Scotland NC500 trip planning, Assistance required

Big.dave · Jan 29, 2023

Hi guys, I'm planning a trip up to that there Scotland later this year and am now in the planning stage.
Just wondered if you guys have any tips or recommendation's that I should know about.
I have done a trip to John O Groats in the past but not ventured down the west coast before.
I'm taking my Trusty 2005 GSA (If BMW can fix the bloody Fuel sender :nenau

) and I have a mate on his Triumph explorer accompanying me.
We will need accommodation for 4 at each stop and if you could send any incantations to guarantee good weather, that would be great too.
Regards Big.dave.

DC · Jan 29, 2023

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/563496-Bike-security-on-the-NC500?highlight=nc500

loads of threads on here re NC 500 pop it in the search button.... Start at Inverness and go anti clockwise, I suppose your overnight night stops will depend on what mileage you want to do ....having done the route a few times both anti and clockwise, ive stopped in a few places, Gairloch , Durness etc all nice to stop over. Enjoy

DJ123 · Jan 29, 2023

IMO, the west coast is the most scenic part & has some of the best roads - along the coasts and further inland.

Depending on if your trip is a riding or sight seeing tour - give yourself plenty of time to do what you need to. Whilst most roads have a national speed limit, the narrowness or conditions of them will slow down your progress. However, you should still be able to average 300 miles a day if a riding tour is the name of the game.

TJ · Jan 29, 2023

We did it last year, weather wasn't great but still a good trip to do. Screen dumps of the route, places we stopped to visit and places we stayed.
PM if you want any waypoints.
HTH

Santa-2512 · Jan 29, 2023

I looked at doing it post covid lockdown

£150 a night at some B&B's kind of put me off :eek

i know they have to make a living ... but

steve hughes · Jan 29, 2023

DJ123 said:
IMO, the west coast is the most scenic part & has some of the best roads - along the coasts and further inland.

Depending on if your trip is a riding or sight seeing tour - give yourself plenty of time to do what you need to. Whilst most roads have a national speed limit, the narrowness or conditions of them will slow down your progress. However, you should still be able to average 300 miles a day if a riding tour is the name of the game.

100% agree with this, we did it in 2016 on the GS. One of our best biking holidays. The West coast is stand out so definitely do it anti clockwise, the views just get better. Take your time to explore the small lanes leading to deserted beaches. If short of time sack of the east coast.

Top tip , book early and dont just rely on booking.com. I really struggled ( whole day) to book 3X BB’s on the west coast. Most success was ringing your first choice, if full ask who would they recommend, you will get some off radar gems this way.

Steve

Gordyman · Jan 29, 2023

I have done it a few times. West Coast definitely the best part. I never pre booked as this gave me more flexibility weather wise. I always made my decision on clockwise or anti clockwise once l arrived in Scotland in Scotland depending on weather forecast. I always took a tent too as a back up in case no accommodation available.

Barnoe · Jan 29, 2023

west coast you will make good progress, on the west section double your time at least.
if your sat nav says 4 hours to your accommodation plan for 8 hours.

the single track roads are 60mph according to your sat nav, if you get about 25mph your lucky, and you will be stopped lots waiting for vehicles coming the other way.
i did the whole thing and never saw i single take-away open, so don't rely on them
in Scotland there is no such thing as Fish and Chips or Kebab n Pizzas lol
My NC500 was a 500 mile trip looking for a chippy!!

Use Aldi and Lidl if your camping.

Don't let it put you off though its amazing

@Santa
I thought the same thing, so camped it

Davey B · Jan 29, 2023

Don't over think it. There's no language barrier, seldom an issue with fuel now (a fair few 24/7 card fuel pumps around the area) the madness after Covid is likely settled and with the likes of booking.com, it is really easy to sort accom on the hoof.

Another thought may be to find digs central to the entire area and do luggage-less days encompassing most or all of the route (some of it is mediocre but i get some peoples desire to 'do the NC500') Loads of folk want weekends away...so you can often get Mon to Fri relatively cheaply. Crap weather? Ride to suit...rain in the West, ride East etc. (Inverness/Dingwall area gives you good access to NW, W, Skye and Cairngorms)
Having done both a day by day tour and also a days out holiday home based trip, it certainly worked well for us.

Oh, and nice fish and chips in Ullapool....and a few more places

https://www.nc500route66.com/north-coast-500/food-stops/fish-chip-shops

Big.dave · Jan 29, 2023

As I've been told, you guys are awesome.
Cheers for the rapid response and awesome info.
My Best mate Miff who was a regular on here always said you all were the best source of all things GS.
This is the 1st real adventure we be taking without him, never the less we cant wait and your wise words have inspired us even more.
Thank you .

KMD · Jan 29, 2023

I did this last year with my brother. Finding reasonably priced accommodation was difficult, and in one area not actually possible. If I were to do it again I would definitely go anti clockwise, you are then almost immediately into the best of the NC, which in my opinion is the west coast. I would also head south at Tongue or thereabouts, as the remainder of the top side to John O Groats is bland by comparison to the west, and the ride down the east didn’t do anything for me. We stayed overnight in Wick, which is a place I won’t be going back to.

