#pergtrip - North Coast 500 + Isle of Skye and Cairngorms

[peterattheboro]

So a few of us have just got back from Scotland after an amazing week driving round the highlands. We've probably got combined 1TB of videos and pictures so thought it would be worth sharing some of the sights, video clips and information for anyone wanting to visit Scotland themselves.

Attendees were myself, mrk, JanesyB, InvaderGIR and Clown.

Quite a few pictures are already online on our Instagram accounts.

@peterattheboro
@robbiekhan
@janesyb
@rsbarton87
@andrewdashb

The Route

The standard route runs from Inverness over to the west towards Gairloch and then clockwise around the coast. We did it in reverse, anti-clockwise from Inverness, upto John O Groats and all the way round to Gairloch. This is where we created our own route and included the incredible but slightly busy Applecross Pass (Bealach na Ba) and then over to the amazing Isle of Skye.
We then went back on ourselves, down towards Fort William, over to the Cairngorms to drive the Old Military Road (A939) and also ride the funicular to the top of the mountain!

From there we did the final leg to Edinburgh where we ended the trip.


Anyway, some pics.

We also had a stop off at Dunrobin Castle on the way to JOG.

We of course had a go of each other's cars.

Called into Cocoa Mountain in Durness for one of the best hot chocolates ever

This bridge will look familiar if you read Evo mag.

I'll leave that there. There's so much more to the holiday and the other guys have far better pictures than me

Just have to say that JanesyB organised it all and did a fantastic job. All of the accommodation and food has been spot on and we can recommend all the places we stayed at.

 

[Clown]

I want to give a massive shout out to Bryan for arranging basically everything, from altering the routes to fit stuff in, to planning the stops and accommodation, to leading us when we had no data and everything else I have forgotten to mention.

I can't make this post without mentioning the boys either - the road trip wouldn't have been the same without them. Top lads. It was a fantastic trip and I would definitely do it again.

 

[killsta]

And your reason for not inviting me to this is......?

 

[[TW]Fox]

So close to Glencoe without swinging past

Looks like an amazing trip but make sure you fire the trip planner for that hilarious omission

 

[peterattheboro]

And your reason for not inviting me to this is......?

I didn't organise it

So close to Glencoe without swinging past

Need to save something for next time

I'm definitely going again but will avoid JOG and Durness and just stay further south as the roads are better. Isle of Skye was absolutely amazing and can include Glencoe next time

 

[Housey]

It is a glorious drive, glad I did it.

 

[wingman]

Superb trip, my partner and I have been semi planning the NC500 for just under a year after we toured Scotland last year.

We only went as far north as a little town called Plockton, which in itself was a fair old trip (even from the Midlands).

Look forward to seeing more of the photos guys.

 

[peterattheboro]

Saying I'd miss out the north coast next time and just stay around Skye and Cairngorms, Kyle of Tongue is absolutely stunning. Just a massive causeway with a road through the middle. The views are breathtaking. Was actually jealous of the camper vans who were pitching up there for the night.

Also had a play with a Clio 200 up to that point. We turned off to stop for pictures behind him and he turned round and came back for a chat and just talked about the roads around Scotland and where we were heading

 

[Conscript]

Jealous.

 

[peterattheboro]

It is a glorious drive, glad I did it.

You weren't wrong when you said you would have preferred the Polo over the R8.

Even Robbie had some issues!

 

[Housey]

There are some very tight and very bumpy roads. If you do the full route which I did and don't avoid the really tight islands on the West Coast you find some really tight stuff. Polo would have been good, MX5 also but I would not have enjoyed the long haul getting up there in either of those. It's a 500 mile drive to get to the start point pretty much. We also found some snow as we climbed...

And sunny weather down low

 

[InvaderGIR]

I've not had a chance to edit my photos (700+) or videos (full recording most days) but I did sort out a couple of clips from the drive up to Durness...

I've now done over 2000 miles in the last week or so and really enjoyed the trip, very well arranged by JanesyB (despite Fox's opinion on the route) he's a top bloke at sorting out a bunch of morons.
I had the oldest and slowest car there but nothing broke on the whole trip, I did have some speedo issues but I'd built the instrument cluster the night before I set off so hadn't had a chance to test it, so it doesn't count.
Even with a mere 112hp I was able to enjoy the roads and generally keep up / pass the others.

