NC500 ish - Trip Report

NC500 ish - Trip Report

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JamieRS250

Original Poster:

29 posts

142 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
quotequote all
Thought I'd stick a thread up with some details and photos as I kept banging on about it. Didn't actually take that many photos in the end and still have to trawl through the GoPro and Drone videos. Had great plans to takes loads of photos and videos to turn into a decent video but I only got my actual camera out a couple of times and the same with the drone, So you will have to make do with some phone photos as well.



This originally started out as a KH trackday with a couple days blast further North as a replacement for an annual LM trip. Was looking at 20+ people to start with but that dropped and we ended up sacking off the TD idea and just head North.

I'd organised the routes based on past experience on the better stuff for actual driving so we missed off the top and East coasts. The Bealach na Ba is not a drivers road by any means either but it's one of those roads you have to do I guess.


Lost a couple guys last minute due to the updated Covid Regs that came into effect that week but we ended up with a nicer sized smaller group anyway with a nice selection of cars that were all pretty similar pace really. There was times I wished I had less power to use more of the revs and gears and other times just a little bit more for the punch out the corners but we all came to the agreement that ~400hp is a good amount.



First day seen me leaving Dunfermline and head towards Stirling to meet some of the guys, Unfortunately the 700+ Procharged LS2 S14 was only joining for the day now due to the aforementioned Covid rules.

20200916_110214 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


Todays route was up through Glen Coe, Round the Kinlochring then out onto Mallaig to catch the Steam train which we did, Although we sacked off Glenfinnan as it gets rammed with poorly parked tourists and Harry Potter fanatics and went another mile or so up the road to where the railway runs under the road, No one about so was ideal. Got a drone video that i'll sort out at some point.

2020-09-21_09-36-37 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr
20200916_131453 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2621 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0002-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0013-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

20200916_164355 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr



Our mate in the 355 joined up while we were waiting on the train, Stage 2 Capristo exhaust on it, Could hear him coming for a good few miles. Impressively quick car as well for a 90s Ferrari, I was shocked if I'm honest LOL

The A830 out to Mallaig from Ft William is really good stretch, Everything from slow tight corners to fast sweepers, Topped off with some incredible views out to Skye once you get up past Arisaig. I'd of liked to have got the boat over to Skye for a blast then back but we didn't have the time, Next trip will definitely get an extra day or two added on for that. Back down into Fort William for an overnight at the luxurious Premier Inn.


Awaken the next morning for what we had hoped for, Dry weather
20200917_073744 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


Todays route was when it really starts to get good once you start getting further north

20200825_000255 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr



Weather was pretty grey and damp all the way up from Loch Cluanie and down through Glen Shiel on the A87 which was unfortunate especially under the trees as you descend down towards Loch Carron once you're on the A890 after Stromeferry which is a bit I really enjoy, Could almost be Alpine like with the trees on either side as you switch left and right down hill.

It did dry up once we got down to the bottom of the Loch and then back up the other side though as we haded towards to the Bealach na Ba which was promising, Last time we were up here as a group the sign only had a few stickers....

20200917_112508 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

20200917_113009 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr



The drive up the pass was the usual affair really, Not that much pace, having to stop for campers and traffic coming the other way. Ended up crawling at a couple MPH for a bit as well while being stuck behind the mentalist cyclists. Was grey and cloudy but dry otherwise. Very windy at the top as expected and I probably shouldn't of sent the drone up but couldn't resist.

DSC_2633 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2640 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2650 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2655 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0007-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0021-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr



From here it was a gentle roll down the hill into Applecross itself and time for a stop and a bite to eat out their van. Just in time for the Sun to really appear and it stayed out for the rest of the trip. 15-20 degrees and little cloud cover for the next few days was glorious. Perfect weather for it.

20200917_131253 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

20200917_134007 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


For me this is when it really starts to feel like I'm away "Up North" The coast road feels very remote in places as you get on up it with stunning views out to Raasay and Skye behind it with the Cuillins poking up and over. Magical.

20200917_142144 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2667 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2674 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2681 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2685 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2691 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Crazy to think that this isn't really a huge distance away from my "home" in Tyndrum really. Few hours and you're here in what could be a totally different county!

