Our plan is to fly into Edinburgh and take train to Glasgow for first night. Stay in Glasgow for 3_4 nights. A 82 to Glencoe area for 4 nights. Then it gets murky. We want to visit Skye for 4 nights. Head toward Inverness to start NC 500. Go to Scrabster for ferry to Orkney islsnds for 3 nights. Back to 500 around to do Applecross. Then over to Aberdeen area and Balmoral. Travel down to Stirling and back to Edinburgh for 3 nights. We visited for 2 weeks 4 years ago so we are somewhat familiar. We were very rushed last time with one night stops. We want to be able to stop along the way to see less famous sights. Any help or guidance will be appreciated.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2921 posts
Visit Skye after Glencoe. Rather than heading back to Inverness from Skye, why not pick the NC 500 from Skye and go clockwise via Applecross, heading up up to Scrabster for the ferry to Orkney? Then head back down the east coast via inverness, Aberdeen and Balmoral. It is a more logiacal routs and saves some backtracking.
When are you planning this for? Accommodation on Skye books up really quickly and there is limited accommodation along the NC500.
Posted by
Chicagoland
2011 posts
I agree with the previous poster. Drive from Portree to Applecross and start the drive along the northwest and north coast to Scrabster for the ferry. No backtracking and you'll only miss about an hour of the full NC500 circuit.
When are you traveling? If this summer, book your Skye lodging yesterday and your NC500 now.
Posted by
Delaware
1705 posts
Hi, rflan51,
What wasleys and jeanm have advised makes sense. The majority of NC500 drivers go clockwise. However, if you want to visit Orkney before Skye, your best bet would be to go through Glencoe after Glasgow, stay on the A82 in to Inverness (or take the east shore route along Loch Ness for a much more scenic and peaceful drive), then the A9 straight up to Scrabster.
After you return from Orkney, follow the coast road around to Applecross (a side trip on the B869 through Drumbeg and Lochinver is well worthwhile), then from Lochcarron, around to Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye Bridge. Be sure to spend some time in Plockton along the way.
Once you leave Skye, you have a decision to make. If you want to avoid backtracking through Inverness, and don't need to visit the Moray coast, you can take the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig, the A830 to Fort William, then the A86 from Spean Bridge to Kingussie. From there, the A9 north to Aviemore, then the A95 to Grantown on Spey, From Grantown, the A939 will take you to Ballater, and put you within a few miles of Balmoral. Then you can take the A93 in to Aberdeen and continue your journey from there.
By following that route, the only backtracking you'd do is the small section of the A82 between Fort William and Spean Bridge.
What did you see when you visited four years ago? Any further recommendations will depend on what you've already seen.
29 days is a perfect amount of time for visiting Scotland. One thing I found out from previous visits is that some of the car hire companies give you unlimited mileage with a 28 day rental. With 29 days and above, they cap the mileage at 2,100 miles, and you have to pay mileage after that.
Enjoy your visit. As previously advised, if it's for this summer, you need to start making reservations now!
Best wishes,
Mike (Auchterless)