Discussion
That’s unbelievable, no wonder the locals are pissed off.
I also don’t get the so called ‘car clubs’ traveling with 10+ cars. It’s a pain at petrol stations, lunch stops, dinners, finding hotels etc. What’s the fun in that?
I only travel with my group of friends, 4-5 cars max. We usually hook up with our Scottish friends for a day at Cairngorms then go our own way (while they head back to Glasgow / Edinburgh).
Just be sensible, slow down at villages, pick up your rubbish, drop 50p at the collection box when using community toilets etc. It’s not hard is it? (Well, for the majority of us sensible, considerate people)
Looking forward heading back up again, maybe October when it’s quieter but most likely next year after reading the last couple of pages of this thread.
I also don’t get the so called ‘car clubs’ traveling with 10+ cars. It’s a pain at petrol stations, lunch stops, dinners, finding hotels etc. What’s the fun in that?
I only travel with my group of friends, 4-5 cars max. We usually hook up with our Scottish friends for a day at Cairngorms then go our own way (while they head back to Glasgow / Edinburgh).
Just be sensible, slow down at villages, pick up your rubbish, drop 50p at the collection box when using community toilets etc. It’s not hard is it? (Well, for the majority of us sensible, considerate people)
Looking forward heading back up again, maybe October when it’s quieter but most likely next year after reading the last couple of pages of this thread.
GetCarter said:
leggly said:
Red Devil said:
I have been every year (sometimes more than once) starting in 2009. Went with a couple of mates last year.
Never had any major issues. The trick is to go when the majority don't. Timing is key.
The only reason I'm unlikely to be there in 2020 is a lack of cash.
Hopefully things will be back on track next year.
You wouldn’t believe what is going on up here this year. Calder House on Loch Assynt is now a Latrine for the “wild camping/ dirty brigade” many roads are impassable due car and campervans parking where they like. Durness is community under siege with crofters being ignored about illegal camping. Even if you don’t do Facebook, find somebody who does and take a look at the NC500 The land weeps page. Never had any major issues. The trick is to go when the majority don't. Timing is key.
The only reason I'm unlikely to be there in 2020 is a lack of cash.
Hopefully things will be back on track next year.
Apart from some people just being stupid and inconsiderate, a fair few seem to think that 'right to roam' means that can literally stay anywhere.
As you may have seen on the NC500 thread, I returned home to find these people about to camp in my garden (Dash-cam pic - not my car!)
coppice said:
If only I had known that NW Scotland was only drivable in what looks like a full fat , off grid , prepper spec SUV I'd not have enjoyed - or is that endured ? - so many lovely drives in my Caterham ....
I’m not sure how you survived to honest. You must be very very brave. 
Big fuss in Glen Etive yesterday, some creative rented a small holiday cottage that sleeps 8 and invited 25 friends to share it.
12 cars all over the drive, tents pitched all over the lawns, fires lit outside, furniture piled up outside, huge mess inside. Rubbish everywhere.
4 police required to supervise the “eviction”.
Locals polishing their shotguns now.
12 cars all over the drive, tents pitched all over the lawns, fires lit outside, furniture piled up outside, huge mess inside. Rubbish everywhere.
4 police required to supervise the “eviction”.
Locals polishing their shotguns now.
For me the fault lies as much with the council as anything else. They promotion of the NC500 has been fantastic, but the whole route is lacking in proper camp sites, toilet facilities and general infrastructure. You could easily clamp down on bad behaviour if you could offer an alternative, but complaining about campers parking in lay-bys when there are few other alternatives is a difficult position to be in.
Highland council are happy to have the benefits of the NC500, but they are doing a poor job of monitising the popularity of the route and a poor job of offering visitors what they might expect. You could say that's the charm of the place, but I think most people would rather have more facilities than to be s
tting in a bush because it's charming.
Highland council are happy to have the benefits of the NC500, but they are doing a poor job of monitising the popularity of the route and a poor job of offering visitors what they might expect. You could say that's the charm of the place, but I think most people would rather have more facilities than to be s
tting in a bush because it's charming. Condi said:
For me the fault lies as much with the council as anything else. They promotion of the NC500 has been fantastic, but the whole route is lacking in proper camp sites, toilet facilities and general infrastructure. You could easily clamp down on bad behaviour if you could offer an alternative, but complaining about campers parking in lay-bys when there are few other alternatives is a difficult position to be in.
Highland council are happy to have the benefits of the NC500, but they are doing a poor job of monitising the popularity of the route and a poor job of offering visitors what they might expect. You could say that's the charm of the place, but I think most people would rather have more facilities than to be stting in a bush because it's charming.
If you can point out the benefits of the NC500 I’m all ears. Campervans load up in Inverness/Wick/Thurso or Ullapool supermarkets and contribute very little to communities along the route. The promotion of a road that already existed has nothing to do with the Highland Council. Locals are upset by aHighland council are happy to have the benefits of the NC500, but they are doing a poor job of monitising the popularity of the route and a poor job of offering visitors what they might expect. You could say that's the charm of the place, but I think most people would rather have more facilities than to be s
tting in a bush because it's charming. holes setting up tents in graveyards and on private land and using passing places to park, not to mention stting outside within walking distance to toilets. More facilities would destroy the whole essence of NW Scotland . Until the silly hype of NC 500 , which attracted the great unwashed desperate to tick another bucket list, and to take the same cliched pictures they've seen in EVO , generations of people have enjoyed the best scenery in the UK . Some have gone to walk , to bird watch, to shoot , to fish and to tour . I first fished up there nearly 40 years ago ,and have been going back ever since - usually in early summer ,but on one memorable trip , at the end of December .
