!!!!! North Coast 500 . . . . . . by car !!!!!

[Cunobelin]

Forgive me fellow cyclist for I am about to sin...

I have Cycled the Mainland Coast as far north as Inverness in both directions.. and want to complete the loop at some pointers

However due to health problems, cycle touring is off the Agenda at present

I am having my hip replaced in In the near future, and by October / November should be able to Drive, but not cycle any great distance

So for the moment the NC500 by car is a target for my recovery

Has anyone done this route and can offer tips, hints, recommendations for an aging person with a new hip

[softlips]

Yes, I’ve done it twice, once in the Lotus staying in hotels and once in the campervan.

Make sure you go to the Applecross Inn and have the languistines (they’re on the menu as prawns). I prefer the anti-clockwise route. It’s a great trip, I’m considering doing it on the bike.

[hercule]

The midges will have gone by then and most of the other drivers will be off the roads. Of course the later you leave it the more the chance of wild weather and the days will be shorter. But the popularity of the route means that places that used to shut over the winter remain open - still expect to see a few "closed" signs though.

There are also a huge number of interesting places off the signed route well worth a visit, especially on the west coast. Too many people slavishly follow the ordained route when the original idea was just to be a starting point for further exploration; some communities feel hard done by as they are not on the NC500, some are cursing the fact that they are...

There's a really good couple of episodes on the BBC Scotland Outdoors podcast about driving an all-electric BMW i3 round the route. (They made it round, just.) Unfortunately the episodes seem to be off their podcast feed but it's a programme well worth listening to each week as it may well give you ideas for where to go, what to see.

[Cyril Haearn]

You confess your intention to commit a sin
I saw a film about Pope Francis today so I feel mercifully able to forgive you in advance
Have you thought of hiring a rickshaw?

[Bonefishblues]

Yes, I’ve done it twice, once in the Lotus staying in hotels and once in the campervan.

Make sure you go to the Applecross Inn and have the languistines (they’re on the menu as prawns). I prefer the anti-clockwise route. It’s a great trip, I’m considering doing it on the bike.

Interesting you say that - the best we had (along with much else) when we did our car tour of Highlands and Islands was in an unprepossessing back street café in Tobermoray, rather than the more exhalted places we visited - but it was all no less than good, anyway!

[Cunobelin]

You confess your intention to commit a sin
I saw a film about Pope Francis today so I feel mercifully able to forgive you in advance
Have you thought of hiring a rickshaw?

Nope,

I had thought of using the Christiania... but getting on the plane was an issue, and when it comes to pedalling..the wife is less fit than me!

[philsknees]

I'm glad I did most of it solo cycle camping a few years back & thoroughly enjoyed it (some of the early season wild weather apart - it snowed!) but now the word is that as a result of extensive signposting it's some losing appeal as it attracts increasing volumes of motorised traffic, even around the "shoulder" seasons. The empty roads disappearing into the distance are a thing of the past.
A friend with mobility issues had planned a trip round the route by car early this spring but found pre-booking any accommodation on (and even near) the route generally impossible due to the high demand, so has postponed his visit and is booking now for next year.
He did visit Ullapool however and tells me that he met a couple there who were doing the route by car this year after failing to secure accommodation for a trip they'd originally planned for 2017.
The moral seems to be book accommodation on the route well in advance, even off season.
Well worth the trip & I'd agree that off-route excursions are a must. Plenty of taster videos on Youtube - try Durness-Ullapool.

[hondated]

The midges will have gone by then and most of the other drivers will be off the roads. Of course the later you leave it the more the chance of wild weather and the days will be shorter. But the popularity of the route means that places that used to shut over the winter remain open - still expect to see a few "closed" signs though.

There are also a huge number of interesting places off the signed route well worth a visit, especially on the west coast. Too many people slavishly follow the ordained route when the original idea was just to be a starting point for further exploration; some communities feel hard done by as they are not on the NC500, some are cursing the fact that they are...

There's a really good couple of episodes on the BBC Scotland Outdoors podcast about driving an all-electric BMW i3 round the route. (They made it round, just.) Unfortunately the episodes seem to be off their podcast feed but it's a programme well worth listening to each week as it may well give you ideas for where to go, what to see.

If you want a better idea of what is en route go on YouTube and type in Wildbad. If you look through their videos they rode this route on motorbikes. They're very entertaining and you might find yourself looking at their other videos.

[John1054]

Having stayed at Kinlochewe last late spring; the wardens on site told us that they had been full since the site opened - previously unheard of. Make sure that you get your accommodation sorted if possible in advance.

[Cyril Haearn]

Forgive me fellow cyclist for I am about to sin...
..

Please to say four Our Fathers, then you are absolved
..
The Grauniad reports that a South Coast 1700 is planned in Chile

[Scunnered]

I wouldn't bother...
The mainly single carriageway roads are clogged up by

• sportscars trying to set the fastest lap time
• massive campervans
• foreign tourists

none of whom have a clue how to use passing places

[ambodach]

The Ullapool music festival which has been going for years is being abandoned after this year. Participants in this event say they cannot get accommodation because of NC500 as everything is booked so far in advance.
Unintended consequence but may not be the only casualty.

[Bonefishblues]

Organiser Robert Hicks says this year's is "definitely the last".

"When we started the village was near deserted in September," he said.

"Fast forward 15 years, many more people are visiting the north west Highlands which is a wonderful thing, but it's made accommodating the Loopallu faithful even harder as there's such a demand for beds."

AIUI they also lost their traditional site a couple of years ago and had to dramatically scale it back.

[Cyril Haearn]

Where might the event be held instead? Grantown-on-Spey maybe?

[Bonefishblues]

It won't. Being in Ullapool made it what it was.