NC500

I lived in Edinburgh when I built Tigger and so the lure of the North Coast 500 route was an obvious choice. Many of the roads in Scotland are superb for driving a 7 - great scenery, wonderful twists and turns and not too many potholes. The NC500 is a highly advertised route initially created to bring greater tourism to some of the more remote areas and has been highly successful in that regard. There is a recommended route - even a recommended direction (clockwise versus anti-clockwise) but I made a few variations to cater for the time available and personal preferences.

Personal NC500 route

The above route allowed for additional time spent on the North coast and a slower journey up the West coast, whilst ignoring the East (only because I'm very familiar with that side of Scotland).

We were lucky with the weather and only had a couple of downpours to survive. Using the Boot, a Boot Bag and some of the passenger footwell worked really well for the week's excursion. I found the use of the Full Hood particularly effective because it covers the boot fully and therefore there were no issues with damp luggage. Others have found the Full Hood to be too hot or that it causes the windows to steam up, but the ability to unzip the rear screen solved those problems for me.

The highlight would have to be ascending the Bealach na Bà over to Applecross. The most beautiful scenery and views from a fantastic single track road with plenty of hairpin bends.

Bealach na Bà ascent (forgive the wind noise!)