Styling Land's End to John O'Groats AND BACK in a Panda Cross TA

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Styling Land's End to John O'Groats AND BACK in a Panda Cross TA

Angry Sugarcube

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Hi everyone

After occasional lurking since Christmas 2014 when Evil Little F'KA (also known as The Angry Sugarcube, our Panda Cross Twin Air) arrived in Cornwall, now seemed a good time to join. Between now and the end of the month we are driving from Land's End to John O'Groats, over to the Orkneys, and back to Land's End again. I figure lots of people do the trip one way, but there and back again is a bit of a novelty. As a newbie, could anyone let me know if trip reports are welcome here? If so, I'll post a few updates as we go, hopefully including pictures of the 'cube climbing a few mountains in the north Highlands.

There's also a trip diary on the Instagram account @endtoendtoend for those who like that sort of thing.

If it goes well, next year is Land's End to the southern tip of Italy and back again...
 

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Sounds like a great trip! I've been plotting a trip to Scotland in mid-September, to take in some of the malt whisky distilleries (y) Was hoping to make the trip in my Barchetta, but it's off the road at the moment, so the Cross may have to be called into service. Plan B is to take the sleeper to Inverness and hire a car for a few days, which saves wear & tear on the Cross, and on my back (those seats :cry:), plus there's something impossibly romantic about travelling on a sleeper. :D. But your trip sounds ace!
 
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Sounds like a great trip! I've been plotting a trip to Scotland in mid-September, to take in some of the malt whisky distilleries (y) Was hoping to make the trip in my Barchetta, but it's off the road at the moment, so the Cross may have to be called into service. Plan B is to take the sleeper to Inverness and hire a car for a few days, which saves wear & tear on the Cross, and on my back (those seats :cry:), plus there's something impossibly romantic about travelling on a sleeper. :D. But your trip sounds ace!

Sometime I'll do the two-sleepers trip Penzance-London-Highlands but I commute by sleeper to London most weeks for now, which kind of undermines the romance. Still a great way to travel though. Look forward to hearing about your trip, particularly the whisky - think we will make it to Highland Park this time but that may be all.
 
Back on the road today: Stratford-upon-Avon to Edinburgh via York. Already the furthest north little F'KA has been. Bit of classic surburban A-road driving (4th out of roundabout, straight to 6th, brake and block change down to 3rd into the next roundabout AND REPEAT AND REPEAT. What 5th gear?). Fun occasionally I suppose but Cornish moors feel like a more natural habitat for a Cross.
 

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Back on the road today: Stratford-upon-Avon to Edinburgh via York. Already the furthest north little F'KA has been. Bit of classic surburban A-road driving (4th out of roundabout, straight to 6th, brake and block change down to 3rd into the next roundabout AND REPEAT AND REPEAT. What 5th gear?). Fun occasionally I suppose but Cornish moors feel like a more natural habitat for a Cross.

Good luck with your trip. Sounds exciting. If we get early snow in the Trossachs I don't fancy your chances of digging out with those spades though.
:)
 
Good luck with your trip. Sounds exciting. If we get early snow in the Trossachs I don't fancy your chances of digging out with those spades though.
:)

We've dammed the Marazion red river with them, I reckon they can deal with he worst of Scottish "summer" weather...
 
Looking at that rear shot, I've just realised where your Panda's name comes from (quick on the uptake, me!) Love it (y)

Hope the Little F'KA continues to perform well north of the border.
 
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Hope the Little F'KA continues to perform well north of the border.

Thanks... closing in on the border as the weather closes in on us. Just managed to stop off at Bamburgh while there was enough visibility to see that Lindisfarne exists. The Sugarcube enjoyed getting its wheels into some lanes again after a four day diet of motorways.

Onwards and northwards.
 

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I took my Wee Yellow Beastie to Bamburgh last year, on a sunny afternoon's jaunt up the coast from Tynemouth. Awesome setting for a castle. Should have taken a pic :(
 
It's more than welcome! I'm sure many others will also be fascinated to hear updates.

I'm sure someone went from England to Italy not so long ago and posted updates :)

Yes - we set off in the 4x4 TA on 1st September for its seventh trip to central Italy for our autumn stay in Umbria. Good luck with the trip to the frozen north.
 
Something I feel I have to point out: for a white car, yours stays amazingly clean through journeys it seems.

The great thing about a white car is that you can photograph it from a reasonable distance, and only slightly over-expose the photo and the dirt disappears....

Actually it's looking pretty scuzzy after the York to Edinburgh run, might need a bath in Inverness tomorrow evening or the dirt will start showing up in the pictures. You'd probably have been able to see it on the Scottish border yesterday, apart from the fact that the weather was so foul you could barely see your hand in front of your face.
 

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Well, we made it. Just under a thousand miles including side trips. FKA has been exemplary throughout and as a result of driving at about 50-60mph through Scotland, fuel economy is better than 40 mpg for the first time ever.

We went all seapanda a few minutes later and took the ferry over to the Orkneys, only to find a boat from west Cornwall moored outside our hotel. Small world, though not small enough to see another Cross in the 20+ hours we've been on the road sofar.

Just the journey home to go......
 

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