North coast 500

Events Great Driving Roads
21

I hope to do it in June possibly up to two weeks driving up from kent in 91 mk1. Lake district on the way up and Yorkshire on the way back.

Fingers crossed

22

Nigelw that sounds like a brillant idea my 5/6 days does include the drivibg up from camvridge and eeturn tripĀ 

23

Lets hope itā€™s the right idea, this is my first mx5 so Iā€™m going over it through the winter to make sure itā€™s up to the tripĀ 

24

It is a great road and it is getting a lot a publicity at the moment which will only make the route more popular.

Highland & Moray did the route over a weekend late September this year and had a great time.

If anybody wants any advice on doing the route then feel free to get in contact with me and I will help if I can.

There is a lot to see and do on the route, and also some great places to eat( something we are good at too!)

25

Getting very tempted by this ,have you any reccomendations for b+bā€™s etc we will be travelling up from Nottinghamshire to Inverness and donā€™t want go for a lap record but a memorable 8 /10 day holiday with lots of photo chances etc thanks in advance and anticipation

26

thanks chuck and gill we will pm to seek advice cheersĀ 

27

[quote=Chuck & Gill]
It is a great road and it is getting a lot a publicity at the moment which will only make the route more popular.

Highland & Moray did the route over a weekend late September this year and had a great time.

If anybody wants any advice on doing the route then feel free to get in contact with me and I will help if I can.

There is a lot to see and do on the route, and also some great places to eat( something we are good at too!) [/quote

Ā 

Ā 

Hi Chuck,

I may well be in touch after the new year for some advice on B&B and must see places.Ā 

Thanks

Nigel

28

Please Include me in that as I asked in post 24

29

A bit of interest in this one - if the number of PMā€™s is anything to go by!

Here are a number of places to stay and eat - which the local Highland & Moray club( Hi-5ā€™s) have used in the past few years and have no problem at all in recommending.

Places to Stay
Tongue Hotel, Tongue, Sutherland, IV27 4XD, Tel 01847 611206
An old traditional hotel with bags of character. Lovely spacious rooms with decanters of sherry in each room

Applecross Inn, Shore Street, Applecross, Strathcarron, Tel 01520 744262
This hotel is the heart of the local community. Always busy but great food -especially local seafood.

Rhiconich Hotel, Rhiconich, Lairg, IV27 4RN, Tel 01971 521224
Looks a bit tired on the outside, but the inside is warm and friendly. This is where the Hi-5ā€™s stayed on NC500 this year.

Places to Eat - all of the above
Smoo Cave Hotel, Lerin, Durness, Sutherland, IV27 4QB, Tel 01971 511227
Eaten here a few times this year and not been disappointed.

Cocoa Mountain, 8 Balnakeil, Durness, Lairg, IV27 4PT
No trip to Durness is allowed without visiting the chocolate factory - it is the law!

Shieldaig Bar & Costal Kitchen, Opposite Loch Torridon, Shieldaig, IV54 8XN
We discovered this place in April this year and still talk about the fantastic lunch we had. Seafood to die for!

Potting Shed( at the Walled Garden) Applcross, IV54 8ND, Tel 01540 744440.
A great alternative to the Applecross Inn which can often be too busy.

La Mirage, 7 Dunrobin Street, Helmsdale, KW8 6JA, Tel 01431 821615
Order the fish & chips and let me know if you can eat it all. Home baking, giant pancakes in this quirky cafƩ.

Whaligoe Steps CafƩ, Whaligoe, Ulbster, KW2 6AA, Tel 01955 651702
Nice cafƩ at the top of Whaligoe Steps, which is a great place to visit, and not well known.

There will be lots of other great places to stay and eat too - but the places above have been used by us in the past few years and we are happy to recommend.

Petrol stations have also been mentioned, but donā€™t think it is too bad. If you go Clockwise then make sure you fill up in Ullapool, and if you go anti-clockwise make sure you fill up in Thurso - then you will be fine. The likes of Durness & Scourie I think now have 24 hour unmanned petrol if you get stuck.

Also be aware that there are no NC500 signs on the route, but you can download the route directly from the NC500 website.

From June to late August this area gets very busy with visitors and it seems everybody now comes with their camper vans. Best time to do the route in my opinion would be April/May of late September/early October. You will have quieter roads, cheaper accommodation and we often have the best weather at this time too.

If you do decide to come north and do the route then donā€™t be rude and say hello to the local club. You can see all our events on www.mx5scotland.co.uk under Highland & Moray. Our program of events is already up there for next year and feel free to come along and join us.

If you have a number of cars coming up then let us know too and we will see if any of our locals want to join you.

If anybody needs more - then just PM me.

Chuck & Gill

1 Like
30

 

Thank you Chuck

Nigel

 

31

Thanks muchly for the above listing they will be of great help , it would probably be a single car and a leisurly trip as we have a fair distance to travel to get up there,we have hardly scratched the surface in Scotland and an sure we would enjoy it again many thanks

32

once we have firm dates set for oyr trip we will be in contact with local club as we would live to meet up with some of the localsĀ 

33

Visit the Pulteney Distillery in Wick.

34

Hi Team Malbec,

I am also planning this trip.

I have only been a member for 2 Mts.

can you get back copies of the Mag. anywhere.

Ā 

35

Google www.sercertscotland.com then look up there scotish highlands tours which cover most of the nc 500 with loads of details regards places to visit places to stay maps ectĀ 

36

Sorry, donā€™t know where you can get back issues from. Maybe someone else will be along with an answer.

However, I think that with the links and info on this thread you have a good starting point.

The most important thing to know is to go to the Applecross Inn for the langoustine. I still have dreams about those massive tasty bastards.

37

Evening all, things are going well with my mk1 so itā€™s now time for the planning to start. What I would like to know is what would be a sensible milage to aim for on a tour of Scotland. Iā€™m thinking no more than 200 a day, 150 would give more time for photos.

So what do you think what should I plan for?

Thanks in advance

 

38

3 days to do the loop, plus time to get to and from the jump off point

39

Thanks for the reply. My jump off point will be home in kent as we are taking two weeks heading up through the lakes, isle of sky, west coast 500 then back home through Yorkshire.  A bit ambitious I know but I donā€™t want to get trapped into big miles every day, home to the lakes I hope will be the longest stretch. 

 

40

Same here nigel our longest part will be from home in Cambridge up to the lakeā€™s we plan on doing the round trip in nine days giving us time to see the sights