North Coast 500 planning

redsmartie

Registered user
Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Messages
154
Reaction score
0
Location
Manchester
I'm planning a May trip on the NC500. I've done my initial research and seen many suggested trips based on 2/3/4 days. I put together an initial itinerary for the group, or which there will be four of us but having seen some further information from routes posted on Garmin Adventures I'm not sure if I have the daily mileage right. Its difficult to tell based on the amount of interesting stops to be had or the road conditions but I don't currently have the confidence to think I'm close enough to start looking at overnight accommodation stops. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

We will be going anti-clockwise having done a two day journey to get there from Manchester (all the way to Inverness in one day is also under discussion but yet to be resolved). From my initial looks at the map I have this rough plan.

  • Day 1 (148 miles) Inverness to John O'Groats
  • Day 2 (166 miles) John O'Groats to Achiltibuie
  • Day 3 (219 miles) Achiltibuie to Inverness

Having done the other year with a daily average of 170 miles in a day I know that while we could do substantially more, a smaller planned distance gave us much more freedom and flexibility to stop/visit/detour/explore should we want to.

Open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Martin
 
Mileage seems sensible to me. But get your accommodation booked asap as it fills fast and where you stay will ultimately dictate your daily route/mileage to some degree.
Will be up there end of May in a group of 8 and we booked our central base middle of last year and found quite a few places already taken.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
Mileage seems sensible to me. But get your accommodation booked asap as it fills fast and where you stay will ultimately dictate your daily route/mileage to some degree.
Will be up there end of May in a group of 8 and we booked our central base middle of last year and found quite a few places already taken.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

What he said about accommodation. I did it in 2016 , loved it. If it was my choice I would do more miles on day 1 and get over to say wick, then knock down day 3 miles. There is nothing in jog and the east coast is boring. All the magic starts when you hit the west coast. Enjoy
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Do you think that it would be achievable to slog on from Inverness to Durness in a day, stopping at JOG for the obligatory photo? The milage says yes but it depends on how fast the roads are I suppose and if you think that we would be passing some places we really should be stopping and spending some time exploring.

Take your point about the west coast being the better part of the route and this would let us spend more time there, perhaps with some opportunity to visit Skye?
 
I'm planning a May trip on the NC500. I've done my initial research and seen many suggested trips based on 2/3/4 days. I put together an initial itinerary for the group, or which there will be four of us but having seen some further information from routes posted on Garmin Adventures I'm not sure if I have the daily mileage right. Its difficult to tell based on the amount of interesting stops to be had or the road conditions but I don't currently have the confidence to think I'm close enough to start looking at overnight accommodation stops. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

We will be going anti-clockwise having done a two day journey to get there from Manchester (all the way to Inverness in one day is also under discussion but yet to be resolved). From my initial looks at the map I have this rough plan.

  • Day 1 (148 miles) Inverness to John O'Groats
  • Day 2 (166 miles) John O'Groats to Achiltibuie
  • Day 3 (219 miles) Achiltibuie to Inverness

Having done the other year with a daily average of 170 miles in a day I know that while we could do substantially more, a smaller planned distance gave us much more freedom and flexibility to stop/visit/detour/explore should we want to.

Open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Martin

Your really under cooking the daily mileages, there's not much to stop for right up north in fact you will be surprised at lack of watering holes for a coffee stop etc.
Happy to help with your complete routes if you need it, send me a PM and we can exchange emails, there is some really interesting ways to get there and return which I think you may find given reasonable weather will surpass the NC.
 
We did the full loop Inverness to Inverness in 1 day. It was quite a long day but easily do able as my wife was pillion and she survived ok.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I agree with Pablo on the mileage.

Manchester to Inverness is a long but very doable day (I have done Preston to Inverness after work). Once clear of the Manchester and and Glasgow/Edinburgh metropolises it’s open roads at National Speed limit+ nearly all the way which ever route you take - and there’s some good options. If you want to take 2days then peruse the maps and don’t go the direct way, ie avoid the a9.

We went Inverness to Durness in a day quite easily when we did the nc500 including a couple of off-route diversions for a more interesting way than the A9, a couple of coffee stops, a broken down R1200GS to deal with, and photos at JoG and Dunnett Head and other view points. Day 2 of our trip was Durness back to Inverness but tbh this was a bit of a tiring slog with one guy riding off the road as his concentration wandered so probably best as a two-dayer with lots of stops and photos.
 
