NC500 (north coast road)
Discussion
Father in law is just back from a sort of NC500 (ish) tour on the bike (a rider of many decades and many a continent) and wasn't that enthused... seems the roads were very busy and populated by lots or caravans and motorhomes and he reckoned the standard of driving was pretty poor on the whole. Seemingly a number of accidents along the way too so he rode the whole route on red alert and as a result, found it a little less relaxing than he hoped. Very complimentary about the scenery and the people he met along the way. He also mentioned that Applecross (ie the pub / locals) weren't that pleased with the influx of people and wanted to be removed from the 'official' route? Not sure where he heard that but wouldn't surprise me if that is the case.
Davie said:
He also mentioned that Applecross (ie the pub / locals) weren't that pleased with the influx of people and wanted to be removed from the 'official' route? Not sure where he heard that but wouldn't surprise me if that is the case.
Yep - it's really only the hospitality sector that likes the NC500 - especially here on the single track roads. I get round it by doing any driving early in the day during 'the season'. I did the 42 mile Applecross loop earlier this morning (getting home at 9 am), and saw 1 car and 2 bikes.
Such a shame really.
Been up to Applecross many times over the past few years and love the place. Took my then new girlfriend up for couple of days and she loved it and said girlfriend is now wife and Applecross probably played a big part in that, have sort of deemed the beach round the headland as 'our beach' (as it probably is for hundreds of people but hey!) so always make a point of visiting when passing. Plus she loves the walled garden and the gardener's shed. Ice cream is a bit hit too.
Last time I drove up it was at 3am in the fog having just driven from Tarbert non-stop via the Stornoway ferry. Slept in the car for a couple of hours, had breakfast at the gardens and went for a walk for a good few miles. By the we'd returned it was mobbed and the inn was rammed and sadly, seemed to be a lot of rather impatient types and people driving around like dicks. Launching your 911 along the waterfront just isn't big nor clever.
Sadly it did somewhat take the shine off it for us and now we both feel a bit guilty about visiting again and being "another NC500 type" so part of me hopes it does drop off the radar and return to it's quieter days when you could relax in the pub after a superb lunch or sit on the beach and just enjoy the silence instead of some retard hitting the limiter in his Civic.
Bit hypocritical of me but when does the volume tail off? Would love to get back up for lunch and a walk on the beach again before summer is out - just had a wee one too and she likes the idea of his first experience of sand / beaches / pneumonia to be at the aforementioned beach and also let him try and figure out what the big hairy coo's are all about.
Cheers
Been up to Applecross many times over the past few years and love the place. Took my then new girlfriend up for couple of days and she loved it and said girlfriend is now wife and Applecross probably played a big part in that, have sort of deemed the beach round the headland as 'our beach' (as it probably is for hundreds of people but hey!) so always make a point of visiting when passing. Plus she loves the walled garden and the gardener's shed. Ice cream is a bit hit too.
Last time I drove up it was at 3am in the fog having just driven from Tarbert non-stop via the Stornoway ferry. Slept in the car for a couple of hours, had breakfast at the gardens and went for a walk for a good few miles. By the we'd returned it was mobbed and the inn was rammed and sadly, seemed to be a lot of rather impatient types and people driving around like dicks. Launching your 911 along the waterfront just isn't big nor clever.
Sadly it did somewhat take the shine off it for us and now we both feel a bit guilty about visiting again and being "another NC500 type" so part of me hopes it does drop off the radar and return to it's quieter days when you could relax in the pub after a superb lunch or sit on the beach and just enjoy the silence instead of some retard hitting the limiter in his Civic.
Bit hypocritical of me but when does the volume tail off? Would love to get back up for lunch and a walk on the beach again before summer is out - just had a wee one too and she likes the idea of his first experience of sand / beaches / pneumonia to be at the aforementioned beach and also let him try and figure out what the big hairy coo's are all about.
Cheers
It doesn't really get quiet until October - and stays quiet until late March, so summer is kind of out. Having said that, Summer is my least fav time, not just because of cars and midges, but it bloody rains all the time (just watch the track of the Hurricane that is currently over Texas - we'll get the end of that) and the light is generally a bit crap. Autumn, Spring and the occasional crisp sunny winter day so much nicer.
...and here's a pic for you and ya' Mrs!
...and here's a pic for you and ya' Mrs!
