NC500 clockwise May 2019

JulesDive · May 18, 2019

Well, as part of my ongoing mid-life crisis, I am embarking on the NC500 this month.
Starting in Devon, riding up to Lake District, then to Inverness (via Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Fort William, Loch Ness etc).
Then 3 days to do the NC500 with some "diversions".
And 2 days back to Devon via Yorkshire / Harrogate etc.

2 GS's , one LC, one not.

What could possibly go wrong ? :nenau

JulesDive · May 18, 2019

Photos from day 1

Photos from day 1

GS ready to roll

North of Birmingham on M6 - that's very far north when you come from Devon - strange architecture at the motorway services

Ribblehead viaduct in Yorkshire - some with bonus steam train

Grange-over-sands pub (Commodore) and views across Morecombe bay

dave hendy · May 18, 2019

Looking forward to the rest of your trip

Hope the weather is kind to you, it makes such a difference

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JulesDive · May 18, 2019

Day 1

Well we decided to have a leisurely start (10am) and then headed up M5 for 2 hours, stopping just before Birmingham for fuel / coffee etc. Frankley Services.

Not too many roadworks on the M5 until we got into Birmingham and then there was a long 30mph stretch.

Dodged plenty of showers and grey skies, made good progress. The idea was to do about 250 miles on the motorway and then to ride into Yorkshire or Lake District if weather was fine and time allowed.

Weather amazingly held off from the heavy rain which had been forecast so we came off at M6 junction 34 and rode through Hornby (A683) and over to Hawes (B6255). Great roads and lots of other bikes around. Bonus viaduct with bonus steam train ;-)

Then fueled up again (at sensible , ie non-motorway services) prices and took the A684 to Kendal. Then onto our overnight stop at Grange-over-sands.

Where we had a couple of beers and a nice meal at the Commodore Pub / Restaurant. :beerjug:

Overall a good day and much better than our expectations given the dodgy weather forecast.

JulesDive · May 18, 2019

Grange over sands

Lots of reasonably priced places to stay.
There are amazing views over Morecombe Bay.
And its a great location for access to Lake District.
We are planning to head up through Lakes via Windermere and Keswick on our way back to the motorway to get into Scotland.

Urban Rider · May 18, 2019

Thanks for starting this, i'll be following closely as we will be leaving the south on the 17th June to follow a similar route...

JulesDive · May 19, 2019

Day 1 and day 2 routes

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JulesDive · May 19, 2019

Today was a mixture of amazing scenery and some motorway to chew up the miles and get through / around Glasgow ...

Started with a ride through the Lake District.
We went up the A5084 past Torver and Coniston Water. Which was amazing scenery, but a lot of traffic.

The main problems were either local buses or Motorhomes with queues of 10-20 cars behind them, hard to overtake. And the buses had to stop for anything coming the other direction... so it was slow progress.

After Coniston, we went into Ambleside, then up the A591 past Thirlmere, towards Keswick. Heading north from Keswick again on the A591 the GS’s really came into their own with long sweeping bends and much less traffic. We joined the A595 and went across to Carlisle and took the M6 North towards Scotland...

Two hours to get to the M6 , mainly due to congestion in / around the Coniston area of the Lakes.

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JulesDive · May 20, 2019

Day 3 - Inverness to Ullapool

Weather mixed, occasional showers, some mist. 14C when we left Inverness at 0930.

Fuelled up just outside Inverness during a rain shower

. Not too much traffic around ...

Photo of Loch Kishorn

Photo of today’s route

More later ... stopping for lunch at Applecross. Nice cafe called The Junction opposite a self serve 24 hour petrol station.

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JulesDive · May 20, 2019

Day 3 photos

Photos from NC500 , Inverness to Ullapool

JulesDive · May 20, 2019

There is a community run petrol station at Applecross.
Opposite that is a nice cafe called "The Junction" which serves breakfasts until midday.
Both are well worth a visit

When the sun comes out, the gorse and broom (with their yellow flowers) both look spectacular...

HarryMcdowell · May 20, 2019

These photos with train is so cool. I think it was really interesting trip.

JulesDive · May 21, 2019

Day 4 : Ullapool to Golspie (250 miles)

Set off early from Ullapool.
Lots of accommodation there since it’s a town with a ferry terminal.
In the hotel where we stayed, there were a dozen motorbikes... and just up the road at the campsite, lots of (braver) bikers were there with their tents.
It seems to be compulsory for bikers to have green tents in Scotland.

There is a nice Indian restaurant by the campsite, reasonably priced. But bring your own booze - and you have to pay in cash !

It was possibly a bit over ambitious to do 250 miles as quite a lot was single track with passing spaces. But there wasn’t much traffic so it was OK.
However, if there was a lot of oncoming traffic in the single track sections, it would really slow you down.

Also the actual NE corner was very flat / straight roads and not great riding .

So unless you want a photo at John O’Groats signpost , I would avoid it ...

I would take the A9 to cut off the NE corner if I did the route again. Or the A882.

There is a 24 hour credit card petrol station at Durness ( the West Point of the flat part of Scotland ). And just nearby there is a craft centre / cafe which does amazing hot chocolate ... 1 mile west of the petrol station in a little village called Balnakeil.

It’s called Cocoa Mountain and it’s amazing.

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JulesDive · May 21, 2019

Maps and stuff

For the actual NC500, the best map I could find on waterproof paper was this one ...

Trust me you will need waterproof paper !
It rains a lot on and off !

And for Scotland in general, this is an excellent guide book ...

Allowed us to pick routes to and from the NC500.

And in general, the Ordnance Survey Road maps ( a set of 8 cover the whole of UK ) are great ... 1 inch is 4 miles and the topography is clear which helps you pick nice motorcycle routes...

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Gary W · May 22, 2019

Hi, I'm doing the NC500 this weekend 24th May, weather not looking too dry but who cares apart from my mate that is tagging along (he hates his bike getting wet and having to dry it lol). Just hope weather puts a few people off so the roads are not too busy.
Last time I was in Scotland, bike (R1200RT, fuel pump regulator) broke down in Oban, had to get relayed back to Hartlepool, hopefully all goes well this time (R1200GSLC).

Sgt Bilco · May 22, 2019

Gary W said:
apart from my mate that is tagging along (he hates his bike getting wet and having to dry it lol). .

Your mate needs to put his big girls pants on and get on with it

Davey B · May 22, 2019

Gary W said:
Just hope weather puts a few people off so the roads are not too busy.

Despite what you may read, you can still ride for 20 or 30 miles and only see half a dozen other vehicles at the top of Scotland (Did 6 days last Wednesday to Monday just gone) If you come across a gaggle of vehicles in front, just stop for a 10 minute break and set off again.....and get your mate to grow up and just ride...rain or shine - it's all good. Have a great trip

PhaedrusMC · May 23, 2019

Me & Crunch are doing the NC500 in September - very wet?

Nice pics OP - fuels the anticipation. :thumb2

Northern jock · May 23, 2019

Didn't realise you were supposed to dry your bike after it gets wet, I have always thought that they might be made to get wet and survive the experience

Tyzer · May 23, 2019

Northern jock said:
Didn't realise you were supposed to dry your bike after it gets wet, I have always thought that they might be made to get wet and survive the experience

Not the amount of rain you get in the Highlands!

NC500 clockwise May 2019

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