/" >http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/</a>. You'll have to find ferry details yourself.We catch the morning train from Euston, arrive in Stromness about 10.00pm, time for a couple of pints and you don't start your diving week knackered. Return journey means overnight ferry to Aberdeen, back in London early Sunday afternoon.
Last trip we did was in November, one madman in our party decided he wanted to drive, he got stuck in Stromness for 3 days 'cos the weather was too bad for the Scrabster Ferry to sail across the Pentland Firth. The ferry to Aberdeen had no problems.
norman
cheers Norman. this whole scapa thing is beginning to sound a little like 'planes, train, and automobiles' !!!
thanks,
Rich.
Colin Barber
24-06-2003, 13:54
Rich
I organised a group to Scapa from Kent last year. The sequence of carriers was as follows:
Minibus to Luton airport
Easy Jet flight to Aberdeen (although the flight was full there was no hassle on baggage weight which was well over the maximum)
Minibus from Aberdeen airport to Aberdeen City
Lunch in excellent pub 10 minutes walk from the ferry terminal
Northlink Ferry from Aberdeen to Kirkwall (see hyperlink)
Minibus from Kirkwall to Stromness.
Door to door about 12 hours!!!!
I have details of accommodation in Stromness and phone numbers for the minibuses at Aberdeen and Kirkwall, if you need them send me an email.
Regards
Colin
Ben Field
03-07-2003, 11:48
Crikey! You guys have made it all so difficult!!!!!
I have been the last 3-4yrs...
Leave work in London Friday afternoon (4-5pm) drive to friends and pick them up (2-3 depending on car/no of tanks) leave London by 7-8pm.
Drive to Scrabster, taking turns, telling jokes, sleeping all the way (best to use a company Diesel if you have one!)
Get to Ferry terminal in time for a kip at about 6-7am
Easy! All these trains, plains etc is expensive, extra risk of loosing kit and tells me you're all too unfit to drive for 12 hours and dive the day after, in which case you shouldn't be going multi-day decompression diving anyway!!!
There and back in a reasonable car is 3-4 refuels, less than ?30 per person if you load up, I promise you nothing can compete on price.
Crikey! You guys have made it all so difficult!!!!!
I have been the last 3-4yrs...
Leave work in London Friday afternoon (4-5pm) drive to friends and pick them up (2-3 depending on car/no of tanks) leave London by 7-8pm.
Drive to Scrabster, taking turns, telling jokes, sleeping all the way (best to use a company Diesel if you have one!)
Get to Ferry terminal in time for a kip at about 6-7am
Easy! All these trains, plains etc is expensive, extra risk of loosing kit and tells me you're all too unfit to drive for 12 hours and dive the day after, in which case you shouldn't be going multi-day decompression diving anyway!!!
There and back in a reasonable car is 3-4 refuels, less than ?30 per person if you load up, I promise you nothing can compete on price.
This may be good for you but sounds hideous to me. To start with, your ?30 per person is based on the fact that your company is picking up the running costs of your car. The true overall cost is much higher.
Driving that distance has absolutely no appeal to me; I would prefer to not go than to do that.
Trains are not expensive. For example , a standard class return from London to Aberdeen is available at ?52 and takes about 7 hours. Not too expensive and less unpleasant than sitting in a car and less aggravation than driving. You would have to be pretty poor at looking after your kit to lose it on a train/plane. I just took all my gear ( tanks/weights inc. ) over to Cyprus last weekend for a few days diving the Zenobia.
You do not have to be unfit to dislike driving long distances btw.
When you add the true running cost of a car in, the savings are not that amazing ( if they exist at all )
Dave
nick kay
03-07-2003, 18:53
Sound like a "beat this", but here is (genuinely) what our club & a load of mates did Scapa last year
36 divers + 1 non-diving girlfriend
3 x Hard-boats
3 x B&Bs
1 48-seater (probably heavily overloaded) Coach. Pick ups at Scunthorpe (7pm), Doncaster (7.45pm), Pontefract (swap delivery drivers for "real" drivers), Wetherby (8.30pm). Two (3?) stops on the way, arrived Scrabster 7am Saturday morning. Breakfast at the Fishermans Mission, bought cheap gear for sale in Scrabster Harbour Car Park, Ferry across to Stromness
Hiring a coach was cheaper than driving...
The logistics of organising the trip (and collecting the approx ?11grand) were pretty horrific, but we all had a gret time. In fact most of the people who went have asked for the trip to be repeated in 2004 or 2005.
