Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms nc 500 advice

I am going to do the NC500 in May (not the bank holiday).
Is it better to do it clockwise or anti-clockwise ?
Any recommendations where to stay/best areas for stops
some people have said to do the east side in one trip and concentrate on the west coast, is this true?

David Byrne

While not actually having carried out the exact NC route it is true to say that the east coast section is not as scenic as the north and west sections, the section from Inverness to John O’Groats is in my opinion a nice driving road but will certainly be the “easiest” section, I would certainly take more time over the north and west sections. We will also be in the area toward the end of May.

We stayed at Lochinver and Torridon on the West coast stretch. Fantastic roads with no traffic.

We would have stayed at Kylescu but it was booked solid for about nine months when we looked.

It's also worth noting that the NC500 has been if anything a bit too much of a success, apparently there are loads of boy racers doing it and it is equally heavily policed.

That's not to say don't do it, but don't forget that Scotland is absolutely heaving with perfect Morgan roads, such as the B862 (General Wade's Military Road) from Fort Augustus, and the B8004 from Banavie up to the Commando Memorial.

On the Actual NC500 route, personally I would say the only bit where one direction is better than the other is Bealach na Baa and the Applecross Peninsula, which I slightly prefer doing clockwise.

when I visit the area, I don’t have the time to spare to do the whole thing so I miss out the east side of the North and just go straight to the more spectacular West. That said, I still think you should do it all, if only to see the controversial statue of the duke of Sutherland which stands 100ft tall atop an imposing mountain overlooking Golspie, really quite impressive.

I’d say do the east first and quick, save the best for last and I wouldn’t be too bothered with sticking only to the route they suggest, there are lots of equally spectacular roads there which aren’t on the route.

Can’t help you with places to stay, I only do bits at a time on day trips.

Lots of chat about this trip on various forums - makes me wonder how touristy it has become. Suggestions of heavy policing are a put off.

It's "heavy policing" by Scottish terms, Howard - in other words you might see a speed camera or a patrol once in a blue moon. The report I read (in The Times Driving section) suggested that they were there more to keep the boy racers in check and pick up the pieces - much like the EVO triangle.

But for heavens sake don't let that put you off going to Scotland, there are literally hundreds of miles of twisty B road delights that await.

Join the NC500 Club, very informative...do it clockwise, and leave the less spectacular but for the end, when you are ready to head home. It is a superb run, we took about 5 days to do it, giving loads of chances for sightseeing and walking.

We're going up again at the end of May, which as far as I know isn't a Bank Holiday in Scotland.
Not the NC West route this time though, just some walking around Aboyne and Fort Augustus.

I wouldn't be too fussed about doing the east coast section, better heading up the west coast, taking plenty of the little roads that follow the coast proper, then double back a bit to cut across to the east coast further down towards Inverness rather than going across the north and down the east coast main road.
The "official" NC500 route is only one of many options. As far as policing is concerned I wouldn't get too worried about it, most of the best and most scenic sections are on single track roads that don't exactly encourage illegal speeds. Biggest problem these days is getting stuck behind a motorhome or a car club convoy sitting at 20mph on a single track road and none of the drivers want to have anything to do with the bit in the Highway Code about slow vehicles using passing places to allow faster traffic to pass. There are also a great many of these vehicles that apparently left the factory without a reverse gear (or mirrors!) so expect to do some long reversing sessions to get to passing places even when there is one just behind the oncoming traffic.
It has been suggested that the best way to enjoy much of it at high season/popular times is to get up early and get the driving for the day done by ten!