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NC500

Post details of upcoming meets and events in here.
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MrPT
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Post by MrPT » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:56 pm

ph001 wrote: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:17 pm Indeed! The A9 up the east coast isn't that special at all. Going anti-clockwise from Inverness, much better to take the A9 only as far north as Novar than take the B9176 (Struie Road) up to where it meets the A836. Then take the A836 to Tongue and pick up the N500 there going Anticlockwise.
This.

Heading to Inverness via Glenshee, Braemar, Tomintoul and Grantown-on-Spey will give you a better driving “loop” than the A9 too, albeit only if you have time. Agree that there’s not much to see/do in the north east, but I guess it’s worth doing once. It’s actually pretty nice in itself how the scenery just builds and builds as you go west.

Don’t be afraid of doing some roads more than once too. It’s a trek to get up there - might as well make the most of it!
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Post by Nick_in_Suffolk » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:57 pm

Will endorse the anti-clockwise suggestion, but the return from the end of the Applecross pass back to Inverness is as dull, if not even more dull than the run north from Inverness. No, it is even more dull than that section

Ignore J O'G, but do take in Duncansby Head and then a bit later go to Dunnet Head.

Pass through Thurso as quickly as possible. Dounreay is a million, even a gazillion times, more picturesque.
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Post by craig3.2 » Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:25 pm

Have fun,Jay :D
Hoping to do Braemer run again next year,as we did in 2015,or Applecross,which are great runs/roads,all going well.
Alot of good roads to pick :driving:

Even better if the weather is good :D
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Post by earthdweller » Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:45 am

jamesditchy wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:35 pm
earthdweller wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2017 7:52 pm In Edinburgh I stay at the Novotel be the gyle shopping centre .. it’s opposite the tram stop at Edinburgh park with a premier inn opposite .. it has a large quiet and barriered car park .. which they didn’t charge us for :)

Just off motorway which is a bonus too

All day tram tickets are £4 and cover all the buses too .. 20 minutes in princess st

Hotels in centre don’t tend to have parking and public ones are extremely expensive

Re the NC500 did the west side in August .. fab roads and would recommend Durness and sango sands camp site .. the hotel chocolate place up there is well worth a visit

On fb there is a group called northcoast 500 which full of useful info

Andy
Thanks Andy, some good info and videos on that fb page. Got some good ideas on things to do up there. Really looking forward to it. Got a good deal on a hotel in Edinburgh town centre just got to ring some parking for the weekend.
No problem .., you’ll love it .. watch out for the bloody midges though !!

They are like little tartan terrorists with a taste for English blood lol

Assume you are doing it in the Zed ?

I took the truck as loaded with tents etc
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Post by earthdweller » Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:50 am

The scenery is stunning with amazing beaches these were taken up at Durness and Kinlochbervie up on the North West tip

It’s almost a match for Wigan :thumbsup:
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Post by ph001 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:31 am

Nick_in_Suffolk wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:57 pm Will endorse the anti-clockwise suggestion, but the return from the end of the Applecross pass back to Inverness is as dull, if not even more dull than the run north from Inverness. No, it is even more dull than that section
I assume you mean the A890 / A832? Yeh, not the best although the part through Balnacra is quite impressive.

This would be my ideal optimised route if I were to do the NC500 again. Note - I have done the A87 into Skye twice before (which is amazing) so purposely excluded that this time around.
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Post by Nick_in_Suffolk » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:51 am

I like your alternative route, ph001, but there is another route through the Cairngorms, Braemar, Ballater, Tomintoul?
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Post by mr wilks » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:57 am

Nick_in_Suffolk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:51 am I like your alternative route, ph001, but there is another route through the Cairngorms, Braemar, Ballater, Tomintoul?
Anyone heading north towards Edinburgh east side should definitely go via Pitlochry - Glenshee - Braemar & Cairngorms :driving: its epic stuff going either direction
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Post by ph001 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:03 pm

Nick_in_Suffolk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:51 am I like your alternative route, ph001, but there is another route through the Cairngorms, Braemar, Ballater, Tomintoul?

Sure..it's an easy detour (albeit 100 miles!). Look at my image #3, you just go right off the A9 at Pitlochry. Again, done this a few times previously so wasn't on my bucket list this time around as I'm planning to do all this in 5 days. Certainly spectacular though.
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Post by MrPT » Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:54 pm

Loch Leven is worth a few laps if you’re passing near Glencoe.
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Post by jamesditchy » Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:01 pm

earthdweller wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:50 am The scenery is stunning with amazing beaches these were taken up at Durness and Kinlochbervie up on the North West tip

It’s almost a match for Wigan :thumbsup:
Some lovely pics there. Yes doing it in the zed, hopefully get some roof down weather but you never know in Bonny Scotland
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Post by D4dawg » Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:34 pm

Cairngorms is a must buddy
I went from my birth town if Hamilton to Glasgow to loch lomond to loch Ness to fort william to Inverness to avemore to boat of garten then back

Being a Scot with a loud M sadly no longer with the amazing ex I went with but it's stunning

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Post by jamesditchy » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:41 pm

D4dawg wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:34 pm Cairngorms is a must buddy
I went from my birth town if Hamilton to Glasgow to loch lomond to loch Ness to fort william to Inverness to avemore to boat of garten then back

Being a Scot with a loud M sadly no longer with the amazing ex I went with but it's stunning
I'm heading up to Glasgow then on to Glencoe, through fort William then up the side of loch Ness to our first stop on loch Ness before starting the route. So many good suggestions looks like we will be spoilt for choice on things to see :thumbsup:
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Post by D4dawg » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:51 pm

Good boy have fun

Best way we enjoyed it was to simply drive and around 5pm. She hit late rooms.com and we paid hardly anything on hotels ;)
More for fuel and dinner

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