hey folks,has anyone driven the north coast 500 route scotland in there ford rs or cosworths?????......was it easy or hard,,,,pros and cons of this route in a cossie or rs

 

I’ve two mates who did it on bikes at separate times. They both said never again unless you enjoy getting eaten by midges lol

 

Can imagine this year will be packed with caravans and motorhomes

 

Hey Steve, I did a slightly cut n shut version of the NC500 back end of last year with some pals (September).

We did the route clockwise and skipped most of the East coast section as it apparently quite dull compared to the West. Although we did come back via the old military road over Cairngorms national park, which was fantastic! Very fast roads if that's what you're in to.

West coast is mainly single track roads but plenty of overtaking points when you come across slow moving traffic (aka campervans). The scenery is breath taking.

We based ourselves out of Ullapool for 2 nights, did a mini North route circuit 1 of the days, which was nice as you can leave all your stuff at the B&B and not have to worry about getting to certain points for certain times.

One thing to note is fuel stops! My car runs on Super and there are limited fuel stops up in the North that sell it. I think Ullapool may even be the highest place up in the west that sells it. I got around this with Jerry can and emergency octane booster for when I had to put some regular in the car (which you may need to do depending on how thirsty yours is

I would recommend trying to drive over the Applecross pass, which is way off the beaten path. It's an experience with stunning views. Very steep roads though and it will be littered with campervans and insane cyclists. Read that as LOTS of stop starts and crawling in slow moving traffic, but worth it for some good fish n chips at the bottom by the sea. Read that as paddle clutch unfriendly lol, well unless you have hydraulic conversion, but still a bit of a pig.

If you're going in Summer, you may want some good bug spray as I hear the midges can be a bit "bitey" around that time of year.

Main thing though is enjoy!

Oh and get yourself a good action cam for vids and good camera for obligatory photo shots

Look forward to seeing the post trip photos

Cheers, Paul