NC 500 A residents observations.

[plumbob]

Giving a road a tourist name and set route I feel was a disaster waiting to happen these routes have been there forever and have been used and enjoyed by many that do not plan or make up their own holiday.
Now they have just become a box ticking exercise, a must do, Love Scotland always have didn't need someone - Charlie to tell me which way to go.
It is becoming like Disney in the 80's it had to be done I live in hope that the novelty like Disney will wear off View attachment 528929

Myself and better half have booked a number of CMC sites in May next year for part of NC500. We are still doing research but have decided after all the negative reports we think it better to postpone till a later date or possibly not at all. As to the litter problem etc my grandson has worked in Mc Donald’s for 3years and I have spent many nights waiting to pick him up in the car park and it is very enlightening. People just throw their rubbish out the windows. Is it the youngsters NO its all ages. Don’t forget you don’t have to even get out of the car to get rid of rubbish because of the dump bins Just lean out the window. We started camping in the 70s, caravan in 80s, static in the 90s back to camping in the naughties (grandson) Motorhome 2016 so I dont know which group we fit in.
We go away to chill out not hassle .
The only thing that applies. ONLY LEAVE FOOTPRINTS WHEN YOU LEAVE
Tom & Wendy

 

[nicholsong]

So it's very clear what we need is Education not Banning everything when there is a problem, of course this would be a huge task, we still see people (oddly enough mostly young mothers) with two children in the car talking on a mobile phone, the crazy thing is they are driving a brand new Range Rover or similar which must have Hands Free facilities.

Education and respect for what isn't theirs is the way forward which surely must start at home.

What? Expecting parents to educate their children?

"I pay my taxes for the school to do that!"

What the hell did modern parents think that previous parents in mankind did to bring up their children before the Education Act 1906?

 

[spitfire]

The NC 500 is not something to "do" it is a made up name for some roads, there are others, in a beautiful scenic part of the UK and the area should be enjoyed at leisure.
We have toured this region in caravan, motorhome and car for over 40 years.
We are currently at BIL house outside Beauly, he also has a motorhome and is more than reluctant to use it in an area that he has lived, worked and toured in for over 45 years.
The promotion of this "route" has ruined an area of natural beauty in his opinion and mine.

Exactly . We would love to head north to visit good friends around Thurso where we lived for 14 years but the stories I have read have put us off . We visited in 2011 and again in 2017 and even then the change was obvious and hate to think what it is like now . Sad .

 

[robnchris]

What? Expecting parents to educate their children?

"I pay my taxes for the school to do that!"

Yes a sad world, though being honest if a child doesn't know wrong from right by the time they are of school age they will never know it.

 

[TerryL]

Sadly it IS a social thing and also remarkably British.

Last year we toured the Republic of Ireland, where there are NO litter bins making it difficult to dispose of normal litter. However we remarked on how clean and tidy it was everywhere. We were sailing back from Belfast so at the end of the trip made our way north and stopped for a cuppa in a layby right on the border with N.I. - and were appalled at the mess and, yes, smell.

In all our travels it's only the UK where we see this behaviour and we firmly believe it is all to do with respect, or lack of it, earned at the cost of a thick ear or slapped legs by our parents. Unfortunately this behaviour is now so well ingrained into the psyche of most of the younger generations that it will take an extremely radical approach to change, something which no UK government will ever take on.

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[Northernraider]

Sadly it IS a social thing and also remarkably British.

Last year we toured the Republic of Ireland, where there are NO litter bins making it difficult to dispose of normal litter. However we remarked on how clean and tidy it was everywhere. We were sailing back from Belfast so at the end of the trip made our way north and stopped for a cuppa in a layby right on the border with N.I. - and were appalled at the mess and, yes, smell.

In all our travels it's only the UK where we see this behaviour and we firmly believe it is all to do with respect, or lack of it, earned at the cost of a thick ear or slapped legs by our parents. Unfortunately this behaviour is now so well ingrained into the psyche of most of the younger generations that it will take an extremely radical approach to change, something which no UK government will ever take on.

I don't know where youve been going then as i found Spain , Portugal, greece and particularly italy to have serious problems with litter and general dumping of unwanted household items .... everywhere ...and again a vast majority of it is locals . Coffee cups and beer cans and bottles being the worst culprits

 

[2657]

Exactly . We would love to head north to visit good friends around Thurso where we lived for 14 years but the stories I have read have put us off . We visited in 2011 and again in 2017 and even then the change was obvious and hate to think what it is like now . Sad .

