North coast 500 tips.

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TarmacTerrorist
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North coast 500 tips.

Post by TarmacTerrorist » Tue May 15, 2018 9:52 pm

How do all.

I'm doing a run around the north coast 500ish at the beginning of June. I've got 4 full days to get from newcastle, up there, round and back again.

The plan so far is to get to the Isle of skye on the first day and do a bit of a tour of the island and stay the night.

Day 2 get somewhere near Tounge via the coastal route.

Day 3 get to Inverness area via johnogroats

Day 4 drive back to newcastle.

Not sure if that is achievable or there are any better routes to take rather than the the well trodden path (I was looking at day 3, is it best to stick to the A9 coast run from wick to Inverness or should we look to head back inland and come down though Lairg?

Not booked any digs yet, does anyone have any suggestions please of nice spots to haul up?

Thanks in advance.

Gav
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campbell
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by campbell » Tue May 15, 2018 10:48 pm

Forget John o Groats. Turn south through Lairg. Come over Struie Brae between Bonar Bridge and Alness.

Then nip out to Nairn, south to Grantown, over Lecht & Cock Bridge to Braemar, then Glenshee to Perth.

Enjoy!!
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graeme
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by graeme » Wed May 16, 2018 8:51 am

Great idea, Gav. I hope you're doing it in the 2-11? :D

Days 1 and 4 are going to be slogs to get up and down the road. Days 2 and 3 you'll have loooooads of time for coffee stops and photos at the pretty bits.

I like to stop over at the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool. A cosy home-from-home sort of hotel with no pretensions. Ullapool is a great town for whisky and live music so would make a good stopover.

Kylesku hotel does good food, so that might be another option for a stopover (I've never stayed there). And Lochinver Larder pies make a great lunch stop, and give you an excuse to add a few miles of great road to the official route. If it's not lunchtime, they do takeaway pies. Don't miss them!

There's a nice wee coffee shop in Gairloch called The Steading Bistro.

The Applecross Inn is famous for it's food too. Watch out for Bealach na Ba overnight closures scheduled for June as SSE are putting in fiber to Applecross. It shouldn't bother you during the day (other than a few minutes at the temporary traffic lights), but if you want to stop over at Applecross you'll need to arrive early or take the coast road.

Campbell is 100% correct, skip the top right corner completely. The slog back down the A9 from JoG to Inverness is just terrible, and is only on the NC500 for the tourist stops, not the great roads or views.

Petrol:

There's Tesco 99 at Inverness. Super is available at Ullapool, then that's it until Thurso, so brim the tanks at Ullapool and think about carrying an extra 20L can if you're bringing something with single-figure mpg or a tiny tank.

I recommend as tall a ride-height as you can dial in, and you don't want the dampers in track settings. There are lots of potholes and depressions and it's always nice to finish each day in the pub and not the chiropractor :)

Keep us posted!
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TarmacTerrorist
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by TarmacTerrorist » Wed May 16, 2018 10:17 am

Cheers guys, that's some great info Graeme, thank you.

Yes, two of us going and we're both in 2eleven's...

It's a bit of a 10yr anniversary jaunt for me and a mate. We both bought a 2-11 10yrs ago to go racing with them, neither of us are racing anymore, but we thought it would be something good to do and be able to look back on in another 10 years time.
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mxvx
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by mxvx » Wed May 16, 2018 10:53 am

The best tip I can give is not to follow the NC500 route. If you are interested in alternatives I can go through a google maps route for you. The east coast up from Inverness isn't great IMO.

Edit: apologies, campbell already said this.....so I am just seconding! :oops:

Stewart

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graeme
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by graeme » Wed May 16, 2018 11:02 am

Brilliant! That's how memories are made.
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C7Steve
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by C7Steve » Wed May 16, 2018 11:13 am

Fuel available at Lochinver, Durness and Tongue along with Ullapool and Lairg.

We have stopped here for food beside Tongue on the last few road trips up that way. http://thecraggan.co.uk Cullen Skink soup is gorgeous 😋.

The road from Tongue to Lairg is very quiet and I would make a loop and come back to the Ledmore junction and back through Ullapool. Also, I would take the Gairloch road from Kinlochewe too. Sounds like a great trip and looking forward to seeing some pictures and a little write up is always welcome. :thumbsup

Also watch out for any deer if travelling when the light starts to fade, especially around Inchnadamph.


Steve.
Last edited by C7Steve on Wed May 16, 2018 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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tut
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by tut » Wed May 16, 2018 11:15 am

Don't forget to take Language lessons Gav before you come up. :welcome

tut

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tut
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by tut » Wed May 16, 2018 11:22 am

Don't forget to take Language lessons Gav before you come up. :welcome

tut

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alicrozier
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by alicrozier » Wed May 16, 2018 12:10 pm

campbell wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 10:48 pm
Forget John o Groats. Turn south through Lairg. Come over Struie Brae between Bonar Bridge and Alness.

Then nip out to Nairn, south to Grantown, over Lecht & Cock Bridge to Braemar, then Glenshee to Perth.

Enjoy!!
Let me know when Gav and I could join and give you a 2-11 lead out from Grantown to Blairgowrie. :)
G may even have his yellow one back...
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graeme
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by graeme » Wed May 16, 2018 12:11 pm

C7Steve wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 11:13 am
Fuel available at Lochinver, Durness and Tongue along with Ullapool and Lairg.
Apologies, I just realised I implied there were no other fuel stops. I was referring to Super Unleaded specifically. The others Steve mentioned will still have 95.
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graeme
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by graeme » Wed May 16, 2018 12:13 pm

alicrozier wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 12:10 pm

Let me know when Gav and I could join and give you a 2-11 lead out from Grantown to Blairgowrie. :)
G may even have his yellow one back...
If the planets align, I'm up for that. What a photo op!
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TarmacTerrorist
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by TarmacTerrorist » Wed May 16, 2018 12:27 pm

Again, thank you all.

I'll do a couple of route maps and post them up.

We're setting off ealry doors on Sat 2nd June and aiming to be home Tuesday night. We will be around the top bits Sun/Mon. Would be great to catch up with some of you on route if the timing works.
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campbell
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by campbell » Wed May 16, 2018 12:51 pm

The Bealach na Ba is over-rated.

Laxford Bridge to Lairg is an epic road. Single track yet well-sighted.

Watch for deer. Really, really seriously. They may kill you if they roll into a 2-11 cockpit. Nearly happened to me in an Elise. Worst at dusk but wandering about in full daylight too and their cammo is good.

Loch Assynt to Lochinver road is a sprint track. Current record stands at 9m 20s, so not quite Nordschleife territory but it's nearly as pretty and the sweeping curves and off-camber bits are a hoot. Finish line is the Cattle Grid just before the right turn for Achmelvich *

As other have said, some formerly brilliant surfaces are now decaying rapidly so take care and don't judge too harshly. Really hope you get some weather as it's stunning up there. Love the area.

* some of this may be a lie...but I bet you wish it WAS a closed sprint track ;-)
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mxvx
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Re: North coast 500 tips.

Post by mxvx » Wed May 16, 2018 12:51 pm

alicrozier wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 12:10 pm
Let me know when Gav and I could join and give you a 2-11 lead out from Grantown to Blairgowrie. :)
G may even have his yellow one back...
:shock: :shock: :shock: Happy to go to Glenshee for some photos of the cars passing if poss!

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