Scotland Tour

[DarkLumen]

I was planning to take a road tip summer with my 10 year old son around Scotland. The idea being to take in some great driving roads while getting him into walking and enjoying the great out doors. I've typically spent time in the lake district so I was wondering if anyone had done a tour of Scotland where they could share the route or if there are any not to be missed roads or walks.

 

[Ftypeharv]

Take a look at this pal, i've done it twice and its stunning!

https://www.northcoast500.com/

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I would be wary about doing a tour during the summer months as most roads worth driving just become a slow moving queue with tour buses, caravans and hire cars being driven by overseas visitors ! Even NC 500 is now bad in the summer and don’t even think about going over to Skye !
I recently drove the snow roads from Blairgowrie up to Grantown which is a beautiful route through Glen Shee, Braemar and the famous Cockbridge to Tomintoul section but that was late February and the road was mostly quiet ( until I arrived ! ). The road to the Isles over Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe is an amazing drive but again will get very busy from Easter onwards.

 

[Anonymous]

Grand Tour Season 3, Episode 7 - Well Aged Scotch

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May tour the most beautiful parts of Scotland in three old Italian cars which they believe to be future classics.

They come off the NC500 route across some back roads, a good alternative route and worth a watch.

 

[JurassicF]

I agree, avoid the summer as even in May last year it was very busy. Hotels are difficult to book as a certain website books most of them up with free cancellation, so you have to get in early. Also we found the hotels a little disappointing for the price.
Roads are stunning, but that deviation that TGT did look a must.

 

[MikeF]

I have also done the north coast 500 and would agree that you should go before the summer months. We went in early May 2017 and it was fine. I agree with everything JurassicF said about hotels. You need to book early to get anything decent. I can recommend the Aultbea hotel and Dornoch Castle. The roads and the views are outstanding. Make sure you do the Bealach na ba over to Applecross.

 

[JurassicF]

Applecross Pass is definitely one of the highlights of the NC500!

 

[DarkLumen]

Thanks for all the info. I think we will try and make it out late April not too worried about hotels we can rough it on a boys trip I'll jam the tent in the boot for an emergency.

 

[JurassicF]

Good time and you will miss the West Coast midges too!

 

[Millwheel]

It’s the west coast that makes the N500 so special, the eastern side is much less interesting. Comments about hotels fully supported, book very early if you want a choice. Route has been heavily promoted by the tourist board but the infrastructure to support it isn’t there. Many roads (despite being “A” classified) are single lane with passing places and most everything outside the hardtop is bog or close to it. Once the seasonal traffic starts it’s auto camper heaven and the procession moves at the speed of the slowest. Watch out for motorcyclists speeding down the outside, often in convoy, and cutting blind corners. Sheep are also an interesting hazard and can be relied upon to wander aimlessly onto the highway. Road condition after the winter can be pretty rough and it’s a long way to a tyre shop or windscreen repair. We found motorbikes especially bad for throwing up road debris and learnt to give them a healthy distance. Having said all that it is possible to rack up 200 plus miles a day comfortably if you use the roads in the interior and we found that staying in Inverness, where there is a good choice of hotels and facilities, and basically daytripping to the coastal areas with a couple of overnights at the very top of the drive worked well for us - remember you’ve got a lot of daylight after the equinox. Also gave an opportunity to enjoy the car more. Consider a detour to Orkney for a day or two while you are up there. Petrol stations are few and far between as well, so make a point of topping up when the opportunity presents itself - often small unmanned stations in villages. Oh, and a lot of facilities are closed on Sunday. A big plus for those of us who are a little older is that there are plenty of public toilets, just as well as the countryside is mostly wide open.

The scenery is absolutely stunning but you do have to hope the weather will be kind. Take a decent camera with a wide angle lens (Leica Q highly recommended) and plenty of memory cards.