Hired van booked!

[Shuckford]

Right then folks. All new to this so be kind here are the questions for folks more experienced than I am at the moment!
Hired van booked 7.3 mt Swift Voyager last week of April. Now the questions.
Provisional plan to do NC500 over two weeks starting from Northumberland.
Plan is to use sites for overnighting on the route from Edinburgh northwards. Any suggestions from experience?
Which way round would you go? Clockwise or counter clockwise.
Are there any parts of the route you wouldn’t attempt?
Is fuel readily available around the route? Tried PetrolPrices and they don’t seem to cover the north-west of the route.
How much gas would I need know this is like ‘a piece of string’ but will be on EHU most nights but oven and hob use for gas!
Think those are a few of things I need advice on.
TIA Shuckford

 

[Jo-jo]

Welcome to the forum.

We did it last September, anti-clockwise, saving the beautiful west coast til last. We had glorious weather & only had EHU for 4 of out 21 nights. We got through about 1.5 of our 6kg calor in 3 weeks. We cooked every day, used our own shower and heated water.

Haven at Seton Sands near Edinburgh was our first stop. Cheap & cheerful with EHU. The Kelpies overnight is a 'must' too.

We didn't drive over Applecross pass as I have too many bad memories of taking a camping trailer off dad's Fiat 900 as kids, so it scares me to contemplate it. We chose the easier route & some kn*b young lad in a VW camper smashed our wing mirror anyway .

The drive across the northern most point, east to west, was very barren. Passing places only, cars parked in them at times. It was a horrible stretch of road.

We had one night on Skye and only drove up the east and back down. Far too busy, very impatient cars, we wouldn't go again.

If you're courteous and allow others to pass you whenever possible, you'll have a great time.

 

[Shuckford]

Hi Jojo, thanks for the reply good info especially regarding the gas usage. Thinking that the hire company will only give us 1x6kg propane for the two weeks! Looking forward to the planning now, cheers.

 

[Jo-jo]

If you can/want to do any nights off grid, there are some beautiful places to stop, lots of them are free.

For clarity on the gas, we used 1.5 bottles of 6kg in our 21 nights. The fridge/freezer used much less than we were expecting

 

[Shuckford]

Thanks for clarification, thought it was 1.5 kgs from 1 bottle

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[Larby]

I don't know the vehicle but if over 3500kg then you need C! on your licence.

 

[Suenliam]

You have probably set your heart on the NC 500 but remember even early in the season it can be more like a traffic jam than an enjoyable trip. There is far more to Scotland than that road and much nearer to you e.g. SWC 300.
Check that your heating is electric/diesel and not just gas. At that time of the year you will probably need heating on for at least some of the time and you can get through the gas quite quickly that way.
Check out how much driving you will need to do to complete your chosen route. Unless you intend a driving holiday Scotland is deceptively big and the roads (and motorhomes) are not designed for speed.
Enjoy your planning and the trip and let us know how you get on.
Sue

 

[Gellyneck]

Shuckford "Is fuel readily available around the route?"

When we're up that way we tend to fill up at any "sensible" fuel station in Central Scotland but if heading north from Edinburgh Tesco Express Fuel in Dunblane PH1 2NR is just off the A9.

Then either Morrisons in Alness IV17 0UF or Asda in Tain IV19 1NZ. Both also just off A9.

After that it's Jet in Ullapool IV26 2SX and Morrisons in Fort William PH33 6XZ.

Obviously, reverse order if you're going around the other way!

There's also plenty independents, eg Gleaner on the route but at a cost.

As for gas, we've got two 19ltr refillables and that easily does us a number of weeks.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

End of April is Easter holidays up here, so it will be busier, also the midges will be coming out if the weather is right. You have been warned

At 7.3m, I’d avoid attempting Bealach Na Bá, it is narrow, steep, twisty and even in April possible to have snow on it. It is challenging even without considering your inexperience. Unfortunately the sign below has been largely obscured by stickers, but the road hasn’t changed, just become busier with poorer conditions due to overuse.

There is a community owned filling station at Applecross, but I can’t recall if there is diesel.

The rest of the NC500 is quite worthwhile, but a demanding drive due to single track roads, soft verges and idiots. Don’t rush, look well ahead to spot oncoming traffic, use passing places properly (pause in those on the left, and opposite those on the right) to allow traffic to pass and give way to traffic heading uphill, especially important on the hairpin sections, though don’t assume others will give way to you. Don’t park in passing places, no matter how good the view.
Give yourself plenty of time, don’t be too ambitious on how far you can travel each day, once north of the central belt, average speeds will tumble.

 

[Rapido925M]

There’s an option to go via Lochinver and Drumbeg: I would suggest avoiding that! Stick to the A894 between Newton and Loch Assynt (Ardvreck Castle).

I took the B869 and it was a scenic route BUT there were a few places with tight bends and at one point the road disappeared as I drove up a hill: fortunately it was straight but I feared a hidden corner. There’s a famous pie shop in Lochinver but parking is not easy.

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[kimndon]

As mentioned - there is no reason to hurry. The east coast past Aberdeen especially along by Banff. Lots of parking.
Enjoy.