Scotland - the far North and prices

JonnyBravo

JonnyBravo

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Just looking to book rooms for myself and 3 others for a trip in May upto to Ullapool - but have cast the net quite wide now because some of the accomodation prices are eye watering !
£150+ a night seems quite the norm regardless of whether its Ullapool, Inverness, Fort Bill etc.
Plenty of places are showing nigh on £200 a night :confused2:
And thats BNB, not even a smart hotel
Crackers!
 
We did the NC 500 in 2017 , we were paying £90-110 in B&B’s then . Plus it took me ages to get accommodation on the West Coast
 
Yes the West coast tourist areas have gone mad!
Better deals on the East side if that could be your thing - Aberdeen frinstance - always possible to find good-value digs in my experience
 
We rode the far North last year in July. We used premier inns for nights in Inverness, Thurso and Fort William then the final night at Burts in Melrose. Just had a look back at the messages from the lad that looks after the accommodation. For the three premier inns it was £178.50 each for three nights with breakfast. Can’t remember Burts costs as it was pay at the hotel.
So less than £60 per night per person. These are shared room prices.
 
A friend used to do the NC500 in a day. From Edinburgh. He was younger then and pre NC500 and gazillions of campers. However, it does make the point that, with a bit of planning re not doing the full route, you can enjoy the best of it without spending too much time up there. Do a search on NC500 and yopu'll find a few threads with suggestions. This for example.
 
Just to add, we didn’t ride the NC500. We rode it many, many years ago before it became a thing. There are other great roads up that way. Some very remote. I would love to ride around the coast again but it’s pretty much spoilt now. When we first went up that way back in the mid 70s there weren’t many tourists about and it was a much better place for that reason.
 
I ‘did’ the NC500 in an eight meter motorhome, in mid-September. The campsites and roads were pretty much empty.

Go in high season and (surprise, surprise). every man and his dog will be there, too.
 
We did the Applecross in an 8 metre 6.5 tonne tag axle a few years ago. It wasn’t any problem but I wouldn’t have wanted a trailer on it. Stayed the night then back over next morning and onward to Skye. It was a hired Motorhome. Lovely Motorhome but it wasn’t the correct layout for us.
 
I don't know about the NC500 being 'spoilt' but yes, it can be occasionally a bit congested - south of Durness is hard going sometimes, but these days it's hardly unusual anywhere. I rode through Austria and into the Dolomites in September last year and it was mad busy. If you want wide open spaces with no traffic go to Namibia. Go anyway, it's a fantastic place.

Because of the lack of accommodation people do use motorhomes so they will be guaranteed somewhere to sleep, even illegally in a layby, but they do get in the way, and the rental ones are often driven by muppets who don't have a scoob how to handle a large vehicle.

I've been in hospitality in the north of Scotland for over 30 years, and I do feel like the prices some people charge are getting out of hand, but it's supply and demand and the cost of running a business, any business, is feckin' mental these days.

IIRC we were 98% fully booked last year, probably won't be much different this year, but I still can't afford both a new bike and to travel for months at a time. Travel wins every time, bollocks to new metal.😁
 
There has been a big change over the years with accommodation in the North of Scotland. Up to about 15 years ago myself and a few friends used to look at the forecast and if a big high (pressure) was coming in book the ferry for Friday on a Wednesday and ring a few favored B&B's for accommodation and it worked fine. Those days are long gone. Last time I stayed up North was 2021 with a couple of nights in the Glenmoriston Arms at Inver Moriston and a night In Davar B&B in Lochinver.......which is handy if you want to do the "Wee mad road". I notice that the Hotel at Rhiconich has reopened. That is a fantastic location.
 
Had thought about a few nights up Ullapool way last Sept. B&B prices put me off. For the kind of price some were asking you could have a week in Spain or city break in Prague.
Ended up going to the Lake District, The Kellbank in Gosforth at £180 for 3 nights. Reasonably priced good food and beer. Enjoyed the ride and reacquainting myself with the Lakes.
 
glenn2926 said:
We did the Applecross in an 8 metre 6.5 tonne tag axle a few years ago. It wasn’t any problem but I wouldn’t have wanted a trailer on it. Stayed the night then back over next morning and onward to Skye. It was a hired Motorhome. Lovely Motorhome but it wasn’t the correct layout for us.
Click to expand...
I take it you went round, not over the high road.
 
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