This week Bob Montgomery'sGreat Roads take him to Scotland, and the Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebridian Islands lie about 200 miles north of Derry and are - with a few tiny exceptions - the most westerly of Scotland's islands.
For Irish motorists they are surprisingly easy to get to, and provide a relatively exotic destination.
However, one should bear in mind that one does not travel to the Western Isles for the weather, where on average there is rain on three out of every five days. Instead, the islands have an attraction all their own with good roads all but deserted, wonderful opportunities to see wildlife, impressive scenery and magical beaches on which you are likely to be the only human presence.
The Stena Belfast to Stranraer HSS provides an easy route to Scotland, and it's less that two hours along the (at times) scenic A77 to Glasgow. A further two hours will take you to Oban, the pretty port nestling on the western coast of Scotland which is the southern jumping-off point for the Western Isles.
You can travel either to Lochboisdale on South Uist or to Castlebay on the southernmost island of Barra by one of the Calaedonian MacBrayne ferries that serve the network of Scottish islands so well. Either way, the journey is spectacular, passing through the Sound of Mull and within sight of the islands of Coll, Rhum and Muck, before making landfall on Barra.
Barra is tiny - just six miles across - but has its own character, distinctive from the other islands of the Outer Hebrides. It also has the only airport in the world which operates scheduled services using the beach as its runway.
From Barra it's a short ferry trip to the island of South Uist, which is joined to North Uist by a causeway. South and North Uist are really more like an archipelago of islands, and are served by a single road (A865) which travels up the centre of the islands.
But do take time to divert to one of the many magnificent beaches along the west coast. The beaches are amazing, fine white sand, all but deserted and with clear blue water such as one imagines only in the Pacific islands.
It's also on Uist that one becomes aware of the wildlife with which these islands are simply teeming.
Numerous signs warning of "Otters crossing" reflect the perfect natural habitat that the islands are for these playful creatures and one is never far away from their largly-unseen presence.
One leaves Uist from the small island of Berneray - again joined to North Uist by a causeway - and lands at Leverburgh on Harris, near the southern tip of Lewis, the largest of the Outer Hebridean islands.
TAKING THE FERRY between the islands, one should also watch out for whales and dolphins which are a relatively common sight. The drive from Leverburgh to Stornoway - the largest town on the islands - passes through some pretty spectacular mountain scenery cut into by deep fjords. Although some of the roads on the islands are that Scottish speciality - single width roads with numerous passing points - this is an excellent road (A859) and provides a memorable drive. Before reaching Stornoway, the famous prehistoric Standing Stones at Callanish are signposted, and worthy of a visit.
It's also worth driving out along the A857 through the huge desolate bogland which is the major feature of the northern tip of the island, before continuing on through Port Nis to the Butt of Lewis, with its unusual red-brick lighthouse. From Stornoway it's another ferry trip back to Ullapool on the Scottish mainland.
The Outer Hebrides are one surprise heaped upon another and provide great motoring - just don't go for the weather.