GetCarter said:
Yep - it's really only the hospitality sector that likes the NC500
AKA one of the principal employment sectors in the Highlands, too many people want to turn the Highlands into a retirement home or a tartan and shortbread based theme park. Agree that the idiot count on the roads is noticeable....but without some kind of tourism boost the remote Highland villages are just second home central or full of folk with fat wallets buying up homes and pricing the local kids out of the area.Having just completed a mid week tour of the NC500 (ish) I would just like to thank the contributors to this thread, especially GetCarter. There is an awful lot of useful information in here and if you want to enjoy the roads it really does pay to get up early.
Finding accommodation does appear to be a problem though even towards the tail end of the season. Initially we had planned to stay in hotels / B&B's along the route but we just couldn't find the availability. In the end we had a great couple of nights camping and the facilities at the 2 sites that we stayed in (Sands near Gairloch and Scourie Camp Site) were fantastic. The first night at The Torridon was also very good but quite pricey in my mind.
The only issue that we encountered were a few selfish drivers near the top of the Bealach who thought it was acceptable to park in the passing places and then double park on the road just to get a few photographs! This then created a stand off between drivers trying to get up and down the hill whilst the idiots who had parked / double parked just shrugged their shoulders. It was very annoying...
Anyway, that aside it was a great trip with some very changeable weather. Obligatory photo attached here
Finding accommodation does appear to be a problem though even towards the tail end of the season. Initially we had planned to stay in hotels / B&B's along the route but we just couldn't find the availability. In the end we had a great couple of nights camping and the facilities at the 2 sites that we stayed in (Sands near Gairloch and Scourie Camp Site) were fantastic. The first night at The Torridon was also very good but quite pricey in my mind.
The only issue that we encountered were a few selfish drivers near the top of the Bealach who thought it was acceptable to park in the passing places and then double park on the road just to get a few photographs! This then created a stand off between drivers trying to get up and down the hill whilst the idiots who had parked / double parked just shrugged their shoulders. It was very annoying...
Anyway, that aside it was a great trip with some very changeable weather. Obligatory photo attached here
GetCarter said:
Having said that hospitality are okay about the NC500, a lot of the B&Bs round here are now changing to a 2 night minimum stay to discourage the NC500 folk.
I just changed a website for one in Shieldaig.
This really annoys me. Me 'n' the Mrs have been doing the NC500 since 2010 (Before it was the NC500) and now a lot of the nice places we stayed have moved to minimum 2 nights stay.I just changed a website for one in Shieldaig.
The Shieldaig hotel wasnt the Shieldaig Lodge was it?
We're hoping to do it again middle of October, so roads should be back to normal levels by then?
N0ddie said:
GetCarter said:
Having said that hospitality are okay about the NC500, a lot of the B&Bs round here are now changing to a 2 night minimum stay to discourage the NC500 folk.
I just changed a website for one in Shieldaig.
This really annoys me. Me 'n' the Mrs have been doing the NC500 since 2010 (Before it was the NC500) and now a lot of the nice places we stayed have moved to minimum 2 nights stay.I just changed a website for one in Shieldaig.
The Shieldaig hotel wasnt the Shieldaig Lodge was it?
We're hoping to do it again middle of October, so roads should be back to normal levels by then?
October is a lot quieter.
Unrelated to the NC500 but after 5 years living on Skye and putting up with the then loony tourists before moving south for work and putting up with the loony Yorkshire people, we are heading north again to Oban. (Bit like Whitley Bay but more rain and ferries).
The amount of tourists walking the town last weekend was colossal, but guess it'll soon quieten down again.
Drove back south yesterday and had a number of drivers overtaking the usual column of cars behind the tourist hire car despite vehicles coming in the opposite direction lights flashing. (that's you Mr Micra and Mr Evoque). And the white Peugeot KE17*** from north of Callander to Doune (probably longer but that's where I followed you) - you are supposed to stay to the left of the white line but not keep hitting the kerb, the stick behind the steering wheel turns on little flashing lights so those behind know where you are going and you don't just stop in the middle of the road whilst you decide....Honestly thought he/she was p155ed.
The amount of tourists walking the town last weekend was colossal, but guess it'll soon quieten down again.
Drove back south yesterday and had a number of drivers overtaking the usual column of cars behind the tourist hire car despite vehicles coming in the opposite direction lights flashing. (that's you Mr Micra and Mr Evoque). And the white Peugeot KE17*** from north of Callander to Doune (probably longer but that's where I followed you) - you are supposed to stay to the left of the white line but not keep hitting the kerb, the stick behind the steering wheel turns on little flashing lights so those behind know where you are going and you don't just stop in the middle of the road whilst you decide....Honestly thought he/she was p155ed.
