NC500 (north coast road)

[GetCarter]

rosino said:

Thank you.. yes we had similar in Exmoor indeed.. unless you privilege wider roads for faster progress and accept single track roads will just be done nice and slow.. I was looking at the A87 for example that looks decently wide to be able to overtake if need be.. anything around applecross not so much :-D

Correct. 42 miles round here 99% single track. But all the roads Clarkson & co drove (about 25 miles) are two way, so easy overtake. (Their loop was not what they did).

Edited by GetCarter on Sunday 24th February 16:41

[rosino]

GetCarter said:

rosino said:

Thank you.. yes we had similar in Exmoor indeed.. unless you privilege wider roads for faster progress and accept single track roads will just be done nice and slow.. I was looking at the A87 for example that looks decently wide to be able to overtake if need be.. anything around applecross not so much :-D

Correct. 42 miles round here 99% single track. But all the roads Clarkson & co drove (about 25 miles) are two way, so easy overtake. (Their loop was not what they did).

Edited by GetCarter on Sunday 24th February 16:41

Haha you beat me to it. Just watched the episode and stopped on the frame to look at the map and indeed all single track road A838. Based on your advice thinking of moving it a few weeks later. Maybe concentrated in only 4 days but outside school holidays, and hopefully get quieter conditions..

[SimonTheSailor]

So does anybody know what loop they did ?

[Davie]

From what I picked up... Inverness to the north east via the A836 (perhaps) then to Ullapool and directly back to Inverness on the A835. If so, a mate has done that loop and said it was fantastic.

[GetCarter]

SimonTheSailor said:

So does anybody know what loop they did ?

They may have done a loop, (I doubt it) but nearly all the footage was from the A837 by Loch Assynt and the A894 towards Kylesku.

The started filming here (Ardvreck castle):



With this:



Drove up here:



To here:



Taking in this:



Then back to the castle, right to Lochinver, and left towards Ullapool.

Most of that is on the NC500. I'm sure the reason they didn't do the whole NC500 is that much of the east coast bit is boring and busy. It's up this side (NW) you get decent empty roads and great scenery.

Out of interest, they booked and paid for the entire Inverlodge hotel - but for some reason never turned up!

[CABC]

GetCarter said:

The started filming here (Ardvreck castle):

wow. great colour contrast.

GetCarter said:

Out of interest, they booked and paid for the entire Inverlodge hotel - but for some reason never turned up!

maybe they don't serve sandwiches after 10pm?

[Rocco1]

Don’t rule out military roads

[MrBig]

CABC said:

maybe they don't serve sandwiches after 10pm?

[naetype]

I have a very strong suspicion that after that GT episode the NC500 and a lot of the NW coast is going to end up having (suffering?) from the same impact that Top Gear had on the Nordschliefe. I don't envy the locals during the upcoming Easter break and during the school/summer holidays.

[GetCarter]

naetype said:

I have a very strong suspicion that after that GT episode the NC500 and a lot of the NW coast is going to end up having (suffering?) from the same impact that Top Gear had on the Nordschliefe. I don't envy the locals during the upcoming Easter break and during the school/summer holidays.

It's already happened. Countless articles in magazines and TV programs across the whole world have seen to that.

[naetype]

Oh I know it's risen massively in popularity, I used to do some work between sites at Fort Bill, Foyers and Gairloch both before and after the NC500 promotion and now avoid it in the summer like the plague but you think it was bad up till now, just wait... IMHO.

[CABC]

GetCarter said:

It's already happened. Countless articles in magazines and TV programs across the whole world have seen to that.

i don't think the GT factor will be that great. that audience is mostly already aware of NC. and away from motoring forums and car programmes the NC has been well covered in travel publications. it's no unheard of Stevlio.

[naetype]

I disagree. The only way to settle this matter is to have someone stand on the Applecross road with one of those number 'clickers' to count the number of cars passing by and document the increase over the next few months/years. Seems like a task for a local

[GetCarter]

naetype said:

I disagree. The only way to settle this matter is to have someone stand on the Applecross road with one of those number 'clickers' to count the number of cars passing by and document the increase over the next few months/years. Seems like a task for a local

Ha.

I did this a couple of years ago, but it was the difference between January Sunday 13.00 - 14:00 to August Sunday 13:00 - 14:00 (I know, I should get out more).

IIRC it was 2 cars in an hour in Jan and 84 in August.

If I ever get round to it, I'll do the same this August.

[connoisseur21]

Great pictures and solid advice on here, thanks go out to all. Me and swmbo are taking two weeks end of March/start of April to drive the NC500 in our 2006 Lexus RX350 old fashioned V6 with a good sound and appalling consumption!

