north coast 500 (1 Viewer)

[smiffy502000]

hi all. been watching the one show earlier, some guy was traveling the north coast 500. the Scottish route 66. it looked great, just wondered if anyone has done it and was it worth it ?we certainly fancy giving it a go. any feedback good or bad would be great. thanks for looking..

 

[DavidG58]

just do your own thing, more or less following the coast, get the weather right you cant go wrong

we are up there now

PM me for any specific areas

 

[DavidG58]

double post, so tried replaced it with photos, but lousy internet, too remote not all bad

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[smiffy502000]

cheers

 

[smiffy502000]

e have done a lot of the west coast but as yet not been across the top or much of the east coast. so we have a lot to see

 

[DavidG58]

seriously, if you have enjoyed the west coast do not built it up too much the east, especially the very north east was one of my biggest ever disappointments

get out to the western isles, best scenery ever

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[smiffy502000]

we love the west , also had a great stay at rosemarkie great for dolphin watching. hope you have a great trip

 

[JFD]

We travelled most of the NC500 earlier this year - just missed out the NW corner to explore more of the highlands inland, and leave some more to be explored another trip!

In a word, it is stunning. It's mostly single track, with passing places, but you will not have any problems, unless you get caught up in a convoy!!

If you go up the East coast, by all means visit John O’Groats, then go further East, on to Duncansby Head, for walking, wild camping, and dolphin/whale/seal spotting.

You will be amazed by the sheer beauty of your surroundings -enjoy!!

 

[smiffy502000]

we cant wait now, thanks for the thumbs up

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[smiffy502000]

did you use sites or did you wild camp ?are there plenty of sites en route ?

 

[daveandsan]

we cant wait now, thanks for the thumbs up

Have a look in the UK Touring thread, a few posts in there about Scotland.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

I would recommend anyone visiting the west coast and not wanting to go as far north as the NC500 should visit Kilmartin which is just north of Lochgilphead on the A816 heading for Oban. Kilmartin Glen is the location of several important Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, including Temple Wood (a henge monument), several burial cairns, chambered cairns, standing stones and cup and ring marked rocks. Another worthwhile place to visit is Crinan where the Crinan Canal meets the sea. To get there turn off the A 816 at Cairnbaan onto the B841 which follows the Crinan Canal to the sea locks at the harbour next to the hotel. There is a car park by the harbour which will take MHs.
The canal is large enough for yachts and fishing boats and is a shortcut across the Mull of Kintyre which saves them over 100 miles.

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[angusboy]

Done it back in may right round to dornoch liked it that much went back round again 5 weeks, pm me if you want to ask anything regards steve

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

We did it in April when the heather was all brown but the scenery was still stunning. We hope to go again late September when the heather will be out and do it a bit slower. We enjoyed it very much. Were advised to travel up from Inverness to John-o-Groats to do it anti clockwise which I think is the best way as rhe scenery builds to a crescendo at Applecross Pass. You can read about it in our blog link in signature below. Not easy to follow as I do a few days at a time and didn't get time to finish it but if you can work it out it will show what we did. I just do it for family and friends to enjoy at the time.
We didn't stay on a site once no need as there are plenty of places most too remote for sites. But make sure you have plenty of fuel and gas on board to last the trip. The only place on the west is Ullapool on the trading estate but it is closed on Sunday when we got there but just managed on what we had. Fill up with fuel there also which is open on Sunday's.
Hope you enjoy the 500 we did and will go again.
Steve

 

[Dognewf]

its worth driving, but as others have said, all of the west coast provides scenery and parking spots a plenty. Ullapool is a good stop for a proper campsite and facilities.

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[JFD]

We mainly wild camped, calling in at campsites every few days to sort out water and waste - everywhere we went, we were welcomed. Sometimes we were allowed to use the facilities for free (a donation to a local charity), and sometimes we were charged, but never overcharged.

Wild camping is something of a feature of Scotland, and it's a wonderful feature! We have been settled off the (minor) road at dusk, when a stag and his harem of does decide to wander past either side of us, chomping the grass on the way

Scotland is full of such magical moments, just waiting for you to experience them!!

Have a look at (and join) the Scottish Motorhome Wildcampers on Facebook.

 

[Popeye]

I covered the North Coast 500 in June/July loved every mile. We went up the East Coast because the west coast was taking a battering from the weather. Thoroughly enjoyed the West coast on our way down to Dumfries & Galloway on the recommendation of @lorger Gerry and glad we did.

It rained every day for about an hour until we came to D&G when it turned so bad that we had to make a run for it to the Lakes.

We only encountered the midges twice, Falkirk Wheel on the way up and Loch Lomond on the way back.