I feel your pain!
I had a rare day off yesterday and with her and the little man away to her sisters, inspired by the chat on here on Saturday I went for a wee run out which kinda escalated and so I ended up doing Edinburgh > Perth > Lochearnhead > Glencoe > Fort William > Roy Bridge > Dalwhinnie > home.
Weather was typically crap but a few good spells but yes, the standard of driving out there was pretty poor - between some hair raising overtakes by a chap on a black C5 estate thing towards Tyndrum (round blind bends) and then a weaving Eddie Stobart wagon up towards Glencoe, which I passed then almost run up the back of a 66 plate Civic doing 32mph. There number of people who struggle to stay in the lanes is rather worrying as were the number of people oncoming on the wrong side of the road between Roy Bridge / Dalwhinnie. Lots of bikes out too following Thunder in the Glen.
Lots of English registered 17 plate Corsas out and about too, tell tale dealer stickers still on the fuel flaps which suggest they are costing the driver about £24.99 a day and driven in a manner that can only be described as foreign... yes, it's unfamiliar territory but some of the driving was utterly appalling, such as the lady who mounted the kerb on the opposite side of the road exiting the Green Welly and the chap in the 17 plate Cactus (another classic hire car!) who sat at 55mph in lane two from the Broxden roundabout to the M90 spur before swerving left to head towards Dundee... I suspect he'll not make it home. He's probably circling Inverness searching for Edinburgh airport as we speak.
Also reminded my how appalling some of our roads are... some stretches are fantastic but there are lots of bits that I was sure I'd cracked an alloy or a tooth, more so parts of the A90 and sadly, the M90. Glad to see the section just after Lochearnhead is being improved, it was shocking for a long time. But I guess the sheer volume of traffic is just destroying the roads faster than they can fix them.
On the upside, some lovely metal out and about... couple of Dutch TVR Griffith's parked up at the Ballachulish hotel, Saphire Cosworth headed south near Crief, Atom on a trailer, lovely bronze coloured Corvette head north on the M90 near Kinross, RS6 Avant moving very well near the Green Welly... sadly none going my way to have a run with (note, not race... just nice to drive with progress with somebody!) but the weather was pretty appalling.
270 miles done which was probably more than sufficient for a Monday afternoon!
Cheers!
I had a rare day off yesterday and with her and the little man away to her sisters, inspired by the chat on here on Saturday I went for a wee run out which kinda escalated and so I ended up doing Edinburgh > Perth > Lochearnhead > Glencoe > Fort William > Roy Bridge > Dalwhinnie > home.
Weather was typically crap but a few good spells but yes, the standard of driving out there was pretty poor - between some hair raising overtakes by a chap on a black C5 estate thing towards Tyndrum (round blind bends) and then a weaving Eddie Stobart wagon up towards Glencoe, which I passed then almost run up the back of a 66 plate Civic doing 32mph. There number of people who struggle to stay in the lanes is rather worrying as were the number of people oncoming on the wrong side of the road between Roy Bridge / Dalwhinnie. Lots of bikes out too following Thunder in the Glen.
Lots of English registered 17 plate Corsas out and about too, tell tale dealer stickers still on the fuel flaps which suggest they are costing the driver about £24.99 a day and driven in a manner that can only be described as foreign... yes, it's unfamiliar territory but some of the driving was utterly appalling, such as the lady who mounted the kerb on the opposite side of the road exiting the Green Welly and the chap in the 17 plate Cactus (another classic hire car!) who sat at 55mph in lane two from the Broxden roundabout to the M90 spur before swerving left to head towards Dundee... I suspect he'll not make it home. He's probably circling Inverness searching for Edinburgh airport as we speak.
Also reminded my how appalling some of our roads are... some stretches are fantastic but there are lots of bits that I was sure I'd cracked an alloy or a tooth, more so parts of the A90 and sadly, the M90. Glad to see the section just after Lochearnhead is being improved, it was shocking for a long time. But I guess the sheer volume of traffic is just destroying the roads faster than they can fix them.
On the upside, some lovely metal out and about... couple of Dutch TVR Griffith's parked up at the Ballachulish hotel, Saphire Cosworth headed south near Crief, Atom on a trailer, lovely bronze coloured Corvette head north on the M90 near Kinross, RS6 Avant moving very well near the Green Welly... sadly none going my way to have a run with (note, not race... just nice to drive with progress with somebody!) but the weather was pretty appalling.
