NC500 and Single Track Roads
Discussion
Was up there for 5 days (11th to 15th) in my W30 MR2. The roads were the emptiest I've seen them for years. No impediment to progress at all.
Only met three oncoming campervans on the single track sections and two of them were travelling in convoy. None at all going in the same direction.
Best weather was on the Saturday when I popped over to Skye. Sunny all day. Glad I hadn't picked the following week.
Storm Babet...
Only met three oncoming campervans on the single track sections and two of them were travelling in convoy. None at all going in the same direction.
Best weather was on the Saturday when I popped over to Skye. Sunny all day. Glad I hadn't picked the following week.
Storm Babet...
Managed to fit in a very quick trip to Thurso. Not to go to Thurso, but just as a base for a quick trip to the 'top end'. So that was up from central Scotland on Sunday afternoon, spend Monday mooching around the north coast and back on Tuesday.
Sorry, no car in sight, just an old road.
Sorry, no car in sight, just an old road.
That's Moine House. It stands beside the original course of the A838 which ran south of Loch Maovally - https://maps.app.goo.gl/n9wj711VckLLUMKg7
There are two other visible by-passed sections of the old road further east - https://maps.app.goo.gl/fszVzo2S12PkXHpFA
The pic is not a single image though. It's a composite looking in opposite directions along the same road.
Check out the orientation of the house with the 5 barred gate - https://maps.app.goo.gl/6TYdqJuR5RqfR2FL8
Didn't stop when I passed by earlier this month. Graffiti/art used to sully/adorn the walls (depending on your PoV) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K95LxAt4eWo
According to Google Maps reviews it has since been removed.
There are two other visible by-passed sections of the old road further east - https://maps.app.goo.gl/fszVzo2S12PkXHpFA
The pic is not a single image though. It's a composite looking in opposite directions along the same road.
Check out the orientation of the house with the 5 barred gate - https://maps.app.goo.gl/6TYdqJuR5RqfR2FL8
Didn't stop when I passed by earlier this month. Graffiti/art used to sully/adorn the walls (depending on your PoV) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K95LxAt4eWo
According to Google Maps reviews it has since been removed.
I always do the same. Set up a 'base camp' and head out. Saves all the faff of unloading/unpacking and repacking/reloading each day.
Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
I didn't do it when I had my T6 campervan but did do it in a stage 2 Audi S4. There weren't too many sections that I could actually enjoy in the Audi. Highlight was joining a convoy of friends (not ours) in various exotica including a Ferrari of some description, GTR, R8 and a couple of Porsches. We had a good run up to Durness, but the roads are not setup for fun driving like you get in the Dales or Northumberland. Too many single tracks and narrow sections where you can't see what is around the corner. Dodging motorhomes was another pastime I could have lived without. Great for a scenic drive but not much for enthusiastic motoring. Well maybe in a Swift but not a larger estate car!
Red Devil said:
I always do the same. Set up a 'base camp' and head out. Saves all the faff of unloading/unpacking and repacking/reloading each day.
Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
It may now have to be elsewhere, the Altnaharra B&B is no longer taking bookings. Plan B is Ullapool.Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
Did JoG four years ago, bought a spurtle!
pm me for a cheaper rate than Airbnb. Red Devil said:
I always do the same. Set up a 'base camp' and head out. Saves all the faff of unloading/unpacking and repacking/reloading each day.
Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
You mean Strathmore. That road has stunning views both ways. Bung everything you don't need in drawer/cupboard and travel light. Plus it means there's only one opportunity to inadvertently leaving something behind...
Interesting choice, Altnaharra*. Not for me though as I found anywhere east of the A897 Melvich to Helmsdale pretty uninspiring.
And don't get me started on JoG. Unless you're a twitcher and/or have knitwear fetish it's best avoided imo.
Otherwise it's simply an item on a bucket list. If so, take a quick pic, tick the box, and swiftly depart never to return.
* FWIW, I did the Loch Hope road last year (southbound has the best views). You'll need that sump guard!
It’s not always passable
Red Devil said:
Glad I hadn't picked the following week.
Storm Babet...
That far north missed most of Babet. I had a lovely few days North of the Great Glen. Yes it was wet and windy overnight - but we were camped in trees and felt none of it.Storm Babet...
Until of course the drive home on Saturday...
POIDH said:
leggly said:
How the hell did a professionally trained driver of an HGV think that would go well....?I had a week based at Ullapool when the heatwave struck and was genuinely surprised that the roads weren't too busy.
Granted I never ventured further north than Kylesku and avoided the worst single tracks but even round to Achiltbuie was no busier than, say, 10 years ago.
I did see a huge number of campers but they were all at the campsites in Ullapool and at Ardmair.
I did notice that on the single track sections the motorcyclists were pretty, er, confident that I was going to get out of their way - in some cases I think they expected me to vanish completely
Did this with my lad in the mini on the days leading up to Christmas. Stopped in Cumbria on the way up, then Glencoe, Ullapool and Thurso prior to going to fort Augustus with the rest of the family for a week. Our timing was amazing. The roads were dead, with almost zero traffic. We were able to stop on lots of single track sections, block the road, get out, take images and enjoy a snow ball fight, prior to moving off for another 30 mins, before seeing another vehicle. All the roads were open and easily passable. Fabulous trip and one I would definitely repeat at that time of the year.
Gassing Station | Roads | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff