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North Coast 500

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Jph009
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North Coast 500

Post by Jph009 » Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:50 pm

Its definitely worth doing. Ive done it the last 2 years in September (end of season, not as busy) with the RX8 owners club - 10-15 of us.

Day 1 - Falkirk to Inverness and on to Ullapool
Day 2 - Ullapool to Wick
Day 3 - Wick to Inverness and back to Falkirk

Happy to give more info and maps if you want them as we took a slightly different route than the official one I believe.
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Post by Crimson_27 » Fri Apr 21, 2017 10:22 pm

Some good info here , thanks. I'm planning to do this at the end of June for my road trip this year.
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Ewazix
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Post by Ewazix » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:45 pm

I'm doing the NC500 in September so this has been useful reading :thumbsup:

Ideas for any less publicised sights worth catching on the NC500 would be appreciated? :)
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Twin Turbo
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Post by Twin Turbo » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:14 pm

Well, we did it last September, some amazing roads - especially the west coast - and visit the Isle of Skye.

I planned the whole trip to take 5 days, as we stopped at Edingbrough for 2 days, and Carlise for 1 day

My advice, take three days and visit a couple distilleries. As I was driving from 10am till 4pm every day - so not the relaxing of holidays.

And book your hotels early, as they do get booked - I can highly recommend http://inverlodge.com/

DAY 3
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DAY 4
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DAY 5
13439028_10154292478918497_4172158992657836102_n.jpg
DAY 6 & 7
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Ewazix
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Post by Ewazix » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:18 pm

Twin Turbo wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:14 pm Well, we did it last September, some amazing roads - especially the west coast - and visit the Isle of Skye.

I planned the whole trip to take 5 days, as we stopped at Edingbrough for 2 days, and Carlise for 1 day

My advice, take three days and visit a couple distilleries. As I was driving from 10am till 4pm every day - so not the relaxing of holidays.

And book your hotels early, as they do get booked - I can highly recommend http://inverlodge.com/
That's great stuff thank you, the distilleries and Skye sound like a must :thumbsup:
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Post by jimmybell » Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:43 pm

Planning on doing this early Sept - anyone else around? :)

Any hotels/b&b that stood out with particularly good parking for precious cars?
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Post by metal licker » Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:49 pm

If you're looking for some where a bit special try The Torridon Hotel nr Applecross we stayed there on our wedding anniversary during our NC500 hoon its fab but Expensive 8)
DSC01141.jpg NC500 Sept 2016.jpg
DSC01141.jpg NC500 Sept 2016.jpg (191.34 KiB) Viewed 1480 times
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Post by jimmybell » Thu Jul 27, 2017 6:10 pm

metal licker wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:49 pm If you're looking for some where a bit special try The Torridon Hotel nr Applecross we stayed there on our wedding anniversary during our NC500 hoon its fab but Expensive 8)
DSC01141.jpg NC500 Sept 2016.jpg
Looks awesome - decently expensive but sadly booked up when i'm gona be there i think.

The main issue i'm gona have is weather, trying to pick when's better (early vs late sept i guess)
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metal licker
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Post by metal licker » Thu Jul 27, 2017 6:25 pm

We did early Sept and got lucky in 5 days it only rained once and overnight :driving:
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Post by Nictrix » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:27 pm

Scotland is always hit and miss with the weather.
We were at Ullapool last week and managed to get 3 days with absolutely beautiful weather. Either side of those 3 days was terrible.
We were camping so really wanted it to be dry.
What I was quite surprised at though was the lack of cars on the roads.
Considering the amount of publicity the "NC500" has been getting we were a bit worried that the roads and campsites would be really busy.
It was completely the opposite. The campsite that we go to all the time in Ullapool was empty.
Did have a laugh at this though
http://www.northcoast500.com/
Seen a car with a sticker in the window so had a look at the website. Cant believe that people will pay money to say they have driven a route.
Unbelievable :o
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Ewazix
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Post by Ewazix » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:32 pm

metal licker wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:49 pm If you're looking for some where a bit special try The Torridon Hotel nr Applecross we stayed there on our wedding anniversary during our NC500 hoon its fab but Expensive 8)
Thank's that looks nice, I will check it out :thumbsup:
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metal licker
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Post by metal licker » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:47 pm

Ewazix wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:32 pm
metal licker wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:49 pm If you're looking for some where a bit special try The Torridon Hotel nr Applecross we stayed there on our wedding anniversary during our NC500 hoon its fab but Expensive 8)
Thank's that looks nice, I will check it out :thumbsup:
The evening meal was excellent also !
Not a bad view either
DSC_0351.jpg
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718 Guards Red Boxster .........Gone!
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Twin Turbo
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Post by Twin Turbo » Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:49 pm

jimmybell wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:43 pm Planning on doing this early Sept - anyone else around? :)

Any hotels/b&b that stood out with particularly good parking for precious cars?

Hi,

This was my hotel agenda:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/loch-n ... f#tab-main

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/inverl ... 6f92f039af

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/morang ... 6f92f039af

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/cumbri ... 6f92f039af

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North Coast 500

Post by Prestonese » Thu Jul 27, 2017 11:21 pm

I did the NC500 recently. It was epic in my Z4M. My friend took his M235i with him and we started from Inverness and went anti clockwise. You can do the drive in 2 or 3 days including a stopover in Skye. We just did it for the drive and a few sights but didn't really stop for whisky. Plenty of places to stay if you plan which town to hit at the end of each day. We went from Inverness to Ullapool. Then to Portree and back south. Glencoe is quite something too.

The weather was all over the place. I got wet and sunburnt. Go figure. I've been in November before when it was glorious with no traffic. It is what it is.

Most interesting bits were the roads from Kylesku south and then leading to Kinlochewe. Best coffee on the trip is at Kinlochewe petrol station. Owner there is an enthusiast and has a Facebook page. Really nice guy and helpful. Seafood is excellent all the way around. The west is much better than the the east and northern sections though.

Obligatory photos below! Feel free to get in touch if you want more info!
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jimmybell
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Post by jimmybell » Thu Jul 27, 2017 11:35 pm

Nictrix wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:27 pm Considering the amount of publicity the "NC500" has been getting we were a bit worried that the roads and campsites would be really busy.
It was completely the opposite. The campsite that we go to all the time in Ullapool was empty.
Anything you'd be willing to share? I'd actually be tempted to try and camp, though if we're doing it relatively quickly it may be better to avoid carrying all the camping gear.
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