North Coast 500
Discussion
I did it last September in my 987. So midges were minimal. We also had perfect weather the whole week (so don't count on that). Fuel also wasn't a problem. Just make sure you have cash just in case.
I would go up the west coast and take the south road at Tongue (A836) as the Roads and driving around Thurso and down the east coast were nothing compared to the west. Plus a lot more traffic so I found it hard to enjoy the car/roads.
The roads from Lochcarron to Durness were my favourite. Plenty of places to stop and enjoy the views.
Make sure to stop at the Seafood Shack in Ullapool for lunch as the food is great too.
Balnakeil Beach is a nice place to spend a few hours too if you want a rest.
I would go up the west coast and take the south road at Tongue (A836) as the Roads and driving around Thurso and down the east coast were nothing compared to the west. Plus a lot more traffic so I found it hard to enjoy the car/roads.
The roads from Lochcarron to Durness were my favourite. Plenty of places to stop and enjoy the views.
Make sure to stop at the Seafood Shack in Ullapool for lunch as the food is great too.
Balnakeil Beach is a nice place to spend a few hours too if you want a rest.
It is not just camper vans that have spoiled this once deserted gem - it's often convoys of cars , presumably driven by people who are scared to venture out alone, and who enjoy watching the tail of a car just like their own , with one in the mirror to match . As said , ignore the tourist guff , and explore where you want , rather than sticking to the sometimes daft 'official' route .
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coppice said:
It is not just camper vans that have spoiled this once deserted gem - it's often convoys of cars , presumably driven by people who are scared to venture out alone, and who enjoy watching the tail of a car just like their own , with one in the mirror to match . As said , ignore the tourist guff , and explore where you want , rather than sticking to the sometimes daft 'official' route .' .
This is so true. We've only ever driven the route on our own and then only part of it, we enjoyed going 'off-piste' much more as there was far less traffic. Why anyone would want to drive in a convoy baffles me; we saw several between Bettyhill and John O'Groats and they were all travelling at the speed of the slowest and stopping together whereas we were able to drive at our own pace, stopping where and when we wanted.
treetops said:
If you’ve done it could you recommend a 4 day trip starting from Central Belt. What’s a must see on the route you chose? Which roads are best and most scenic and interesting. 2 x Porsches for the trip we’re doing.
Thanks!!
Contrary to some opinions expressed, if you've not done it before it's worth doing the coastal route, but avoid peak holiday periods. We also really enjoyed the part past Tongue and down the east coast, whereas Laxford Bridge to Tongue is pretty horrid for driving when there's a bit of traffic, regardless of how good the scenery is.Thanks!!
For four days I'd suggest something like:
Day 1, central to Applecross: We're based in Glasgow so would leave sharp and head follow the A82 to Fort Augustus, breakfast at the Green Welly, photo stops at Rannoch Moor and Glencoe, lunch at Fort Augustus. Follow the A87 for coffee and cake at Eilean Donan Castle then across the Bealach Na Ba for dinner and bed in Applecross.
Day 2, Applecross to Tongue: Follow the coast to Poolewe, Arctic Convoy Memorial or the museum worth visiting. Ullapool for grub then north towards Durness and a break at Balnakiel before heading towards Tongue.
Day 3, Tongue to Inverness: Say goodbye to most of the tourists and head for Dunnett Head for the most northerly point in mainland UK. John O Groats is a photo stop, possible coffee stop. Wind your way down the coast towards Brora, if you're interested in distilleries the new Clynelish visitors centre is excellent. From there head towards Lairg then over Struie Hill for plenty of fast, well sighted sweeping bends. There's got to be somewhere good to stay in Inverness....
Day 4, Inverness to Pitlochry: Say goodbye to the NC500 and head for Grantown-on-Spey then into the Cairngorms via Tomintoul, Braemar to Pitlochry. Plenty of opportunity to extend the route via Elgin and Aberlour with Culloden visitors centre and your pick of distilleries. Overnight at Pitlochry or head back to central belt via A9 (yawn) or Dunkeld>Crieff>Lochearnhead and onwards.
Alternatively do day 1 then head for Lairg and use it as a base for a couple of nights for exploring NW, N & NE.
Edited by hiccy18 on Sunday 29th May 20:02
Kenty in Weardale said:
I'm just back from 3 days driving out of Ullapool with 2 others and was very pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic. Be aware that food options were limited both in Ullapool as well as other towns due to staffing issues
Also known as Brexit. It's a bit of a nightmare here, hotels having to close half of each week.Nothing to do with Covid, as nobody has to self isolate anymore, even if testing positive. The Gov. can't use that excuse anymore.
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