Scotland 500
Has anyone completed the route towing a caravan? Any tips or advice? Where did you stay? Planning to do it over 12-15 nights, staying 2-3 nights at each location. Thinking of spring 2019.
Thanks
Comments
-
Hi Janet
I wouldn't recommend it with a caravan (small or large). I have done the 500 route a number of times on my motorbike and it is definitely not suitable for towing a caravan. The route is also getting very popular so the need to pull in at passing places would make the journey very tiresome.
It maybe best to pitch up at a number of sites close to the major A roads then drive unhitched around the NC500 single carriage way roads.
Andy
1 -
Janet,
You're in M/H country there really...........
How are your reversing skills...??
You do see caravans doing it but some of the ones we have seen have woeful or no ability to reverse (a lot of it is single track with passing places). There are local delivery lorries, tourist coaches etc doing it, but not all will want to reverse for you....
TBH it's over promoted now and very busy in season....
0 -
We have done the NC500 many times with the van long before it was the NC500. Last time was 2016 and it was so crowded that we won’t be doing it again until the popularity wanes. Single track roads are ok if everyone respects the usual courtesy’s but that doesn’t always happen now. It’s becoming a virtual racetrack for car and bike clubs and even some of the locals are concerned at the many visitors it is attracting.
We stayed at Gruinard Bay and Scourie sites and both owners reported that passing 500ers were using their facilities without staying or paying.
It is a wonderful route and you will enjoy it but just take care.
0 -
I would say the most suitable sized vehicle for th NC 500 would be of the Ford Transit or equivalent camper van.
1 -
Have been doing that area for 35 years but now given up The traffic is horendous, the local fed up with the amount of vehicles and you get so many idiots trying to do it in 4/5 days You also get convoys of foreign M/H that have no regard to approaching traffic. I kid you not 30+ M/H hogging the road is no joke. Another poster here lamented on the state of the road surface which can put a serious strain on your vehicle Such a shame as the scenery is superb and in the olden days locals very welcome. In one year a lady baked me a loaf when I mentioned the lack of bakeries-In exchange for a couple of trout..
3 -
You don't say what you are going to use, Janet P ?
If your a CARAVANNER you can find a good site & park up for a few nights and just use the car which would be easier on single track roads. Should you be a MOTORHOMER, then some of the comments above need to be heeded.
While the roads are reasonable you can find timber hauling lorries & Holiday coaches { neither of which seem able to see where the passing places are } so your idea of Spring is good 'cos the main holiday traffic won't have started but remember Scottish school hols are not the same as the English ones . Also you should { I did say SHOULD
} be outside the main midgie feeding festival !OOPS, just noticed your first line -- you are obviously a caravanner
!!As for the sites, when I'm in the far north I tend to use the Club sites so going from Culloden anticlockwise via Brora etc round to Kinlochleven or Morvich should see you pretty well grounded.
Remember tho' it is a holiday not a Stamina test !!
0 -
Towing a caravan should not be a problem, did it in 1989 roads are better now, don't be put off by hoards of motorhome user's just take your time and enjoy it, just be ready for the idiots who bomb around ticking off the latest tour, remember vanner's do it in style.😜
0 -
While in one of the areas on site where we men can have normally , intelligent conversations with out interruptions (the dish washing area) I was in conversation with a member's from Inverness, and he was saying that the 500 is really, causing problems in some areas of Scotland,because the roads are not up to the amounts of motor caravans that are now doing it, as they are "wild camping" which is meant for Tents not other types of leisure vehicles,and "parking" in what are meant to be passing places
1 -
This wild camping is the only downside of open access, I do think it is being abused and not what was really intended, and really needs looking into and some kind of control put in. Go down Langdale in Cumbria and it's creeping in there even though it is not allowed.