270 miles done which was probably more than sufficient for a Monday afternoon!
Cheers!
Edited by Davie on Tuesday 29th August 08:40
Edited by Davie on Tuesday 29th August 08:49
georgefreeman918 said:
2 weeks yesterday till I go - camera and drone in preparations ready for the trip.
If you had to choose just one 'must see / do' place on the NC500 what would it be?
Open to suggestions...
Personally a climb up either Stac Pollaidh ( pretty easy going ) or Cul Mor ( longer climb, but not difficult ) for the view across the mountains of Assynt....get this on a good day and the view is breathtaking.If you had to choose just one 'must see / do' place on the NC500 what would it be?
Open to suggestions...
georgefreeman918 said:
2 weeks yesterday till I go - camera and drone in preparations ready for the trip.
If you had to choose just one 'must see / do' place on the NC500 what would it be?
Open to suggestions...
Probably the bits the NC500 miss.If you had to choose just one 'must see / do' place on the NC500 what would it be?
Open to suggestions...
But on the NC500 - the drive round the Applecross Peninsula, The food at Kylesku hotel, and the many empty beaches en route.
GetCarter said:
Probably the bits the NC500 miss.
But on the NC500 - the drive round the Applecross Peninsula, The food at Kylesku hotel, and the many empty beaches en route.
This. The key to the NC500 is learning which parts are actually worth driving and what the 'real best 500' are (varies from person to person!)But on the NC500 - the drive round the Applecross Peninsula, The food at Kylesku hotel, and the many empty beaches en route.
iv not done the nc 500 in a few years but this thread kind of confirmed a fear i had. Long gone are the days of a gti6 in an empty road like when i passed my test then 
. was kind of hoping to take the run in late October with the new gf shes a photographer and make a long weekend out of it . Went out to the Kyle of Lochalsh at the start of the month with a few people set off from Callander. the general standards on the roads were bad but heading up the glen to Fort William i feared for my new car, kamikaze bikers coaches double parking and a tourist that thought my bonnet was a bench . Think its safe to say the highlands best roads are no longer a hidden gem.
. was kind of hoping to take the run in late October with the new gf shes a photographer and make a long weekend out of it . Went out to the Kyle of Lochalsh at the start of the month with a few people set off from Callander. the general standards on the roads were bad but heading up the glen to Fort William i feared for my new car, kamikaze bikers coaches double parking and a tourist that thought my bonnet was a bench . Think its safe to say the highlands best roads are no longer a hidden gem. I heard the NC500 getting a mention on radio scotland again yesterday.
I'm not sure how much of the piece I caught but again complaints aired around speeding and congestion.
Claims that groups of speeders were using it as a racetrack trying to complete it in the quickest time and complaints about folk in campervans who don't know how to use single track roads.
They did claim it brings £9M to the area each year.
I'm not sure how much of the piece I caught but again complaints aired around speeding and congestion.
Claims that groups of speeders were using it as a racetrack trying to complete it in the quickest time and complaints about folk in campervans who don't know how to use single track roads.
They did claim it brings £9M to the area each year.
Drive Blind said:
I heard the NC500 getting a mention on radio scotland again yesterday.
I'm not sure how much of the piece I caught but again complaints aired around speeding and congestion.
Claims that groups of speeders were using it as a racetrack trying to complete it in the quickest time and complaints about folk in campervans who don't know how to use single track roads.
They did claim it brings £9M to the area each year.
There are more and more motorcaravan hire companies these days. Almost 50% are hire vehicles with logos. Not only do some of these people not know how to use single track roads, they have no idea how to reverse (using wing mirrors)... everything up to winnebagos! It's painful to watch as they repeatedly turn the steering wheel the wrong way with a several hundred ft drop on one side of the road. (There's no armco on many sections).I'm not sure how much of the piece I caught but again complaints aired around speeding and congestion.
Claims that groups of speeders were using it as a racetrack trying to complete it in the quickest time and complaints about folk in campervans who don't know how to use single track roads.
They did claim it brings £9M to the area each year.
Then there are the caravans - very rare these days, but when they do turn up and try and park up....
On holiday overseas this week, and was watching the BBC World travel program yesterday. There was a piece about the NC500, its success and some of the issues that have arisen - all pretty balanced. Then the owner of the Applecross Inn came on and pretty much said the extra visitors are a pain in the neck and she'd really rather they weren't there. A very negative and strange attitude some someone in the licensed trade I thought. It's sometimes hard to work out what people want.
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