[isleaiw1]

Time to consult the font of all knowledge again.... a friend is currently doing the NC500 in a rented motorhome. He does have three kids in tow though so I guess its the best way.... But it reminded me that I want to do it, the other half wants to see more of Scotland and so what better way...

So.... when is a good time to go / bad time to go? The reality is that if we go this year we have to go late Sept, or we could wait and go next year, probably around the time before schools break for Easter....

We will be doing it in the Mini - not because I wont do the long distance in the EV but because the Mini was bought for the fun stuff and getting the roof down if the weather is nice sounds good. So we'll have to travel pretty light and we will be looking for B&Bs to book as we go round. Does this work or is hiring a motorhome the best way?

Other half has a cousin in Aberdeen - can we tie that in too?

How long do we need? from arriving there to leaving, not including getting there and back to the joyous south east?

Other half might fly up to Aberdeen and back to avoid the grind of 11 ish hours on the road in the relatively boring areas.... is Aberdeen too far out the way to try and tie this in both ways?

Nice gentle intro to driving down through France the year after....

[Pond]

From what I have heard, your friend in his motorhome is the problem with the NC500. Too big vehicles for too small roads.

it seems to have become a victim of it's own success. I have never done it, mind. Too far, too cold, too wet, too many others!

I also have heard of people having to respray their Porsches after doing it cos of the 'stone rash'.

In answer to your question; I would say Xmas day would be favourable

[Ennoch]

I'll PM you isleaiw1 because while I'm happy to share to individuals, the NC500 is a cancer on the north of Scotland and I don't want to add any fuel to the fire that's already burning.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

I'll PM you isleaiw1 because while I'm happy to share to individuals

I would be interested to know what a 'local' thinks TBH.

[Kendo67]

Originally Posted by Pond

I would be interested to know what a 'local' thinks TBH.

Got the impression that in certain areas we were not wanted as we passed through in our van as there were numerous homemade signs saying `Campers go home` , whereas business owners couldn`t get enough of our open wallets.

Get the weather and it is awesome , if you don't then it is a misery a bit like our rather damp experience in the Lake District last week.

Up the East then down the West is the way to do it, will update further tomorrow after my beauty sleep.

K

[Scoobyd]

From all I’ve read on it the best time to do it was years ago. Now, like much else, it seems to have become overpopulated and as such largely ruined as an experience.

Cruising around some stunning scenery with the roof down sounds great… but the reality may well be crawling along behind a stream of camper vans that are too big for the roads, driven by people who aren’t capable of driving them, who often get stuck, leading you to get stuck. Add to that crashing around on the broken road surfaces caused by all the heavy vehicles they weren’t built for. Oh and if it’s midge season you won’t be wanting that roof down for long.

Essentially, something with the potential to be stunning ruined by the ignorance and greed of the human race. Just for a change.

I bought the NC500 book years ago as had always fancied doing it. But now I fear I’ve missed that particular boat.

Ennoch may well, and hopefully does, say otherwise when he PM’s you. Cant beat that local knowledge!

[crAbb]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Time to consult the font of all knowledge again.... a friend is currently doing the NC500 in a rented motorhome. He does have three kids in tow though so I guess its the best way.... But it reminded me that I want to do it, the other half wants to see more of Scotland and so what better way...

So.... when is a good time to go / bad time to go? The reality is that if we go this year we have to go late Sept, or we could wait and go next year, probably around the time before schools break for Easter....

We will be doing it in the Mini - not because I wont do the long distance in the EV but because the Mini was bought for the fun stuff and getting the roof down if the weather is nice sounds good. So we'll have to travel pretty light and we will be looking for B&Bs to book as we go round. Does this work or is hiring a motorhome the best way?

Other half has a cousin in Aberdeen - can we tie that in too?

How long do we need? from arriving there to leaving, not including getting there and back to the joyous south east?

Other half might fly up to Aberdeen and back to avoid the grind of 11 ish hours on the road in the relatively boring areas.... is Aberdeen too far out the way to try and tie this in both ways?

Nice gentle intro to driving down through France the year after....

I'm not an expert on Scottish touring, but reading the other posts, seems as tho' the chance to do the 500 has been and gone. What about heading south into continental Europe? I tour into continental Europe every year on two wheels. I'd highly recommend the Picos national park in northern Spain (about 70km from Santander/Bilbao) and then cross over to the Pyrenees.

[isleaiw1]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate that the days of the NC500 being a quiet haven have gone but.... the other half wants to see Scotland (and so do I, it was only ever work when I went up and always one eye on the clock), I dont care if I'm held up by campers as my other half isnt a great passenger, I was joking about hiring a motorhome and will be opening my wallet for decent accomm and food. Hate midges but hoping to find a time when they arent too prevalent.... and we will be going into Europe when we have longer for next years main holiday - thinking of heading down the west to bordeaux and then further to perpignan but its all fluid!