I'll sort out my pictures and videos over the next few days / weeks and post up as and when I can.


My car sat on the Old Military Road - A939




All of us sat under a rainbow at the top of the Cairngorms car park.

 

[mrk]

Yup props to Bryan for the routing and organising!

Apart from the shower temperature of a few of the places (cold shower on one of them!), they were all good. Tullochard B&B in Skye was genuinely very welcoming, and the lady running the place was friendly and chatty, with some strange stories to tell of local fairies and whatnot!

I was surprised how many locals knew about the NC500. The moment they saw our cars park up, they asked about it. Plenty of other tourists taking the same routes too. We saw a few people that we saw at places we stayed at the night before, for example. And the Airbnb owner of the last place we stayed at actively tours the routes on his motorbilkke with his wife

One of the hotels said they get 3-4 bookings a night just for the NC500 alone.

We definitely got lucky with the weather. Someone told us that the past 11 months had been really poor, with regular rain. We were told to make the most of it, which we did.

Budget wise, excluding accommodation and food, I racked up a £341 fuel bill, and totalled 1984 miles. I expected both of these to be higher, so this was quite welcome. I got 32MPG driving up t Peter's, and the total average for the whole week has been 25MPG.

Given the amount of driving we did, I think this is really impressive for an 3.2L engine with 345HP and designed in the late 90s I did notice slightly reduced hard acceleration when in 4th after a couple of tanks of Gleamer SUL and TorqMAX. Back to normal after brimming with V Power in Edinburgh letting it breathe on the drive home.

Here are a few photos from my phone:

^ Saw two accidents on the way, don't know how she managed to ditch the car like that!

^ Lots of cattle and sheep littering the roads in numerous places. A couple of times I had to rev the engine to make the sheep scuttle away on a single track section. The Eventuri barks, which worked well

http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/photos/2016_PERGTRIP/PERGPHONE/20160824_143957-01.jpeg

^ The sunset as we drove over the crest of this section was sublime.

^ I had to get some tea, no holiday is complete without a local tea purchase.

^ Housey is correct, many sections have strong bumps and elevation changes. one of these knocked out my headlight beam levelling arm attached to the front wishbone. need a new one else I can't drive at night.

^ Below Applecross pass is the Applecross Inn. I can highly recommend their Banana Split. It is luxurious!

^ The view driving down Skye Bridge

^ The last Airbnb place had a chalk board in the kitchen. It was only fitting to draw our cars, and a potato.

^ On our last day before heading toward Edinburgh, a rainbow showed face. An ideal final photo op. I missed the rainbow at the top of Cairngorm Mountain

DSLR photos to follow.

 

[peterattheboro]

Yeah you managed that banana split really well

 

[mrk]

Cutlery etiquette is a personal preference!

 

[peterattheboro]

Isle of Skye is seriously stunning.

(Skye bridge in the background)

 

[xs2man]

Looks like you had the weather on your side. Lucky.

I've been wanting to do this for a while now. Driven some of the roads before, but not right up the North West there. Been up to get the ferry to Orkney in the past though. And Glenshee is my local Ski-Hill, and I went to school in Blairgowrie, so know that area pretty well.

Great pics and write up.

 

[peterattheboro]

Top of the Cairngorms Click for full size



Going back one winter with my snowboard

 

[Blackhawk47]

Looks like a good trip. How many miles or hours a day were you guys roughly doing?

I'd like to do a similar Scotland road trip but think I would chop the top half off, and skip those bumpy roads.

 

[Janesy B]

So close to Glencoe without swinging past

Looks like an amazing trip but make sure you fire the trip planner for that hilarious omission

Had to leave a reason to go back. Next time I go for sure I would do more of the west and leave the really narrow stuff at the north coast.

Happy with the NC500 route and adding in Skye and the A939. Apart from getting up to Inverness on the A9, which was more out of necessity and crossing the border via the Kielder Forest made up for it, there wasn't a moment where I was bored with the driving.

Will post up my pics later on.

Looks like a good trip. How many miles or hours a day were you guys roughly doing?

I'd like to do a similar Scotland road trip but think I would chop the top half off, and skip those bumpy roads.

About 150 miles a day, but on the road all day with stops etc.

You can't avoid the bumpy roads, just take them slower - it's all part of it. Clipping off the top bits mean you miss out on views and roads like this. It's challenging but worth it.