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North Coast 500 Trip 2023

Martin_Davis

Martin_Davis

PCGB Member
Member
Good morning,

A group of 12 of us in 6 Porsche’s from Region 5 are going to be driving the North Coast 500, in an anti-clockwise direction in April this year.

With this in mind, I was wondering whether any of you from Region 2 might have any suggestions for our lunch breaks between our evening stops (see below) as well as any distilleries or other interesting stopping off points and photo opportunities that we should visit en route?

Day 1 - Norton House Hotel, Nr Edinburgh, EH28 8LX
Day 2 - McDonald Highland Hotel, Aviemore, PH22 1PN
Day 3 - Portland Hotel, Lybster, KW3 6 BS
Day 4 - Tongue Hotel, Tongue, IV27 4XD
Day 5 - Gairloch Hotel, Gairloch, IV21 2BL
Day 6 - Parklands Hotel, Perth, PH2 8EB

We are hoping to stop off at Balmoral for lunch on the Monday or failing that the the Fife Arms in Braemar, we are also hoping to see the Kylesku bridge and Glen Coe, but any other suggestions or recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Most of all, it would be really great if we could meet up with some of you from Region 2 at some point.

Many thanks,

Martin
 
Hi There Martin
As I am lucky enough to have been on these roads many times on various occasions here are a few notes:
1. You are doing the route over the NC500 in the correct direction. I used to do it in a clockwise direction but now having done the route in an anti-clockwise direction it is a better experience. In this direction, the scenery gets better and better as you head West and then South.
2. If you have time take the single-track road (B869) to Drumbeg (good viewpoints there) at Kylesku and take the coastal route via Lochinver and Inverkirkaig to meet the A835 at Drumrunie heading south. Lots of opportunities for photos along the way.
3. I can vouch for the Tongue Hotel and Gairloch Hotel but I am not a fan of the McDonald Highland Hotel. My preferred hotels in that area would be the Duke Of Gordon in Kingussie or a smaller but family-run hotel nr Aviemore, the Rowan Tree Country Hotel that has good, home-cooked food.
4. At Balmoral there is a distillery where you can take a tour (may have to book). The Fife arms is very popular so you must book well ahead if you are thinking of stopping there for lunch. I, and few others from R2 may pop along to join you at Balmoral/Braemar and lunch with you all.
5. Stop offs: John O'Groats is an obvious choice on a nice day. The Smoo Cave, the beautiful Balnakeil Beach and Cocoa Mountain coffee stop at Durness are all worth a visit. The Tongue causeway parking area near Tongue is a good place for a photo opportunity too. Kylsku Bridge car park offers good photo opportunities. As mentioned above the viewpoint at Drumbeg offers another photo opportunity. Glencoe has many good stopping areas. You may even see a piper at The Meeting of Three Waters (small car park) halfway up the Glen on the A82.
7. It is best to get super premium fuel in Inverness, Wick and at Ullapool as there are not many petrol stations with super unleaded in-between.

Have you considered going to Applecross and the Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) that is sometimes included in the NC500 route? Maybe it is a step too far to go on that route but the sights along that peninsula are spectacular if the weather is kind to you.

I wish you all the best on your trip and maybe get to meet you in the Braemar area.

Iain

 
Hi Martin, I know Iain well and would trust his recommendations, along with all the other local inputs of course. Nobody has asked about ground clearance yet!
 
Brian,
There are no issues with ground clearance for all Porches in any of the roads Martin is taking. The only road with poor surface is the one you found and travelled on near the House if Bruar on the B847. lol.[:)]
Best regards Brian.

Iain
BrianJ said:
Hi Martin, I know Iain well and would trust his recommendations, along with all the other local inputs of course. Nobody has asked about ground clearance yet!
Click to expand...


 
Many thanks to all of you for your kind and helpful advice, which is very much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Martin
 
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