NC500 Completed (1 Viewer)

Macca1987 · Jun 3, 2024

Well folks, just back from our 2 week trip doing the NC500 round the coast of Scotland
All I can say is AMAZING
I have never driven so much or walked so much in two weeks in my life, but every bit of it was worth it

It may not be for everyone, but if you are into
Majestic Scenery
Beautiful Beaches
Wonderful Waterfalls
Fantastic Castles
Hiking and woodland walks
Then it could be for you
We went anti clockwise, so got to see the beaches, some castles and lovely woodland walks first, when you come to the west coast it is so much more rugged, but the scenery is fantastic, walks to some amazing waterfalls, took the gondola half way up Ben Nevis, then took a final two day in Stirling to see all of the historic things, Bannockburn, Wallace Monument, and Stirling Castle to name a few

clint van damme · Jun 3, 2024

Macca1987 said:
Well folks, just back from our 2 week trip doing the NC500 round the coast of Scotland
All I can say is AMAZING
I have never driven so much or walked so much in two weeks in my life, but every bit of it was worth it

It may not be for everyone, but if you are into
Majestic Scenery
Beautiful Beaches
Wonderful Waterfalls
Fantastic Castles
Hiking and woodland walks
Then it could be for you
We went anti clockwise, so got to see the beaches, some castles and lovely woodland walks first, when you come to the west coast it is so much more rugged, but the scenery is fantastic, walks to some amazing waterfalls, took the gondola half way up Ben Nevis, then took a final two day in Stirling to see all of the historic things, Bannockburn, Wallace Monument, and Stirling Castle to name a few

Great info cheers. Sounds amazing. Fingers crossed we get there next year

Macca1987 · Jun 3, 2024

clint van damme said:
Great info cheers. Sounds amazing. Fingers crossed we get there next year

We started planning at least a year ahead, one thing I would say is that the accommodation gets booked up pretty quick, unless you are planning to go by camper van etc

shmmeee · Jun 3, 2024

What’s the NC500?

jimmyhillsfanclub · Jun 3, 2024

Always talked about doing the cycling tour of the NC500 but never got around to it...Pedal Britain are currently offering a good tour deal for next year but its cycling 513 miles over 7 days with no rest day.... Sadly those kind of miles are beyond me these days

clint van damme · Jun 3, 2024

shmmeee said:
What’s the NC500?

North coast, basically a route for travelling round the coast line in North Scotland.

Macca1987 · Jun 3, 2024

jimmyhillsfanclub said:
Always talked about doing the cycling tour of the NC500 but never got around to it...Pedal Britain are currently offering a good tour deal for next year but its cycling 513 miles over 7 days with no rest day.... Sadly those kind of miles are beyond me these days

Saw a lot of cyclists on the route, some were doing the big pass from Applecross, I was scared enough in the car, couldn't believe people were cycling it lol

Macca1987 · Jun 3, 2024

shmmeee said:
What’s the NC500?

It runs around the coast of Scotland in the highlands, runs from Inverness all the way back again, you can do it clockwise or anti-clockwise dependent on what you want to see first

Ian1779 · Jun 3, 2024

Macca1987 said:
Well folks, just back from our 2 week trip doing the NC500 round the coast of Scotland
All I can say is AMAZING
I have never driven so much or walked so much in two weeks in my life, but every bit of it was worth it

It may not be for everyone, but if you are into
Majestic Scenery
Beautiful Beaches
Wonderful Waterfalls
Fantastic Castles
Hiking and woodland walks
Then it could be for you
We went anti clockwise, so got to see the beaches, some castles and lovely woodland walks first, when you come to the west coast it is so much more rugged, but the scenery is fantastic, walks to some amazing waterfalls, took the gondola half way up Ben Nevis, then took a final two day in Stirling to see all of the historic things, Bannockburn, Wallace Monument, and Stirling Castle to name a few

I’ve done it over two trips to Scotland and also took in the Outer Hebrides and Isle
of Skye as part of the second trip.
Truly breathtaking scenery.

Macca1987 · Jun 4, 2024

Ian1779 said:
I’ve done it over two trips to Scotland and also took in the Outer Hebrides and Isle
of Skye as part of the second trip.
Truly breathtaking scenery.

