NC500



BiG said:
Loved Scotland. Go every year at least once. Usually stay in a cottage and walk plus visit beautiful scenic and lonely places.

But we now have to plan differently in order to avoid the anxiety and stress associated with manoeuvring around countless mobile homes and camper vans on narrow single track roads. It’s a freaking nightmare.

My wife in particular, has spent a lifetime visiting the various places for the very reasons, that in many places, no longer exist.

For example : couple of years ago, we went to Skye. Been there loads. Apart from the fact that we both contracted Covid from a single visit to a s
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buster said:
Yup ,the locals are bit like those in the Lakes , they want the revenue that comes with the tourism but not the tourists.
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The campervan mob don't contribute much to the local economy which is one of the main reasons for the anger.
 
If you get to Thurso on a Friday then Johnston’s will have steak pies and cream filled yum yums in. Fantastic.

Castletown butchers is worth popping into. If they’ve got their Irn Bru sausages in then get some!

For bait I’d recommend Spice Tandoori for an Indian, Y Not for a burger, Captain’s Galley if the bellend is going to treat you to somewhere nice.

If it’s a weekend then Blue Door Cafe do American diner stuff. It was opened by an ex West Pointer who was stationed in Caithness and moved over.
 
Echo what @parttimer said, in April you won't have any midges and roads should be quieter.

I've never done the NC500 but I spend a lot of time in Applecross as we have friends there; we're hoping to go up in February. The locals don't like the NC500 as it clogs the place up in the summer.

I'd try and get to Applecross as it is a lovely place, the campsite there is good, never too busy and situated just above the village. If you do get there, by all means sit outside the pub and have a drink in the evening as the light and views there are fantastic, but for food go to The Walled Garden in the estate, it'll take 10mins to walk there from the campsite. The food there is much better.

The woman who runs the pub, Judith Fish, has just had her 35th anniversary there, she's done a great job, but her staff are mostly seasonal and shes struggled to get a good chef recently.

you said you fancied somewhere south of Inverness for your last night, I'd recommend either Grantown-on-spey or Boat of Garten
 
Rizla said:
The campervan mob don't contribute much to the local economy which is one of the main reasons for the anger.
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I think for this trip we would.

Normally if we go somewhere and we're on a site for a few plus nights we'll have a good setup, awning etc and just use our BBQ for food then sit round our firepit, which is what I love when camping, maybe eat out one night.

As this will be one night everywhere I'll not be taking the firepit, it'll be cold on an evening so hoping to eat out a bit / visit some pubs. If we spend some nights more rural we'll use our little BBQ and sit outside for a bit well wrapped up.
glen said:
Echo what @parttimer said, in April you won't have any midges and roads should be quieter.

I've never done the NC500 but I spend a lot of time in Applecross as we have friends there; we're hoping to go up in February. The locals don't like the NC500 as it clogs the place up in the summer.

I'd try and get to Applecross as it is a lovely place, the campsite there is good, never too busy and situated just above the village. If you do get there, by all means sit outside the pub and have a drink in the evening as the light and views there are fantastic, but for food go to The Walled Garden in the estate, it'll take 10mins to walk there from the campsite. The food there is much better.

The woman who runs the pub, Judith Fish, has just had her 35th anniversary there, she's done a great job, but her staff are mostly seasonal and shes struggled to get a good chef recently.

you said you fancied somewhere south of Inverness for your last night, I'd recommend either Grantown-on-spey or Boat of Garten
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Cheers. Applecross is one of the sites I'm looking to book this coming week.
si73 said:
See we've got our own version now.

Northumberland 250
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That looks good. Might try it over a long weekend, 3 nights as a little warmup.
 
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buster said:
My son and a couple of his uncles did it in 5 days a few years ago , on their bikes.

Beginning of June it was 3c and raining at the top of Applecross. iirc.
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I did over 6 days in early May 21....just at the end of Covid restrictions.....winter gear on most days. Stunning scenery....
I was ruined at the end like...
 
BiG said:
My point being that the camper vans, the motor homes and the vans, plus the overnight parking and campsites etc, have driven the folk who drove a small car, stayed in a cottage or inn, walked the local area and occasionally explored the out of the way places, don’t go anymore. I avoid places I revisited for years simply because they’re now on the NC500. And the signs I started to see in the locals windows telling the NC500ers to ‘f*** off home’ tells its own story.

Still; it’s a free country.
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Ah I get you now, went completely over my head. I can empathise with that. Times do change though and for the Highlands (and yes, the NC500 in particular obviously), the cat is out of that bag now. I live up here by the way, love the Highlands and West coast all the way up so we spend quite a lot of time throughout the year either out in the van with the dog or a night or 2 in a B&B over winter months. Away from the doors, Scotland is a stunningly beautiful place with a lot to visit/stay/see away from the tourist trap being discussed and the limited negativity around the NC500 shouldn't detract from that. The whole NC500 thing is something Scotland is going to need to come to terms with somehow.
 
parttimer said:
Ah I get you now, went completely over my head. I can empathise with that. Times do change though and for the Highlands (and yes, the NC500 in particular obviously), the cat is out of that bag now. I live up here by the way, love the Highlands and West coast all the way up so we spend quite a lot of time throughout the year either out in the van with the dog or a night or 2 in a B&B over winter months. Away from the doors, Scotland is a stunningly beautiful place with a lot to visit/stay/see away from the tourist trap being discussed and the limited negativity around the NC500 shouldn't detract from that. The whole NC500 thing is something Scotland is going to need to come to terms with somehow.
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Kintyre, Islay and Jura later this year. Exploring the Neuk of Fife another time. Maybe Port Appin & Lismore at other time. Back to Mull. Tongue a bit too far now. Maybe inland in the Highlands to avoid the NC500. Hopefully there’s still a few places we can get to. Ardnamurchan got a bit busier when the opened a new ferry route.
 
The scenery looks great but having to joing a conveyor belt of motorhomes doesn't do it for me.

There's a few videos on YouTube of what it's actually like when you're stuck in the traffic and people trying to get shots of scenery without other people in.
 
Hoping to head up that way a lot more after this trip and maybe have week in Skye too. We're lucky as no kids and more to happy to go in the colder months when it might not be so busy.
 
Did it 2 years ago a rented motorhome. Two bits of advice:

Go anti-clockwise, the scenery gets better an better. If you do it clockwise it sort of fizzles out as you go along the top towards john o groats.

Stay 2 nights at your chosen sites (assuming you're using campsites). We didn't do that and the whole thing was a rush, setting up camp on an evening, packing up early next morning, it got quite stressful. Take a day to sit outside or walk and enjoy wherever you are staying.
 
JosieAnn II said:
Looking to do this in April over about 10 nights in our camper, hoping April won't be too busy.

Looking to plan our route. Anybody done it before, got any hints / tips, best places to visit / stay overnight - prefer sites ideally.

Cheers.
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Done it when the COVID restrictions lifted, hired a motorhome & done it over 7 days, tremendous experience, didn't go near a campsite at all, do a bit of research & you can "wildcamp" or stay in places where the locals maintain and you can change your waters over, 10 days will probably be spot on as 7 days was a bit rushed, but to be honest you could spend a month doing it, anyway I'm sure you'll love it👍
buster said:
My son and a couple of his uncles did it in 5 days a few years ago , on their bikes.

Beginning of June it was 3c and raining at the top of Applecross. iirc.
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100 mile a day on a bike😳 not my idea of fun that like😂
 
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