0 -
It seems the Scots aren’t too bothered just other nationalities due to the fact their erstwhile secret is out & everyone is stopping them by having their privacy shattered, come on. . . .Were you never taught to share?👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊
0 -
This is all a bit disappointing as I am planning to go up the east coast to John O'Groats next year. Surely the A9 and A99 are ordinary roads, not single lane with passing places? I also wanted to do a day trip as passengers across to The Orkneys, has anybody done that and if so how was it?
0 -
Not a day trip to Orkney but two weeks on Orkney and Shetland.
We used Pentland Ferries from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope on Orkney. Caravans and MHs need to reverse on. The crossing took about an hour.
The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm is a must see. Check it out on Google.
The roads in Scotland are fine on the whole. The A9/99 are good but inevitably bendy and steep in places - Berriedale being about the worst spot. They are certainly doable for towing and the club sites at Brora and Dunnet Bay are evidence of this.
0 -
Thanks Tinwheeler, planning continues!
0 -
Happy to help if I can.
0 -
There are plenty of CLs close to your route for overnight stops, or longer, if you don't want to use club sites all the time. We took our caravan along those roads last year without any problems, although some of the other A roads are not in the best of conditions, surface wise. You just need to be cautious.
1 -
We did the Scottish 317, much better than the 500. I couldn't envisage anything much worse than joining a procession of vehicles and having to stop and reverse constantly. We did Culloden, Ullapool, Altnaharra (best stop!) ,Dunnet Bay, Brora and Fortrose. Roads were so quiet, scenery was brilliant and weather was kind.
0 -
I towed a 7.1m caravan with a long wheelbase Shogun round most of the NC 500 in Spring 2015. Did not find it a problem. On single track pull into passing places to let faster vehicles behind pass. The East coast is all double track. There are sites other than CMC which are worth visiting, such as Clachtoll near Lochinver. Don't limit yourself to CMC sites. Take your time. You are going there for the scenery not to tick off a road from a bucket list. Incidently I tour solo. Meg
2 -
One of the new problems on the 500 (as its now called) is that many motorhomers have never stepped in one before picking it up at the rental depot.
Lack of experience in larger vehicles on tight roads never mind setting up etc just leads to issues
2 -
You’re so right!
0 -
Hi, I did part of the nc500 last weekend, travelling from Lochinver right down to Lochcarron including the drive to Applecross. There is still a lot of single track road in places. The scenery was spectacular but the thing that disappointed me most was the terrible condition of the road surfaces. There is going to be a massive problem with this in the near future. As a Scotsman the surfaces are an embarrassment.
0 -
We did a day trip to the Orkney's several years ago. Stopped for a couple of nights at campsite in John o Groats, I recall it had adequate facilities but we used our own. Views over the Pentland Firth. Walked out of the site and joined the queue for the passenger ferry, (literally that close) which was met by a coach. Lovely tour, churchill barriers, Kirkwall, scared brae, ring of Brogda and the Italian Chapel. Fantastic, we had good weather too 😉. Added bonus of the skipper spotting an occasional whale on the return trip - a day of wonderful memories. I hope you can enjoy the same. Also saw a curlew at the ring first I'd seen since childhood.
0 -
Would confirm Bakers view that a trip to Orkneys is almost a must if up that far. The all inclusive one gives you an excellent full day with knowledgable drivers etc. Would take some weeks to get all that in if doing it on your own. A walk to the headland also recommended.
0 -
Duncansby stacks are a good spot for watching Razorbills and Guillemots.
0 -
The volumes of traffic remain the same as long as you can drive it - the 500 push is to make it an all year route. Up the east side to Dunnet Head is reasonable roads, fairly well maintained, but constant heavy traffic during the day.
From Dunnet Head round to Durness and down to Lochcarron the road conditions vary but the main problem is volume of people in all sorts of wagons vying for places on the single track areas. Remember these are used by normal traffic, motorhomes, caravans, tour buses and artics hauling logs - worst being coming across a cavalcade of any of these!! Some local companies actually over doing the route in a cavalcade of exotic cars - 10-12 at a time Lochcarron back to Inverness back to heavy traffic - main route to Skye etc
0