Ben Field
04-07-2003, 12:54
Opps, should have typed "joke" at the end of the unfit bit... sorry. :)
> This may be good for you but sounds hideous to me. To start
> with, your ?30 per person is based on the fact that your
> company is picking up the running costs of your car. The true > overall cost is much higher.
Running costs!!! That is the point of having a car :) If you have a car so new that you worry about running costs you should be more concerned with the 40-50% of its value you lost just by buying it.
But I digress...
> Trains are not expensive. For example , a standard class
> return from London to Aberdeen is available at ?52 and takes > about 7 hours. Not too expensive and less unpleasant than
> sitting in a car and less aggravation than driving.
NOT EXPENSIVE!!! That is horrendous! ?52 to sit next to some smelly tramp on a soggy sweaty seat and risk huge delays on a 100yr old rail system in need of billions of pounds of investment and it leaves you in Aberdeen, miles from Oakney, needing to take a longer more expensive ferry ride.
Driving isn't aggravating, other drivers are! You have to go 600miles, ignore them, 80% is done in almost 0 traffic north of the border, I really quite enjoy the blast across central Scotland at 3am, very relaxing.
You could drive up in air conditioned comfort listening to your own music or the regular wit of your mates, stop when and where you like etc....
Its a personnal choice of course but even so, if I wanted suffering I'd dive on the Essex coast! :)
> You would have to be pretty poor at looking after your kit to > lose it on a train/plane.
I fly all over the place for work, stuff is lost by someone on EVERY flight, I kid you not. Admittedly you'd have to be a chump to loose your luggage on a train, but you are more likely to leave something behind and not be able to get it back.
> When you add the true running cost of a car in, the savings
> are not that amazing ( if they exist at all )
Maybe, if you look at it like that, but I'd settle for that to enjoy the flexiblity and ease with which you can travel seamlessly to your detination. IMO Trains, planes and diving don't mix.
BEN
Running costs!!! That is the point of having a car If you have a car so new that you worry about running costs you should be more concerned with the 40-50% of its value you lost just by buying it.
The loss by purchase is a one off cost regardless of miles driven. A lot of it is due to the VAT element ( e.g. a ?10,000 car actually costs ?11750 ).
The running cost of a car is more than just the fuel cost
NOT EXPENSIVE!!! That is horrendous! ?52 to sit next to some smelly tramp on a soggy sweaty seat and risk huge delays on a 100yr old rail system in need of billions of pounds of investment and it leaves you in Aberdeen, miles from Oakney, needing to take a longer more expensive ferry ride.
?52 is not horrendous. And why totally make your objections seem stupid by exagerrating it. The GNER services up the east coast are fast and comfortable. If there are 4 of you travelling then you can get a set of 4 seats for yourselves anyway. The ferry ride may well be longer, I can accept that.
Driving isn't aggravating, other drivers are! You have to go 600miles, ignore them, 80% is done in almost 0 traffic north of the border, I really quite enjoy the blast across central Scotland at 3am, very relaxing.
Distance driving to me is tedious. You may enjoy it but driving anywhere at 3am is not something I would choose to do
You could drive up in air conditioned comfort listening to your own music or the regular wit of your mates, stop when and where you like etc....
Or sit on an air conditioned train and chat to the others with no need to stop.
I fly all over the place for work, stuff is lost by someone on EVERY flight, I kid you not. Admittedly you'd have to be a chump to loose your luggage on a train, but you are more likely to leave something behind and not be able to get it back.
I fly a lot too and have yet to lose a piece of hold baggage. I have also travelled with dive gear on trains and have yet to lose a piece
Maybe, if you look at it like that, but I'd settle for that to enjoy the flexiblity and ease with which you can travel seamlessly to your detination. IMO Trains, planes and diving don't mix.
You may prefer to drive but it isnt that cheap when all costs are considered. I prefer the comfort and ease of air/rail travel over driving. If the choice was to drive overnight to North Scotland and have a similar journey back or to not go, I would choose the not go option since I would find it unpleasant to undertake.
Dave
Andy Wade
04-07-2003, 23:27
:=I fly all over the place for work, stuff is lost by someone on EVERY flight, I kid you not. Admittedly you'd have to be a chump to loose your luggage on a train, but you are more likely to leave something behind and not be able to get it back.
I fly a lot too and have yet to lose a piece of hold baggage. I have also travelled with dive gear on trains and have yet to lose a piece
SSSSSSSSSSsssSharp intake of breath!
Now you've gone and done it Dave, you know what will happen next time you travel.....
;-)
.
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