A couple of years ago we drove 3500 top down miles down to southern Spain and back in a sadly missed Lexus SC430. The NC500 reads as an enjoyable UK alternative driving tour.

Going anti-clockwise from Inverness. Guidance on likely weather at that time would be very welcome. Are hoping for quieter roads by going before Easter, and will be spending 2 days + on the coast around Orkney, and same at Applecross.

Bealach na Ba is a must for me; aiming to drive the pass early morning or in the evening, if it is light enough for decent photo opportunities?

Also what does local knowledge say about mosquitos and/or midges as a problem at end of March?

Looking forward to a great road trip, at an unhurried pace and supporting the local economy by filling up at anywhere but Tesco or Morrison’s lol. We’ll see......

Thanks in advance

Michael

[Rocco1]

connoisseur21 said:

Great pictures and solid advice on here, thanks go out to all. Me and swmbo are taking two weeks end of March/start of April to drive the NC500 in our 2006 Lexus RX350 old fashioned V6 with a good sound and appalling consumption!

A couple of years ago we drove 3500 top down miles down to southern Spain and back in a sadly missed Lexus SC430. The NC500 reads as an enjoyable UK alternative driving tour.

Going anti-clockwise from Inverness. Guidance on likely weather at that time would be very welcome. Are hoping for quieter roads by going before Easter, and will be spending 2 days + on the coast around Orkney, and same at Applecross.

Bealach na Ba is a must for me; aiming to drive the pass early morning or in the evening, if it is light enough for decent photo opportunities?

Also what does local knowledge say about mosquitos and/or midges as a problem at end of March?

Looking forward to a great road trip, at an unhurried pace and supporting the local economy by filling up at anywhere but Tesco or Morrison’s lol. We’ll see......

Thanks in advance

Michael

We’ve done NC500 for the past three years in mid May and there was no signs of any mosquitos or midges

[GetCarter]

connoisseur21 said:

Great pictures and solid advice on here, thanks go out to all. Me and swmbo are taking two weeks end of March/start of April to drive the NC500 in our 2006 Lexus RX350 old fashioned V6 with a good sound and appalling consumption!

A couple of years ago we drove 3500 top down miles down to southern Spain and back in a sadly missed Lexus SC430. The NC500 reads as an enjoyable UK alternative driving tour.

Going anti-clockwise from Inverness. Guidance on likely weather at that time would be very welcome. Are hoping for quieter roads by going before Easter, and will be spending 2 days + on the coast around Orkney, and same at Applecross.

Bealach na Ba is a must for me; aiming to drive the pass early morning or in the evening, if it is light enough for decent photo opportunities?

Also what does local knowledge say about mosquitos and/or midges as a problem at end of March?

Looking forward to a great road trip, at an unhurried pace and supporting the local economy by filling up at anywhere but Tesco or Morrison’s lol. We’ll see......

Thanks in advance

Michael

There are zero mossies or midges in March. (For other's info, there are actually 37 types of midge. They can start mid May and finish early Oct, but you generally won't see them until mid June and they die off mid Sept. July and August the worst months when the real bds turn up, but if it's sunny, dry or windy, you wont see them. Overcast damp days they are nasty!. SMIDGE works, sold locally, but don't get it in your eyes.

Rush hour (such as it is) is between 7 and 8 a.m.

8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m is quiet. Getting light here at 06:50 at the moment.

Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 2nd March 07:57

[Blown2CV]

mossie season is like end of may till mid sept i think... the middle of that is basically a red period, but like anything i am sure there are locations which are exceptions, but if you are travelling great distances you cannot guarantee you won't get bitten to st.

[abzmike]

Blown2CV said:

mossie season is like end of may till mid sept i think... the middle of that is basically a red period, but like anything i am sure there are locations which are exceptions, but if you are travelling great distances you cannot guarantee you won't get bitten to st.

For what it's worth, we spend 5 days going round in July 2017 - Fantastic weather, not a single midge, oh, and little traffic.

[Blown2CV]

abzmike said:

Blown2CV said:

mossie season is like end of may till mid sept i think... the middle of that is basically a red period, but like anything i am sure there are locations which are exceptions, but if you are travelling great distances you cannot guarantee you won't get bitten to st.

For what it's worth, we spend 5 days going round in July 2017 - Fantastic weather, not a single midge, oh, and little traffic.

it changes year to year depending on our v changeable weather, not just in summer but in the preceding months, and also of course it depends where you go (you won't get swarmed in glasgow barrowlands, for example), however on average that's the midge season.