As for the stone chips, I stopped worrying about my cars being perfect a long time ago (probably when I got rid of the RS4!)

[martin10chk]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Thanks everyone. Appreciate that the days of the NC500 being a quiet haven have gone but.... the other half wants to see Scotland (and so do I, it was only ever work when I went up and always one eye on the clock), I dont care if I'm held up by campers as my other half isnt a great passenger, I was joking about hiring a motorhome and will be opening my wallet for decent accomm and food. Hate midges but hoping to find a time when they arent too prevalent.... and we will be going into Europe when we have longer for next years main holiday - thinking of heading down the west to bordeaux and then further to perpignan but its all fluid!

As for the stone chips, I stopped worrying about my cars being perfect a long time ago (probably when I got rid of the RS4!)

Personally I think it sounds great! You will be much less constrained being in a car rather than a motorhome. My only thought would be to ignore the NC500 'route' and go off piste. There are many many parts of Scotland that are beautiful and relatively uncrowded / off the tourist route. The Angus Glens spring to mind (having lived close by). All round Dunkeld and that way. Out west to Campeltown and that whole area. Ayrshire - lovely. So many options. No need to joint the procession of campers!

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by martin10chk

Personally I think it sounds great! You will be much less constrained being in a car rather than a motorhome. My only thought would be to ignore the NC500 'route' and go off piste. There are many many parts of Scotland that are beautiful and relatively uncrowded / off the tourist route. The Angus Glens spring to mind (having lived close by). All round Dunkeld and that way. Out west to Campeltown and that whole area. Ayrshire - lovely. So many options. No need to joint the procession of campers!

There is a good chance that when I start planning it properly I'll just find all the nice spots with decent accomm and restaurants and deviate quite a lot from the official route. Def want to focus on the west as I have never been to that bit, but might as well see family in Aberdeen whilst there....

[Kendo67]

We did it two years ago during the partial lifting of our "lock-downs" so maybe in our case it wasn`t as busy as it would normally have been.

We did it over a week and stuck to the route apart from one deviation to Eilean Donan Castle , more deviations would have meant more time on the road.

If staying in hotels etc along the way. then do a bit of digging into the areas you will be staying in as some are not as nice as you might expect and not ideal for an evening stroll.

From the starting point in Inverness we went up the East , along the top then down the West then back to Inverness.

Loads of info out there of things to do depending on what floats your boat and you can tailor your tour to suit your timescale.

Get the weather and the wind is above 5 mph to keep the midges away and it will be great , rain and zero wind and you will get savaged by the wee blighters which can and will ruin your visit.

Dont think that it will be "driving nirvana" as there are only certain parts of the 500 miles when it can all comes together and turns into a "Top Gear" segment.

Would i be doing an additional 1200 mile found trip to do the NC500 then i dont know if i would , if it is on your doorstep then definitely.

K

[un1eash]

My friend did it last year in April and said it was quiet and had good weather.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Kendo67

We did it two years ago during the partial lifting of our "lock-downs" so maybe in our case it wasn`t as busy as it would normally have been.

We did it over a week and stuck to the route apart from one deviation to Eilean Donan Castle , more deviations would have meant more time on the road.

If staying in hotels etc along the way. then do a bit of digging into the areas you will be staying in as some are not as nice as you might expect and not ideal for an evening stroll.

From the starting point in Inverness we went up the East , along the top then down the West then back to Inverness.

Loads of info out there of things to do depending on what floats your boat and you can tailor your tour to suit your timescale.

Get the weather and the wind is above 5 mph to keep the midges away and it will be great , rain and zero wind and you will get savaged by the wee blighters which can and will ruin your visit.

Dont think that it will be "driving nirvana" as there are only certain parts of the 500 miles when it can all comes together and turns into a "Top Gear" segment.

Would i be doing an additional 1200 mile found trip to do the NC500 then i dont know if i would , if it is on your doorstep then definitely.

K

Thanks - with the worlds most nervous passenger I am not expecting top gear driving, camper van speeds will be fine for her!

But you are right, 500 miles the other way gets us into much warmer climes which may be a better option for september and do scotland in the spring next year....

[DB118D]

Can your other half not fly to Inverness? Or is it tying in with visiting family?

Aberdeen to Inverness doesn't look much on the map but the road is a proper b!tch and takes hours

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by DB118D

Can your other half not fly to Inverness? Or is it tying in with visiting family?

Aberdeen to Inverness doesn't look much on the map but the road is a proper b!tch and takes hours

It was trying to tie in with family, but if necessary she can change plans, I think, it was a thought as we were close (as Scotland isnt that big is it )

[DB118D]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

It was trying to tie in with family, but if necessary she can change plans, I think, it was a thought as we were close (as Scotland isnt that big is it )

You sound like our Midlands based bid team when they were pricing jobs north of Stirling!

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by DB118D

You sound like our Midlands based bid team when they were pricing jobs north of Stirling!

