It wizza long time ago when I were doing fish hauling. I was in a Scania 143 driving along happily when I came across the Berridale Braes.What I did was take it slow on the hairpins, then swiftly change gear and belt it up the gradients. It was one of the toughest times in my career.
After years of deliberation a new route has finally been approved.
Oily
oiltreader:
After years of deliberation a new route has finally been approved.
Oily
Not before time Oily, it was a bad one new route looks a lot better. Les.
Has anybody on this forum ever been as far north as to try out the famous Berridale Braes? I’ve fond memories being with my dad climbing the hill with a full load of fish from scrabster with the truck down to almost walking pace then when going down the way you got the smell of the brakes burning up on the trucks in front. When all this is going on you also have a cliff face over the barrier to worry about. If ever there was a time not to mess up your gear changes that was it.
This page on a site tells you abit about it.
Here’s one of the many who’ve lost it at Berridale Braes, an Irish trucker who was up to in axles in sand in the escape bunker - he was there as I passed one morning in Sept 1999 and he here is just being pulled out of the sand much later in the day:-
Great photo Rapidgem. Just shows how bad it really is, there’s been so much accidents on that hill and I believe people killed as well due to the brakes going. Last time I was up I was in an XF 480 and even that was on its knees climbing the braes, I took a video of us going up just to show how much the truck really struggles, not the getting up though its the getting down.
do you still have the video ?,maybe you could post it on here !
rapidgem:
Here’s one of the many who’ve lost it at Berridale Braes, an Irish trucker who was up to in axles in sand in the escape bunker - he was there as I passed one morning in Sept 1999 and he here is just being pulled out of the sand much later in the day:-
first time up there was 1959 it was single track with passing places. Oboy it was a hard drive from inverness to thurso in them days, drove a commer two stroke then, ok going up the braes, but going down was a bit hair-raising, 
botch
I used to drive a Commer Maxi Load with a two stroke, nice moter, but no shafting on the downhill, may as well be in top gear as in a low gear.
Aye them Braes are a good test and taster for even more serious stuff if you venture across the water with the swimmy things you just loaded ex Scrabster.
Practice on Berridale then on to Puerto Velate, or Garda on The IP5, hmmm those drums are getting warmer
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curnock:
do you still have the video ?,maybe you could post it on here !
I would post it up but it was taken on a video camera as it was in 2002. I’ll have to get all the videos I have onto dvd when I’m home. I’ve taking it from going North with just the fish boxes, arriving in Scrabster, the loading of the trucks at the market to going south again over the Berridales at 44T on the limit. I’ve also got a dvd of D Stevens & Son going down the Berridale Braes in the 90’s with the 143’s and Volvos but thats not my footage so would hairy with copyrights etc.
Flip I remember the IP5 at Guarda what a nice little hill that is 
Legend has it ( or truckers rumor ) that around 5 Portuguese officials are/where in prison for extracting monies from EU funding and keeping it themselves. They were suppossed to have built some tunnels along that road instead of some of the steep drops.
Now a nice road is the mountain road from Montenegro to Kosovo from Rozaj to Pec. Even better when its snowing, I havent got any still photos but Ive got some video of the descent that my co-driver took on my phone and when I can suss out how to get it on here I will post it.
Paul
years ago before i was drivin wagons … drove up to WICK for a wedding… driving up those braes… saw he escape lanes / pits… in wondered wot the hell they where for…
coming back down saw excatly wot they where for …truck and trailer up to its axles in sand
happy scary dayz…!!!
It really is an experience. My dad did Scrabster reguarly and weekends Scrabster sometimes saw 50-60 trucks up loading fish off of a boat from the Faro Islands. The trucks load all through the night into the next day so at weekends the Berridale Braes was always active with the fish boys. Not really sure how busy it is now because I haven’t been up in years but from what I’ve heard still a lot of traffic going in and out. It makes you laugh when you see trucks on trial in magazines and they describe how the truck performed on a hill on a motorway running empty.
I found this photo I took in 2002 of some guys loading when I was up with my dad. Thats actually him in the blue jacket.
when i was in my late 20s,(many yrs ago), i worked for a company called TOMS OF ROMFORD, we did a lot of ford body panels to the dealers, one of our regular trips was what was known as top scotch, it consisted of elgin, inverness, wick and thurso, that road was then single track with passing places, the trucks were thames traders, scammel hitch trailers, vacuum brakes, that road was a lot of fun 
, i have not been up there for 30 yrs but i can still remember creeping down very slowly as, if anything happened, the brakes would never stop you, those days of going to thurso in a thames trader were a memory i shan’t forget.
there was a company that did the engine parts, they loaded with us in south ockendon, as i recall they were called inter city trans, from glasgow area i think,they had the same trucks as us but had the advantage of trunking up to glasgow and another driver taking it up north, where as we did the lot ourselves. 
Not been up this year, the previous two I was in Wick regular. Both up and down the Berridale I always went in a low gear, lights on and at the 180 turn hazard lights on. Despite this, I often met cars & vans, and not a few artic’s (all southerners) on the bend. There are other bends on this road that need care. North of Helmsdale you have to keep your wit’s about you.
I have used this road for over 40 yrs and have seen a lot of improvements. However, it’s time it was upgraded for modern use all the way north from Perth.
Alex
DAVE RENEGADE:
I used to drive a Commer Maxi Load with a two stroke, nice moter, but no shafting on the downhill, may as well be in top gear as in a low gear.
i, that was a bit of problem, drop a gear and they went faster at first , other thing about the commer 2 stroke tr3 it would decoke it’s self while on the move,bit spectacular at nigth time, botch
botch:
DAVE RENEGADE:
I used to drive a Commer Maxi Load with a two stroke, nice moter, but no shafting on the downhill, may as well be in top gear as in a low gear.i, that was a bit of problem, drop a gear and they went faster at first , other thing about the commer 2 stroke tr3 it would decoke it’s self while on the move,bit spectacular at nigth time,
And the one I had would run out of air on a steep bank like that every few minutes, and that was in bottom gear screaming its guts out and just dabbing the brakes. Very embarrassing to keep stopping to build up the air again - but better than not stopping at all. 
used to deliver fruit and veg to presto s thurso.rain at the bottom and blizzard at the top,you just prayed you did not miss the gear at the hairpin.very friendly people up there,they left their outside lights on at night so you could get some warmth and food if the snow got you trapped.one bad night i eventually got over and the police asked me where i had come from as they had shut the snow gates earlier.must have been his tyre tracks i was following. beautifull in the summer though
Spend a lot of time up the north with Dounreay among others a regular destination, I took these pictures a couple of years ago from a southbound direction.
As Alex has said already the stetch above Helmsdale is’nt great either,
but it has had a lot of improvements recently.
I dont know if there is any way the road could be improved at Berridale though,
unless they bypass the brae,s altogether.