Like most people, I stayed at local hotels - and did just the same on touring holidays in various cars , daft and sensible. I pumped plenty of money into the local shops and made friends up there. Most visitors I'd meet had been going for years, some all their lives. We all loved the space , the silence and relished how few others made the trip .
And now it sounds like chav city and that is a tragedy . The whole essence of the appeal was what the area DIDN'T have - hardly any shops, facilities , camping sites or traffic . And when I read about monetising the area ,as if was some we to be pimped , I despair . It is a fragile, unique landscape which needs to be preserved , not developed .
Like most people, I stayed at local hotels - and did just the same on touring holidays in various cars , daft and sensible. I pumped plenty of money into the local shops and made friends up there. Most visitors I'd meet had been going for years, some all their lives. We all loved the space , the silence and relished how few others made the trip .
And now it sounds like chav city and that is a tragedy . The whole essence of the appeal was what the area DIDN'T have - hardly any shops, facilities , camping sites or traffic . And when I read about monetising the area ,as if was some w
e to be pimped , I despair . It is a fragile, unique landscape which needs to be preserved , not developed . I blame Queen Victoria and all that romanticisation of the Highlands stuff.
But there have been concerns about exploitation of the Highlands for various reasons, including tourism, for a very long time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cheviot,_the_Sta...
Maybe needs updating to "The Cheviot, the Stag, the Black Black Oil and the Ignorant Chav".
But there have been concerns about exploitation of the Highlands for various reasons, including tourism, for a very long time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cheviot,_the_Sta...
Maybe needs updating to "The Cheviot, the Stag, the Black Black Oil and the Ignorant Chav".
Edited by gdr on Sunday 2nd August 09:24
Gadgetmac said:
People getting into trouble through their own reckless behavior requiring the assistance of the likes of the coastguard should be charged for the rescue. That includes people on sea cliffs, mountains, yachts etc.
Agree but the problem comes with the definition of reckless.We live in an increasingly moronic society where the average level of stupidity increases daily.
GetCarter said:
ruggedscotty said:
still the highlands attracts a number of ejits...
Coastguard had to respond to the driver of this car.
kwit who the other week considered it appropriate to park in a farmers field whilst said farmer was spraying slurry including over his car. Fair enough.At least it would have got a wash from the incoming tide lol.
coppice said:
More facilities would destroy the whole essence of NW Scotland . Until the silly hype of NC 500 , which attracted the great unwashed desperate to tick another bucket list, and to take the same cliched pictures they've seen in EVO , generations of people have enjoyed the best scenery in the UK . Some have gone to walk , to bird watch, to shoot , to fish and to tour . I first fished up there nearly 40 years ago ,and have been going back ever since - usually in early summer ,but on one memorable trip , at the end of December .
Like most people, I stayed at local hotels - and did just the same on touring holidays in various cars , daft and sensible. I pumped plenty of money into the local shops and made friends up there. Most visitors I'd meet had been going for years, some all their lives. We all loved the space , the silence and relished how few others made the trip .
And now it sounds like chav city and that is a tragedy . The whole essence of the appeal was what the area DIDN'T have - hardly any shops, facilities , camping sites or traffic . And when I read about monetising the area ,as if was some we to be pimped , I despair . It is a fragile, unique landscape which needs to be preserved , not developed .
Most people come for the stunning views and the roads, not the silence and lack of things. Like most people, I stayed at local hotels - and did just the same on touring holidays in various cars , daft and sensible. I pumped plenty of money into the local shops and made friends up there. Most visitors I'd meet had been going for years, some all their lives. We all loved the space , the silence and relished how few others made the trip .
And now it sounds like chav city and that is a tragedy . The whole essence of the appeal was what the area DIDN'T have - hardly any shops, facilities , camping sites or traffic . And when I read about monetising the area ,as if was some w
e to be pimped , I despair . It is a fragile, unique landscape which needs to be preserved , not developed . There is the perfect opportunity to monitise it, and if you don't like then so be it, but the NC500 was promoted to bring economic benefits to the area, and while some places have done well and others not so, the fact there are loads of people wanting to visit is a good thing.
Of course stupid behavior like getting stuck on the beach, or leaving rubbish around, or camping in people's gardens should be dealt with robustly and by the correct authorities, but you do have to offer alternatives like campsites, public toilets etc.
Put a tourist tax on the campsites, make some of the roads toll roads (for visitors only), do whatever needs to be done to ensure that money is taken from the visitors and use that money to invest in the area, ensure appropriate levels of policing, and that money will benefit everyone who lives up there. The highlands as a whole are quite deprived and public spending is heavily subsidised from other areas. The tourists are a potentially huge resource to be tapped. Times change, you can't say that you want it to stay stuck in the 1950's forever. Tourists bring money and that money is important to somewhere like the highlands with few other industries.
Having to spend a few extra quid, if that is required, is not going to put off tourists. If you've driven from Birmingham to Fort William, spending another few quid in the local economy isn't going to make the difference between going or not going.
Edited by Condi on Sunday 2nd August 17:22
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