The first time they were merely a nuisance the second time we closed every door and window and watched the poor souls in tents trying there best to survive the little cannibal B4r$tards.

When I next do it I shall plan more as many sites we just drove by to almost to say we'd done it. The three days we spent on Skye were brilliant topped by stumbling across Skye Skins of @Carol fame.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

I know from touring the North of Scotland during annual holidays (by car) over the past 30 years or so, that fuel is expensive and petrol stations were/are few and far between. Since the North Coast 500 has been created I was wondering if there is such thing as a list of petrol stations on route? I know that there has been a proposed government initiative to subsidise the cost of fuel in the Highlands and Islands to make it affordable for locals and tourists alike. On my last trip in 2013 I paid 14p per litre more in Ullapool than in Glasgow.

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[BusyBuilder]

I live on the NC500 and would not recommend, it at all. The weather is rubbish, always raining and when it's not you'll get eaten alive by those dreaded midges. The scenery is not up to much, very over rated and the fuel stations will rip you off something terrible. The locals are awful and not very welcoming to non locals and any tourists will be treated like tinks.

There, have I put you off yet

 

[Baileysbus]

I know that there has been a proposed government initiative to subsidise the cost of fuel in the Highlands and Islands to make it affordable for locals and tourists alike. On my last trip in 2013 I paid 14p per litre more in Ullapool than in Glasgow.

The scheme has been live for some time ......see the linky https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rural-fuel-price-cut-gets-green-light
I tried looking for a map to show where the price cuts apply to but no joy, just a list of postcodes.
We were on Skye a week ago and I filled up in Broadford for 5p a litre cheaper than I filled up in Dunfermline before we left ........ which has the Grangemouth refinery just down the road As they say, go figure

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

I live on the NC500 and would not recommend, it at all. The weather is rubbish, always raining and when it's not you'll get eaten alive by those dreaded midges. The scenery is not up to much, very over rated and the fuel stations will rip you off something terrible. The locals are awful and not very welcoming to non locals and any tourists will be treated like tinks.

There, have I put you off yet

Not at all. Having lived in Scotland for over 45 years and I've never known Scots in general to be nothing less than welcoming, you will get exceptions there like you will anywhere. Due to circumstances I now live in Wales but if I could I'd move back to Scotland in a heartbeat. As a photographer I've found the west coast to be stunning, can't be that bad to attract so many foreign tourists back again and again.
Yes the weather can be awful but people don't go to Scotland for the weather. When the weather is good there's no better place to be.
Yes the midges are a pain but look at the bright side you don't get mosquitoes. If I felt the way that you do I'd move. It's as though you don't want visitors and keep the place all to yourself!

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[Wee Bold Davy]

The scheme has been live for some time ......see the linky https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rural-fuel-price-cut-gets-green-light
I tried looking for a map to show where the price cuts apply to but no joy, just a list of postcodes.
We were on Skye a week ago and I filled up in Broadford for 5p a litre cheaper than I filled up in Dunfermline before we left ........ which has the Grangemouth refinery just down the road As they say, go figure

I used to be a lorry driver and found the fuel in Grangemouth to be very expensive. Can't blame it on delivery costs

 

[BusyBuilder]

Not at all. Having lived in Scotland for over 45 years and I've never known Scots in general to be nothing less than welcoming, you will get exceptions there like you will anywhere. Due to circumstances I now live in Wales but if I could I'd move back to Scotland in a heartbeat. As a photographer I've found the west coast to be stunning, can't be that bad to attract so many foreign tourists back again and again.
Yes the weather can be awful but people don't go to Scotland for the weather. When the weather is good there's no better place to be.
Yes the midges are a pain but look at the bright side you don't get mosquitoes. If I felt the way that you do I'd move. It's as though you don't want visitors and keep the place all to yourself!

It was a joke, I love it here and wouldn't move anywhere else. Come and have a great time, but be aware it's pretty busy now.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

We're on it now .
People say west is best . But we loved the east and the beautiful north coast road .
We took the time to do a bit of research and went off the nc500 track .
We've done the west a few times before . The hebredian islands are the best bit , on the west side in our opinion . The ski resorts are impressive without the snow .

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[The Boofles]

Like @Ralph-n-Bev we did a lot of research and planning before our 2 week trip in June. Deviating off the well beaten NC500 track is well worth it if you can. Some of the roads are seriously narrow though. And steep and twisty!!
The east coast is as interesting as the west coast just in a different, less dramatic way? So I wouldn't be put off exploring it.
We included Aberdeenshire and Fife in our trip for example and didn't feel we had missed out on anything. We wild camped and only needed to stop at a campsite twice to top up/empty out - Sango Sands at Durness and Findhorn near Elgin.
Like others have offered - pm me if there is anything specific that you would more info on.
Sharon