Whatisit?
A 514-mileclockwiselooparoundthe
Scottishcoastline,officiallystarting
andendingatInvernesscastlefor
convenience,withApplecrossatits
westernpoint,toDurnessinthe
north-west,andJohno’Groatsinthe
north-east.Googlereckons 13 hoursto
rideandit’sdo-ableinonelong
summer’sday,butyou’rebetteroff
splittingit inhalforeventhreedays.
Whatmakesitgreat?
TheNC500containssimplythebest
ridingonthemainlandUK;thebest
roads,incomparablesceneryand—
usually— thelowestdensityoftraffic.If
youchoosetoridetherouteanti-
clockwise,thefirstfewmilesalongthe
A9aren’tparticularlyinspiringtobegin
withbuttheentertainmentbuilds
graduallyasthevolumeoftrafficdrops,
theroadstartstonarrowandthe
scenerybecomesmore interesting.By
thetimeyougettothewide,sweeping,
180°coastalbendnorthofHelmsdale,
thebloodwillbewellandtrulyup.From
Must-ridesection
Thewestcoastisthebestsection— but
there’saneasyadditionif you’resplitting
theloopovertwoorthreedays:asyou
leaveatLochcarron,takea rightturn
ontotheA8 90 headingforStrathcarron
andfollowtheroadtoInvergarry— it’s
sensational— thenturnleftandfollow
thebanksofLochNessbackto
Inverness.It turnstheNC500intothe
NC551,whichmightnotbeasnumerically
pleasing,butis 51 milesyouwon’tregret.
heretheA9turnsintotheA99,witha
smooth,fast,flowingrunastheland
graduallyflattensintofarmlandonthe
approachtoJohno’Groats.
Fromthefamoussignpost,the NC500
windsacrossthetopofCaithness— the
roofofScotland— astheloopyA836,
intoSutherlandandontoTongue.The
scenerychangescharacter,driftinginto
barren,weather-beatenrockand
moorland.Bythetimeyougetto
Milesfromtheborder
218 milesfromCarter
BarinNorthumberland,
242 milesfromGretna
GreenontheM6/A74
Timetogetthere5h
(withstops)
MakesureyouvisitTheBealachnaBà:a
146 2mascentbetweenLochcarronand
ApplecrossandScotland'ssteepestroad
StopoveratApplecrossisa perfect
water-boundwildernessvillage
HOWWESCOREDIT
Scenery........9/10
Roads................9/10
Durness and starttoheadsouthonthe
A894, the wholelengthofthewest
coast becomesa helter-skelterride
covering everythingfromsuper-fast,
wide-open, flowingtarmactocrazy
yomps and yumps;fromopenrocky
plains to dramaticmountainridges,yet
always attendedeitherbya coastline,or
running alongside a deep, black loch, or
the occasional brilliantwhitesandy
beach with an azure sea.There are so
many landscapes appearingoverthe
brow to occupy yourattention,it makes
keeping your eyes on the road harder
and harder.
The best time of year to do the NC500
is springtime, just after the change in
weather has warmed up the yellow
blasts of roadside gorse but before
summer’s midges come out to play.
THE FACTS
2 The NC500,
Scotland
The greatest loop
of road in the
United Kingdom
Pictures Stuart Collins
40 | JULY 2019
RIDE’S BEST
SPORTS-TOURING
DESTINATIONS
You, your bike
and probably,
some cattle