That was our only regret, if we knew before planning what we actually did, we could have stretched our stopovers and made a couple of days on the Isle of Skye, we were so near, went to the Kyle of Lochalsh and could see the bridge to Skye from where we were parked. Obviously means another trip some time in the future to do the islands and some other places we missed

clint van damme · Jun 6, 2024

Was 2 weeks sufficient Macca or would you ideally liked a bit longer?

Macca1987 · Jun 6, 2024

It was, I think if we had stretched our driving a little in places we could have got onto the islands, but for us it was just the right amount of time, got to see so many places, so much scenery and castles and waterfalls and beaches, all the things we were looking forward to

Mcbean · Jun 6, 2024

I hope you did this on a motorcycle it’s a brilliant ride - here crossing from Gourock to Dunoon as a start

Macca1987 · Jun 6, 2024

Mcbean said:
I hope you did this on a motorcycle it’s a brilliant ride - here crossing from Gourock to Dunoon as a start View attachment 36020

Was in our 4x4, didn't really get to do any crossings like that, was mainly bridges, wish we had

Brighton Sky Blue · Jun 7, 2024

Mrs BSB is from that neck of the woods, a beautiful part of the world though summer is definitely the best time to go. The train up from Inverness to Thurso/Wick is stunning in terms of scenery also. Remember seeing deer jumping around by the train tracks and perhaps less stunning, a great view of Ross County’s ground at Dingwall

Flying Fokker · Jun 7, 2024

Macca1987 said:
Saw a lot of cyclists on the route, some were doing the big pass from Applecross, I was scared enough in the car, couldn't believe people were cycling it lol

The tea room and campsite are your prize once you’re up.

Macca1987 · Jun 11, 2024

Brighton Sky Blue said:
Mrs BSB is from that neck of the woods, a beautiful part of the world though summer is definitely the best time to go. The train up from Inverness to Thurso/Wick is stunning in terms of scenery also. Remember seeing deer jumping around by the train tracks and perhaps less stunning, a great view of Ross County’s ground at Dingwall

Only problem with the later you get into summer are the midges, little bastards

Robinshio · Jun 11, 2024

looking at doing 3-4 weeks up there next summer, mixture of guest houses and camping (to keep cost down) - no idea on itinerary yet but outside of Edinburgh and glasgow/ loch lomond - never really done scotland, so any tips welcome

Macca1987 · Jun 11, 2024

Robinshio said:
looking at doing 3-4 weeks up there next summer, mixture of guest houses and camping (to keep cost down) - no idea on itinerary yet but outside of Edinburgh and glasgow/ loch lomond - never really done scotland, so any tips welcome

Good tip is to invest in a good book about the NC500. We went for NC500 by Robbie Roams, he has done the route several times. Points out all of the places of interest, where to stay (B&B, hotels, glamping, camp sites etc) and things to do. We based our trip off that but also planned a lot of our own things.
One thing I would say is plan in your stops early as the good places tend to get booked up early, and one last comment for now, do not go anywhere near The Weigh Inn in Thurso lol

Macca1987 · Jun 12, 2024

Robinshio said:
looking at doing 3-4 weeks up there next summer, mixture of guest houses and camping (to keep cost down) - no idea on itinerary yet but outside of Edinburgh and glasgow/ loch lomond - never really done scotland, so any tips welcome

One other thing Robinshio, the better half said, get yourself on a couple of the NC500 Facebook groups, people there will be currently doing the NC500 or just done it and you can pick up some tasty tit bits on what's going on in real time

Kneeza · Jun 12, 2024

Skye is wonderful, but I don't see me ever doing the NC500 as such. I'd much rather just tour about as the whim takes me - including a few days crossing the Great Glen. Love that.

Macca1987 · Jun 13, 2024

Kneeza said:
Skye is wonderful, but I don't see me ever doing the NC500 as such. I'd much rather just tour about as the whim takes me - including a few days crossing the Great Glen. Love that.

I think that is what we would do next time, pick and choose where we go, see some of the islands, met some lovely people up there who were doing just that, pinging from one side of the country to the other just to do the things they wanted.

Kneeza · Jun 13, 2024

Macca1987 said:
I think that is what we would do next time, pick and choose where we go, see some of the islands, met some lovely people up there who were doing just that, pinging from one side of the country to the other just to do the things they wanted.

Exactly this.
The NC500, while it has its attractions, has become too much of a draw. There's far more to Scotland.

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