Pressing on from here we headed round the coast towards Shieldaig, Not much in the way of traffic really bar the odd Campervan and rental but mostly moving out the way to let us through. Once you pop out at Shieldaig and get past the village you're back onto wider 2 lane carriageway, The A896 which heads down past Torridon then through Glen Torridon past Beinn Eighe into Kinlochewe, From here we took a quick detour upto the Glen Docherty view point that looks down to Loch Maree then back down into the village for a fuel top up as the roads from here round on the A832 are pretty fast flowing for the majority so I knew the pace would be a bit more spirited.

DSC_2701 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2708 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2711 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DSC_2719 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0097-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


The section of road from Kinlochewe that takes in Gairloch, Poolewe and finally on towards and past Corrieshalloch Gorge is definitely one of the better sections on the NC500 loop for drivers. Its well sighted for the most part, with it being mostly 2 lane carriageway bar a couple of small single track sections, Surface is pretty good bar the odd placement of drain covers that are inconveniently placed sometimes on the turn in or apex of the corner, Can only imagine in the wet or on a bike they can be deadly. Id definitely put it up there as one of the best sections and a must drive if you are up this way.


Made our way into Ullapool where we were based for the last two nights. Bungalow500 incase anyone is interested. Cracking B&B with all you need. Amazing beds and a decent little guest lounge where you can chill or even consume your Chinese takeaway with some beers as we did on the second night. Well recommended and will stay there again for sure!

Had a wander down into town for some beer and food, Don't get views like this in many places, Sat on the seawall having a drink. Can't get better than that!

20200918_185742 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

20200918_180859 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Earlyish night followed. Forget how much it takes it out you when you're doing a longer day in the car at pace.


Woke up the next morning, Wound the blinds up and was greeted by this, Knew it was gonna be another good day.

20200919_095335 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Breakfast time for myself and the cars, Not normally one for breakfast but having this really helped start the day off well.

20200919_091311 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


The fuel station in Ullapool has Super unleaded on one of the pumps and I can imagine they sell thousands of litres if not tens of thousands yearly since its the only one around for miles.


Todays planned route was going to be this,

20200921_093450 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

We were going to go clockwise today but Kev with the purple S13 had to head back down home so we went the opposite way which meant he could join for the first hour or so then head south at Lairg and was a benefit to us as the road was shut from the Crask Inn for roadworks all day bar between 12.30 and 1pm so this would allow us to get through then. Turns out the workmen must of fancied a day off as we got all the way through and seen no-one about actually working.

The other benefit of the supposed road closure was we seen pretty much no one from Lairg all the way up to Tongue so meant we could push on a bit more on the single track roads than we would normally do.


Quick stop at one of the only places you are able to stop really, Loch Craggie Viewpoint.

20200918_115713 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


Once we reached Tongue and got back on the A838 we came across a bit more traffic but most of it allowed us past pretty quickly which is great, Some very fast sections on this road as you head towards Loch Eriboll then down the bottom and up the other side where it changes to single track again. I'm sure during WW2 they used to use Loch Eriboll to shelter during the bad weather for the merchant fleets and Artic Convoys?

Another quick stop for more drone shots, Much to the delight of the other guys LOL....

DJI_0011-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0016-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0021-HDR-Pano by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Got into Durness and a quick stop off at the burger van for some food then back on the road again.

20200918_135248 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Once you clear the singletrack road from South of Durness you end up with some more well sighted fast sections on the A838 then onto the A894 at Laxford Bridge heading down towards Scourie then to the Kylesku bridge. Again this is another standout section for me once it opens up, You have great visibility and can really get a move on safely and what little traffic we cam across generally let you past pretty quickly.



Unfortunately there was a fair bit parked up when we got to the Bridge so no donuts this time....
DJI_0039-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0074-HDR-Pano by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0049-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0090-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0049-HDR-2-Pano by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr





Had a quick chat with a few boys, One in a 275 Cup-S and the other a GT86 they were loving it as well. Never caught them as we ended up heading towards Achmelvich beach for a stop before heading back to the digs in Ullapool. The A837 is another stunner in terms of a driving road. Good mix of all types but mostly faster flowing, sweeping corners with great sight lines

DJI_0162-HDR-Pano by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0106-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0116-HDR by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

DJI_0142-HDR-Pano by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr



Same thing again once back in the B&B, Some beers on the seawall then we got the takeway and went back to the B&B for some beers and to chat s**t about cars again.