Planning on doing this too during the last week of May. Coming from Essex im planing a stop in Robin Hoods bay then onto Inverness. Coming back going to stop in the Lakes. Will avoid motorways where ever possible and I don’t mind taking longer to get there if two days isn’t enough. Going to wild camp rather than book anywhere. I wild camp each year when we come up in sea kayaks, but this is the first time doing it on the bike. Is this a do-able plan?!
Obviously this will be weather permitting. As much as I want to see the route, i’ll bail to an alternative trip to Brittany if it looks too miserable that week!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Did it in November in the car and it was a great route with only a few locals about but several folk did say in the summer the single track sections are choked with traffic, despite the many passing points, so timing is important ...
 
Hi I did this the year before last, you definitely need accommodation asap, it gets damn busy. I'm not far from you and did home to Inverness in one day (easy), and had great advice to miss the East coast and we then headed to Durness, a lovely route, as all of them are. Then we meandered down the west coast. I have the route in a word doc if you want it, just PM your email address and I'll fire it over. BTW - one of the best holidays ever, May is a great time, not too many midgeys (but be aware - we met an biker who was camping and had been bitten to death and could hardly put his lid on!!) and weather is strangely always spot on then. Good luck, I cant wait to go back. regards Alistair
 
Ok.. while I have to update my plans..

  • Inverness in 1 day
  • Head down and scoot over to Durness (anticlockwise) without so much as a by your leave to the East coast
  • Amble down the West coast


If my mates will get their arse in gear and agree the dates (avoid midges) I can fine tune (ASAP) based on availability of accommodation
 

Attachments

  • Inv-Ull.jpg
    Inv-Ull.jpg
    125.8 KB · Views: 1,013
Day 1 from Inverness - I would miss out JoG altogether and take the Lairg/Achnaharra road to the north coast.

Then down via Lochinver/Inverkirkaig and Inverpolly Estate - and on to Ullapool for the night.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/I...4937301c9c80d!2m2!1d-5.161313!2d57.895418!3e0

The mileage is an easy day, with stops for coffee/photos/lunch etc

(JoG is a shitehole)

but thats not the NC500 route is it ? and this is what the OP wants to do....I agree though inverness to JOG is boring and JOG itself is a waste of time apart from the picture to say you have been .
The top road from Thurso is a lot of single track and is bad early may if the weather has not picked up....Inverness to Durness is a good and doable route for day 1. Theres a small pub there a couple of B and Bs and a Camping / caravan site that has a bar and food place
 
I cannot emphasise how important it is to act now and get your accommodation booked, it's HELL on wheels up here from Easter onwards, single track roads may you slow you down a bit, depending how stupid the campervan drivers are. You could do some wild camping though, depending how you feel about it. If midges become a pest get SMIDGE from any shop/fuel station etc.

M
 
but thats not the NC500 route is it ? and this is what the OP wants to do....I agree though inverness to JOG is boring and JOG itself is a waste of time apart from the picture to say you have been .
The top road from Thurso is a lot of single track and is bad early may if the weather has not picked up....Inverness to Durness is a good and doable route for day 1. Theres a small pub there a couple of B and Bs and a Camping / caravan site that has a bar and food place

No it's not - but neither is Achiltibuie.

Al
 
I don't understand the desire to rush round the "route" as fast as possible, surely half the trip is riding and half is stopping, enjoying, walking, drinking, talking, eating........................

You are visiting a glorious area, take your time for fuks sake. And every wee back road you see, take a ride down it, see where it goes, you have the time. Some will be grand, some will be nothing, but that's travel. Don't, please, just tick a box of NC500.
 
I don't understand the desire to rush round the "route" as fast as possible, surely half the trip is riding and half is stopping, enjoying, walking, drinking, talking, eating........................

You are visiting a glorious area, take your time for fuks sake. And every wee back road you see, take a ride down it, see where it goes, you have the time. Some will be grand, some will be nothing, but that's travel. Don't, please, just tick a box of NC500.

What he said...^^^^^^
Some ideas for things to see here:
https://www.northcoast500.com/blog/...2bgaewHU8loFjeYUFo_nYhaeozMTQLAVRf6BLdDPXGoSX
 


Back
Top Bottom