It was a bit tongue in cheek, reminiscing of the day I was planning a trip to Banff and my instructions were "fly to Aberdeen, hire a car and drive about 2 hours north".... I did think I was heading for Greenland!

I am now well aware that Scotland is about 60% of the size of England but with 10% of the population....

[Mr Burt]

My experience was from 2016 when the popularity of NC500 was not as high.
10 of us decided to cycle it in 4 days! yes I know we were/are a bit crazy when it comes to road cycling. 534miles 30,000ft of climbing……..
We did it second week in September, weather ok, midges were proactive……
Started and finished in Inverness. We went clockwise and the first 2 days were truly stunning. From Applecross to Durness is prehistoric in parts and out of this world scenery wise.
The roads are tight in places but generally in good condition, with lots of passing places when required and also overtaking places a plenty, it’s not all single track, but Motorhome wise I would go compact maximum. It’s not the length but the width that could cause issues.
Being on bikes we stuck to the route and that gave us few options for accommodation and what we did use was a bit 1980’s. Pubs and restaurants are few and far between and not open or doing food some days so plan ahead carefully for drinks/food. If you car drive it then you could deviate to find better places to stay.
John O’Groates is a dump, with nothing other than the historic sign and a hostel type pub.
The final leg from JoG to Inverness is not great, dull scenery wise and fairly generic sights with a few main roads.
In summary;
West coast amazing, take your time there, plan well for social/sleeping.

Motorhome hire is expensive and stressful, if you are a newbie to the concept. I am second year into ours and it throws up challenges, the tech can be ‘quirky’ , stuck miles from anywhere with a leak or electrical wobble can be stressful. Trust me on that please.
If you do decide to Motorhome it, download the App ‘search for sites’ loads of places to stop, park up with honest reviews to support.
Hope I have not put you off.
The image below brings back wonderful cycling memories, arse was in bits for weeks after

[Armaan]

Great plan isleaiw1.

Did this for my 30th just under 3 years ago and I’d advise going anticlockwise - the west coast is far more scenic and has the Isle of Skye.

Up to Inverness, then John o groats, Isle of Skye (hotels around there are pretty poor), down to Loch Lomond and then back was our loop.

Happy to provide more details via PM.

We are planning on doing it again in more fun cars and going to the specific parts we enjoyed.

A

[Pobsey]

I did it in 2016 in the first week of October, amazing scenery and was very little traffic. Think you’d need to avoid summer holidays and peak times to actually enjoy the trip.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Mr Burt

My experience was from 2016 when the popularity of NC500 was not as high.
10 of us decided to cycle it in 4 days! yes I know we were/are a bit crazy when it comes to road cycling. 534miles 30,000ft of climbing……..
We did it second week in September, weather ok, midges were proactive……
Started and finished in Inverness. We went clockwise and the first 2 days were truly stunning. From Applecross to Durness is prehistoric in parts and out of this world scenery wise.
The roads are tight in places but generally in good condition, with lots of passing places when required and also overtaking places a plenty, it’s not all single track, but Motorhome wise I would go compact maximum. It’s not the length but the width that could cause issues.
Being on bikes we stuck to the route and that gave us few options for accommodation and what we did use was a bit 1980’s. Pubs and restaurants are few and far between and not open or doing food some days so plan ahead carefully for drinks/food. If you car drive it then you could deviate to find better places to stay.
John O’Groates is a dump, with nothing other than the historic sign and a hostel type pub.
The final leg from JoG to Inverness is not great, dull scenery wise and fairly generic sights with a few main roads.
In summary;
West coast amazing, take your time there, plan well for social/sleeping.

Motorhome hire is expensive and stressful, if you are a newbie to the concept. I am second year into ours and it throws up challenges, the tech can be ‘quirky’ , stuck miles from anywhere with a leak or electrical wobble can be stressful. Trust me on that please.
If you do decide to Motorhome it, download the App ‘search for sites’ loads of places to stop, park up with honest reviews to support.
Hope I have not put you off.
The image below brings back wonderful cycling memories, arse was in bits for weeks after

I certainly wont be doing it in a motorhome, or on a bike! You must be mad on the latter - and on the former, I work for a hotel company, I like my home comforts now....

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Armaan

Great plan isleaiw1.

Did this for my 30th just under 3 years ago and I’d advise going anticlockwise - the west coast is far more scenic and has the Isle of Skye.

Up to Inverness, then John o groats, Isle of Skye (hotels around there are pretty poor), down to Loch Lomond and then back was our loop.

Happy to provide more details via PM.

We are planning on doing it again in more fun cars and going to the specific parts we enjoyed.

A

I'm thinking from what people are saying that maybe skipping the Jo'G to Inverness bit is maybe one option, and sticking around the nicer bits around Inverness and the west coast and then doubling back and heading down the bits north of Glasgow and Edinburgh....