Woke up to another great day weather wise. I'd be keeping an eye on the forecast for a month or so leading up to going away and it wasn't looking that good if I'm honest but it seemed to clear up when we got going. It had been proper wet and miserable a couple days before we set out though which was lucky for us!



Final day seen us head South towards Inverness then out onto the Old Military Road. Was good to get back onto some roads that I'm really familiar with and the blast from the Lecht down to Bridge of Cally was probably the quickest and hardest I drove all week. Such a good road and anyone that comes up to do the NC500 would be stupid not to do it either on the way up or down, Or both

20200825_000228 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


20200919_122628 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

20200919_134022 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr

Finally back home safe on the drive, No issues with the car other than the front end being a little soft and me smashing the splitter up a bit but I expected that anyway.

20200919_160721 by Jamie Atkinson, on Flickr


If you are in any doubts of doing it, Don't. Book accommodation and just do it. Id recommend April/May or September as the weather is still good but tourist season isn't in full swing. Although the season is all over the place with the current situation.

Huge mix of road types up there everything from slow hairpins to fast sweepers and all the stuff in between. We made it a thing to be pretty sensible on the straight stuff as there's no point doing proper stupid speeds along them so we gave ourselves a speed limit LOL.

Ferarri is mental loud and fast. 997 was quicker than I expected and the Cossie is madness, Kept it on low boost and it still had the legs on us just. I need decats and a tune now although I was the only one with a pax so may not of helped my pace but overall al the cars were pretty matched in terms of pace even though they are 4 totally different types of cars



Ended up with 915 miles door to door for myself and used around 300l of fuel.

Proper love the E92 now, First decent drive since I had the bits done and really clicked with it now. So much traction and stability, had a couple laugh out loud moments its that great with its current setup.


In terms of Police. I literally seen 0 from leaving home on Wednesday morning in Dunfermline all the way up and round. On the last day just as we left Ullapool we seen two Bike cops but they kept heading North, Guess its a weekend thing. Other than that the only other Police we saw were a couple of traffic cops working the A9 just south of Inverness and that was all.


Mega trip. Can't wait to do it again with an extra day or two so we can do Skye or maybe just a loop over to the East and back.






Edited by JamieRS250 on Saturday 20th March 12:59

Trevor555

4,504 posts

91 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
quotequote all
Great write up, and pics.

Thanks for sharing.

Kevin_Birth

90 posts

54 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
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very cool. great photos. god im so utterly jealous of that ferrari ;( its stunning.

Smurfsarepeopletoo

898 posts

64 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
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Stunning Pictures, I was up this was a few months ago, and will be heading back for a week in october, so may use this as inspiration.

And as lovely as all the cars are, that Escort Cosworth is beautiful.

DannyScene

6,897 posts

162 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
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Great write up!

I've done the NC500 twice now both with slightly varying routes, would recommend it to anyone!!

Riley Blue

21,632 posts

233 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
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Thanks, I enjoyed that; it made up for me having to cancel my trip that way in May.

Next year, hopefully next year... driving

jamesc69

132 posts

218 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
quotequote all
Wow. great pics and write up.

I'm hoping to do the shorter Grand Tour Hammond's PENIS 287 route this weekend, COVID regs and weather permitting.

Did you use google maps on your trip? Did Google maps work when 4g dropped out , or did you download the route into your phone?.

JamieRS250

Original Poster:

29 posts

142 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2020
quotequote all
I only really used googlemaps when originally planning routes to get a rough idea of milage and time. Didn't actuslly use it to navigate as they do have signposts etc up there LOL


Plus you can't really go wrong, not like there is an abundance of roads to pick from

coppice

8,909 posts

151 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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Loch Eriboll was indeed used extensively in WW2 by convoys. And it still is used by navies - I fished up there for many years and it wasn't unusual to hear 'incoming ' - shells and rockets at the target range on the Parph (ie Cape Wrath peninsula ). One year we encountered a dozen huge US Navy vessels moored up near your picture at Ardneackie - helicopters everywhere , real military porn . In more peaceful times it also can be home to killer whales

Court_S

13,851 posts

184 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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Looks like a great trip and some fab photos. I missed out on the NC500 this summer after breaking my wrist mountain biking.