But the west, up as far as Tongue area, is breathtaking in places . Go with the mindset that you won’t go anywhere quickly, but the views will be worth it and you won’t go far wrong.

AustinW · Jan 29, 2023

Davey B said:
Don't over think it. There's no language barrier, seldom an issue with fuel now (a fair few 24/7 card fuel pumps around the area) the madness after Covid is likely settled and with the likes of booking.com, it is really easy to sort accom on the hoof.

Another thought may be to find digs central to the entire area and do luggage-less days encompassing most or all of the route (some of it is mediocre but i get some peoples desire to 'do the NC500') Loads of folk want weekends away...so you can often get Mon to Fri relatively cheaply. Crap weather? Ride to suit...rain in the West, ride East etc. (Inverness/Dingwall area gives you good access to NW, W, Skye and Cairngorms)
Having done both a day by day tour and also a days out holiday home based trip, it certainly worked well for us.

Oh, and nice fish and chips in Ullapool....and a few more places

https://www.nc500route66.com/north-coast-500/food-stops/fish-chip-shops

This^^^^ unless you really need to tick off the NC500 as done - which I have a few years ago.

Last year though we stayed at the Invershin hotel and bunkhouse for three nights - we had a bunkhouse room. It’s a great central location 45 mins north of Inverness with East, West and North coasts all within an hour or so - ok maybe a bit more for the north east coast. This makes for great days out luggage free without the hordes of campervans and dawdlers on the non-NC500 roads, which are every bit as scenic and rideable as the main route and you could easily “do” the NC500 over 3-4 days using the Invershin hotel as a base. The hotel has a good bar with draught ales and used by locals as a local, and does half decent pub grub too. I think a light breakfast was a fiver with the full Scottish £12 ish. I will be going back at some point. It’s in midge country though - beware on warm still evenings and mornings. It’s hell on earth then.

Enjoy. It really is world class motorcycling up there.

http://www.invershin.com/

Posh Pete · Jan 29, 2023

Likewise, the Altnaharra Hotel has a (rather superior) bunkouse. Or if you want to camp, there's the campsite at Bunchrew near Inverness. People forget that the dustances are not that great beyond Inverness, especially given traffic volumes and more so if you avoid the east coast of Sutherland. A pal used to do it in a single day ... from Edinburgh!

Hann · Jan 29, 2023

Hotels, guest houses??
Just sling a tarp up at the side of the road and make it a proper adventure...

Big.dave · Jan 29, 2023

In a word WOW. that's brave.

getalife · Jan 29, 2023

Big.dave said:
In a word WOW. that's brave.

Nah, he was fine with a sniper scope.

bristolsaint · Jan 29, 2023

Hann said:
Hotels, guest houses??
Just sling a tarp up at the side of the road and make it a proper adventure...

Fuck that.

Hotels, meals that are brought to me, full English/Scottish with proper sausages (none of yer square, flat nonsense) to start the day. It's not an adventure, it's a bimble round Scotland and Northern England.

For the OP, there are better roads than the NC500, especially if you stick to the west coast. The NC500 should really only be completed if you feel the need to tick that box. Available accommodation in some parts can be scarce as the route gets heavily booked. Alternatively, try Dumfries and Galloway, which has little traffic, or the borders which have some great roads if you want Scotland.

The southwest 660 offers a good, if sometimes crowded alternative.

https://southwest660.com/route-map

Arch Stanton · Feb 1, 2023

Consider a base, somewhere like Lairg in the middle of the Highlands perhaps, and do day rides out. I've done a few trips with a 2 or 3 night stay in the middle of a few one nighters & it's good to offload the luggage, sit out poor weather, etc.
Look on AirBnB too

John Armstrong · Feb 1, 2023

Arch Stanton said:
Consider a base, somewhere like Lairg in the middle of the Highlands perhaps, and do day rides out. I've done a few trips with a 2 or 3 night stay in the middle of a few one nighters & it's good to offload the luggage, sit out poor weather, etc.
Look on AirBnB too

If you go for the base option, then Ullapool makes a mighty fine base with the possibility of day trips up to the top and back down via Lairg, also you can get down to Eilean Donan, Bealch na Ba, Wee Mad Road etc without too much trouble / time.

This book is really useful whatever options you choose: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcyclists-Guide-Scotland-J-Fergusson/dp/1999635701

Metropolis · Feb 2, 2023

Big Dave: Take a look at the Ord Arms Hotel just outside of Inverness.
From there you can ride either up the east coast to JoG or head for the more scenic and spectacular West Coast route. The NC 500 route is brown-signed just a mile from the hotel.
Ample room to park bikes out front or round the back out of sight behind a locked gate. Myself and mate used this hotel a couple of years ago as a base to do the NC500 in stages, returning to the same hotel each night....
"Located on the western boundary of the Black Isle, the hotel is 13.5 miles west of Inverness, and 6 miles south of Dingwall. We are conveniently situated on the North Coast 500 Tourist Route with Muir of Ord Golf Club a 5-minute drive and Glen Ord Distillery and Visitor Centre a 10 minute walk away.[/I]"

https://www.ordarmshotel.co.uk/

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