BIL worked at Vulcan for a while and lived at Halkirk

 

[spitfire]

BIL worked at Vulcan for a while and lived at Halkirk

We lived in Halkirk and OH worked at Vulcan then we moved with RR to Devonport !

 

[Ivory55]

What? Expecting parents to educate their children?

"I pay my taxes for the school to do that!"

What the hell did modern parents think that previous parents in mankind did to bring up their children before the Education Act 1906?

I think that comes about when the government decides to give to some what they have taken off of others who are no better off. People then take the attitude I have paid why should I do xyz . I remember when I was a kid parents etc would mow the verge outside the house etc, now with the amount of council tax I pay I would not dream of doing that.

 

[Nanniemate]

I think that comes about when the government decides to give to some what they have taken off of others who are no better off. People then take the attitude I have paid why should I do xyz . I remember when I was a kid parents etc would mow the verge outside the house etc, now with the amount of council tax I pay I would not dream of doing that.

I remember when the little old lady down the road from me used to polish her step it was a pride thing I painted mine and always stepped over it not to wear the paint off

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[phase3begins]

I think that comes about when the government decides to give to some what they have taken off of others who are no better off. People then take the attitude I have paid why should I do xyz . I remember when I was a kid parents etc would mow the verge outside the house etc, now with the amount of council tax I pay I would not dream of doing that.

So how much less council tax would persuade you to care for your verges?

 

[Ivory55]

So how much less council tax would persuade you to care for your verges?

Probably 50% I might be more interested

 

[Ivory55]

Mind you if I did it would only encourage more people from the next road to park there making it harder to get in the drive without driving along the pavement, so nothing gained really

 

[Catpirate]

Hi I was in Vulcan in the 70's in the RN. Then worked for RR there in the 90's. Toured the North Coast loved the hills (Ben Tongue and Ben Loyal) bathed naked in a cold stream. Loved the locals, love a Scottish breakfast. Now seems so busy and commerlised doesn't have the same enjoyment.

I went to Dornoch in 2019 then turned left to the west coast stopping at Plockton then down the coast via Glen Fruit to overlook Faslane. Great trip.

 

[Catpirate]

Glen Fruin not fruit, autocorrect for you LOL.

PS the canteen at Vulcan is one of the best I have known.

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[Tombola]

Idiots and layabouts are always going to infringe, whatever the the activity.
The proboem here is the Scots promoted this to bring in tourism to outlying areas, and the $$$. Its got our of hand somewhat, but somw businesses appreciate it, some residents probaby not so.

And I know this is gonna cause a stir, But I dont see what all the fuss is about, its like "the emperors new clothes" "its Scotland you have to love it", the glens, the highands, (forget the midgies). Absolute tosh..... There are plenty other places with the same or more, and with better weather, equally as nice views, and where we (the sassenach we) dont get accused of stealing the water

and yes, I have toured in and around quite a bit back in the day and quite recently only becuase we were meeting friends, but I can take or leave it no problem.


Scots overhype and marketing brought all this on, if you get one idiot per hundred folk then attract a million people expect a lot more idiots.
You notice there is no NC lake district...not required as it is popular anyway

 

[Northernraider]

Idiots and layabouts are always going to infringe, whatever the the activity.
The proboem here is the Scots promoted this to bring in tourism to outlying areas, and the $$$. Its got our of hand somewhat, but somw businesses appreciate it, some residents probaby not so.

And I know this is gonna cause a stir, But I dont see what all the fuss is about, its like "the emperors new clothes" "its Scotland you have to love it", the glens, the highands, (forget the midgies). Absolute tosh..... There are plenty other places with the same or more, and with better weather, equally as nice views, and where we (the sassenach we) dont get accused of stealing the water

and yes, I have toured in and around quite a bit back in the day and quite recently only becuase we were meeting friends, but I can take or leave it no problem.


Scots overhype and marketing brought all this on, if you get one idiot per hundred folk then attract a million people expect a lot more idiots.
You notice there is no NC lake district...not required as it is popular anyway

Be kind of hard to have an NC ( north coast) lake district to be honest.

 

[G-RMPS]

Interesting how many folk lived around Thurso. I lived in Thurso from 1950 to 1958. We were “atomics” - father worked at Dounreay. I remember borrowing the family car to go to beaches in the summer with hardly another soul in sight on the roads or on the selected beach.