Hopefully heading to the Elan Valley the week after next as a compromise.

cheeky_chops

1,603 posts

258 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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thanks for the detailed post. Missus and i have decided (rather last minute) to make a journey up next week. Got to get planning

magpies

5,145 posts

189 months

Friday 25th September 2020
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thank you for the write up, reminded me of the 30 odd TVR's on the trip 4 years ago.

JamieRS250

Original Poster:

29 posts

142 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
quotequote all
Rookie error on my part, Drone and Gopro were on the lower quality settings


https://youtu.be/tSiB1lRVEvo

blaineuk

2,615 posts

254 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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I’m off up this area on Friday, really looking forward to it, can’t decide on which car to use though.

sherman

13,834 posts

222 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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blaineuk said:
I’m off up this area on Friday, really looking forward to it, can’t decide on which car to use though.
The holden will be better. Long bits of your journey will be at a steady pace(motorway). The roads arent too narrow once your on the nc500.

DannyScene

6,897 posts

162 months

Saturday 10th October 2020
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cheeky_chops said:
thanks for the detailed post. Missus and i have decided (rather last minute) to make a journey up next week. Got to get planning
We didn't bother with a plan, I've usually found the more I plan the more I fret about hitting certain mile markers and keeping to time scales, I find it much more fun now to have a start, a rough end and a few days in between to see where I end up.

Riley Blue

21,632 posts

233 months

Saturday 10th October 2020
quotequote all
DannyScene said:
cheeky_chops said:
thanks for the detailed post. Missus and i have decided (rather last minute) to make a journey up next week. Got to get planning
We didn't bother with a plan, I've usually found the more I plan the more I fret about hitting certain mile markers and keeping to time scales, I find it much more fun now to have a start, a rough end and a few days in between to see where I end up.
To which I would add: for maximum driving enjoyment - go alone.

DannyScene

6,897 posts

162 months

Saturday 10th October 2020
quotequote all
Riley Blue said:
DannyScene said:
cheeky_chops said:
thanks for the detailed post. Missus and i have decided (rather last minute) to make a journey up next week. Got to get planning
We didn't bother with a plan, I've usually found the more I plan the more I fret about hitting certain mile markers and keeping to time scales, I find it much more fun now to have a start, a rough end and a few days in between to see where I end up.
To which I would add: for maximum driving enjoyment - go alone.
That is very true, we did it 3 up in 1 car, the company is nice but its a nightmare working out what you are and aren't going to stop for and inevitably people are going to miss stuff they want to see, next time we're going in a group but a car each

lothianJim

2,274 posts

49 months

Saturday 10th October 2020
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Ace pics. Looks like the bealach needs a new taller sign.


I've never done this alone, but really fancy a solo road trip this month. Usually go every year in Easter with the family with all creature comforts, but that was scuppered this year. I've always hankered to do it alone, camping a few miles from the road and travelling at crack of dawn, which can't do with the kids.

Landscape really invites solo wallowing/wandering.

Riley Blue

21,632 posts

233 months

Saturday 10th October 2020
quotequote all
DannyScene said:
Riley Blue said:
DannyScene said:
cheeky_chops said:
thanks for the detailed post. Missus and i have decided (rather last minute) to make a journey up next week. Got to get planning
We didn't bother with a plan, I've usually found the more I plan the more I fret about hitting certain mile markers and keeping to time scales, I find it much more fun now to have a start, a rough end and a few days in between to see where I end up.
To which I would add: for maximum driving enjoyment - go alone.
That is very true, we did it 3 up in 1 car, the company is nice but its a nightmare working out what you are and aren't going to stop for and inevitably people are going to miss stuff they want to see, next time we're going in a group but a car each
I meant with no other cars. I've never found driving in a group of cars anywhere near as enjoyable as when we've been on our own.

On your own is far better particularly on single track roads. You can drive at your own pace, passing is easier, there are more opportunities to stop, you can have refreshments when it suits only you and so on.

When I've taken part in organised tours and driving events both in the UK and on the continent They've been far less fun; have a look at some YouTube videos of groups driving the NC500 and you'll soon see what I mean.