 

[tonyidle]

Be kind of hard to have an NC ( north coast) lake district to be honest.

It would have to be a WC. But then we don't have those either .

 

[gerry mcg]

Is a modest tourist tax, say £1 per night per person unreasonable? Similar to the French Tax de Sejour? Leveled. Nationally but administered locally, to provide waste collection and tourist amenities?
It would need to be ring fenced and wouldn't help dealing with FLTs

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[VandM]

It's more than likely that the people who leave this kind of mess are similarly inconsiderate litterers when it comes to takeaway foods, smoking or anything else that has the potential to create waste if the individual/s care not a jot.
We're in a lag period where councils have not invested (for many reasons) in the type of infrastructure that Europe enjoys and the touring British public are increasing staycationing.
The localised spending in places that have Aire type stopovers doesn't just benefit the businesses, it also helps local residents by increasing the viability of the local businesses.

 

[poppycamper]

The Land Reform Act doesn't need repelling, all that's needed is for folk to actually understand what it means and covers with regards wild camping.
A snippet of the pertinent part:
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act states:
Access rights extend to wild camping. This type of camping is lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two or three nights in any one place. You can camp in this way wherever access rights apply
It doesn't not, and has never applied to motorhomes, campervans or any motorised vehicle

The basics:

Wild Camping in Scotland - The Best Campsites

The ultimate guide to wild camping in Scotland! Discover the best wild campsites & spots, from Loch Lomond to Shetland, and explore Scotland's right to roam.

www.visitscotland.com

We live in a small fishing village on one of the newly named tourist routes, the SW300. Whilst we haven't been impacted as badly as those living on the NC500, this year has been an eye opener for us, and quite unpleasant.

Here Here Gizmouk....
I have been trying to say the exact same over the many previous posts on this subject only to be shoot down (oops, sorry ignored) by some forum members.
Wild Camping in Scotland does not include the use of a motor vehicle...
If you want to wild camp in Scotland get a pair of walking boots, a bicycle or even a canoe.

 

[Stanbrook]

It’s been 52 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing. Neil Armstrong’s iconic footprint is still there, undisturbed; there’s no atmosphere, no wind on the moon to blow it away.

But the bigger human footprint on the moon is, arguably, the 96 bags of human waste left behind by the six Apollo missions that landed there.

Yes, our brave astronauts took dumps on their way to the moon, perhaps even on the moon, and they left behind their diapers in baggies, on humanity’s doorstep to the greater cosmos.

The bags have lingered there, and no one knows what has become of them. Now scientists want to go back, and answer a question that has profound implications for our future explorations of Mars: Is anything alive in them?

Human feces can be disgusting, but they’re also teeming with life. Around 50 percent of their mass is made up of bacteria, representing some of the 1,000-plus species of microbes that live in your gut. In a piece of poop lives a whole wondrous ecosystem.

Planet Earth has hosted this life and so much more for upward of 3.9 billion years. The moon, as far as we know, has been sterile and lifeless that whole time.

With the Apollo 11 moon landing, we took microbial life on Earth to the most extreme environment it has ever been in. Which means the human feces — along with bags of urine, food waste, vomit, and other waste in the bags, which also might contain microbial life — on the moon represents a natural, though unintended, experiment.

Food for thought?

 

[Jon B]

Can only report on what I saw in the last 4 weeks of touring Scotland.....

Took in Lewis & Harris / North Uist / Benbecula / South Uist / Eriskay / Skye / NC 500 / Cairngorms - Wildcamped 15 nights and used official sites for 13 nights - covered 2,823 miles in total and........

Saw no mess in any of the sites we used..... none!. Lots of bins supplied - all used properly, lots of recycling bins supplied - all used properly. Used small local shops for food wherever possible. Left a donation in the honesty boxes at most of the wild camp stopovers we used. Didn't meet anyone who wasn't friendly. No locals with pitchforks out to get you.....

In short, a fab touring holiday with some stunning scenery .....

Just a few of our wild camp locations (2nd one in was a 5 van aire on
Harris with ehu for a 'suggested' donation of £15, a bargain with views like that):

 

[Holty]

Here Here Gizmouk....
I have been trying to say the exact same over the many previous posts on this subject only to be shoot down (oops, sorry ignored) by some forum members.
Wild Camping in Scotland does not include the use of a motor vehicle...
If you want to wild camp in Scotland get a pair of walking boots, a bicycle or even a canoe.

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