Scotland Motorbike Trip 2023
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Hello everyone! I’m a new forum member having purchased my first AT a couple of days ago (pic attached!!). I’ve done a few longer rides mostly in Europe, always fly drive, but now with my own AT I’m thinking of doing something a bit closer to home and taking my own bike. The obvious choice for UK is the NC500, although a long drive to get there from London. Looking for any tips or suggestions. Things like:
any suggestions welcome!
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- when to go (thinking late May to avoid the midges?)
- which way around
- any clever ways to get there from London and avoid the 10 hour ride up the motorway
- my friend will be joining me from abroad so will be needing to hire a bike
- best to camp, pre-book accom or just ride and see how we get on?
- things to defo take or things to avoid
any suggestions welcome!
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Welcome. I am not an NC500 officionado but some bits I can help you with.
- when to go (thinking late May to avoid the midges?) - Wind is the midges worst enemy so pic a windy month 😆
- which way around - Either, most of the busier (if I can even call them that) sections will be on the West/SW side of the route.
- any clever ways to get there from London and avoid the 10 hour ride up the motorway - Depends how much time you have? You will need to do some motorway to make time out of London I suppose? Why not follow the spine of the Pennines (from the Peak District near Matlock and up to the area around Hawes, then make your entry/exit to Scotland from there depending on which way you do the NC5). You don’t need me to tell you to stay off the motorways and B-Roads are you best friend?
- my friend will be joining me from abroad so will be needing to hire a bike - Unsure
- best to camp, pre-book accom or just ride and see how we get on? - Pre-book either camp or B&B or Scottish Youth Hostel Association digs, it can get difficult to find accom in the summer.
- things to defo take or things to avoid - Take less than you think you need, it’s Scotland not Mars. Decent bug repellant and a V-Sponge or some thing to wash the bugs off your visor is a must. Also, try and fill up with no less than two bars left, stations get few and far between past Ullapool. A good camera to take pics and make us all jealous.
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April/May or October if you want to avoid the midges and the tourists (not sure which are worse). The classic route is up around the north west but it gets very busy. Lots of other parts of Scotland are impressive to ride, the best IMHO being the majestic route through Glencoe. From there instead of going up the Great Glen to Fort William and Inverness, you could take the Corrin ferry across to a brilliant road to Stontian, then a single track road up to Mallaig and a short ferry across to the Isle of Skye. Come back off Skye over the bridge and ride a little way north to Applecross (using the Pass of the Cattle). When heading back south try and get across to Pitlochry then turn off the main road and head for Aberfeldy. Crief then Stirling. Stop off to see these amazing beasts which loom over you as you ride past.
Mike
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Mike
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It will be getting busy, especially when the schools across the UK break for summer (end of June/mid July). That said, it is only a concern when booking accommodation and in tourist hotspots……once you are on the road and out in the countryside it is not so busy.
Yes .... I would much rather do that trip than the NW500. If you have time you could/should allow for riding around the Isle of Skye as that is impressive. Also .... allow a little more time for the Applecross section. You approach Applecross from east to West by going over a high pass called Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle). There's a very good pub and food on the waterfront at Applecross with a view across to Skye. If you don't want to repeat the Pass in the opposite direction theres a very pretty road around the coast (via Fearnmore and Shieldaig) and as you are heading north it's worth doing (but slow). You rejoin the main Inverness road at Achnasheen.
Then yes It looks like you have the route correct after Inverness, but if you want to avoid the slightly boring and very busy A9 you could turn off and take the A95 to Speybridge then through Tomintoul (single track with passing places) past Braemar and Glenshee then rejoin the A9 at Pitlochry. That way you see more of the Cairngorms than following the route of the A9 all the way.
How are you getting to Scotland - Ijmuiden to Newcastle?
Mike
PS - it's Scotland so take wet weather gear
Then yes It looks like you have the route correct after Inverness, but if you want to avoid the slightly boring and very busy A9 you could turn off and take the A95 to Speybridge then through Tomintoul (single track with passing places) past Braemar and Glenshee then rejoin the A9 at Pitlochry. That way you see more of the Cairngorms than following the route of the A9 all the way.
How are you getting to Scotland - Ijmuiden to Newcastle?
Mike
PS - it's Scotland so take wet weather gear
I posted some suggestions in the thread that Yves072 has started. Just to add something for both Yves and you and your friend, there's an interesting pass a little off the main road (A82) north after Glasgow in an area called the Trossachs. Duke's Pass - worth doing if the weather is good (I did it in fog once and it was pointless 😄). The A82 itself is a great road once you get up around Crianlarich and Tyndrum, and if you have good light and ominous clouds going through Glencoe it's magical.
Mike
Mike
👍 I love that ferry and Newcastle is a very pretty port by which to enter the UK (much better than Hull .... sorry to any Yorkshiremen on here 😄)
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Sounds like a good idea (done).
Doo n't fer-get to wave to @Hood wuh-eye yoo ar there un Scut-land, ... aye?
You a Geordie?
Okay, is better I think. Thanks.
How long are the trips for? If it is a week, don't try to cram too much in. We often hear of road closures in Scotland, with one diversion in place...of 46 or 75 miles etc....in short, much of it is big and empty...of both people and roads. If you want quirky and unusual cross to Skye on the Glenelg ferry, the worlds last surviving manual turntable ferry through a narrow sea channel with turbulent water. A great experience.
If it is a search for great roads, there are better roads than those that make up the NC500. Look at a decent map of the top 1/3 of Scotland, the NC500 goes right round the edge....thru the middle are some amazing quiet roads, single track with passing places that emanate from Lairg (fabulous cafe there.. https://www.pier-cafe.co.uk/ )
Depending on how many of you are going and what distance you want to ride daily, it may be beneficial renting a decent big property somewhere around Inverness. Then do day trips....one to Skye, one or two North, one or two to the Cairngorms etc. It means you get to see as much riding and scenery as you want, but without the need to carry your kit day by day, and also you can look at weather and head for where it is better on any given day.
If it is a search for great roads, there are better roads than those that make up the NC500. Look at a decent map of the top 1/3 of Scotland, the NC500 goes right round the edge....thru the middle are some amazing quiet roads, single track with passing places that emanate from Lairg (fabulous cafe there.. https://www.pier-cafe.co.uk/ )
Depending on how many of you are going and what distance you want to ride daily, it may be beneficial renting a decent big property somewhere around Inverness. Then do day trips....one to Skye, one or two North, one or two to the Cairngorms etc. It means you get to see as much riding and scenery as you want, but without the need to carry your kit day by day, and also you can look at weather and head for where it is better on any given day.
I was thinking about this question before you asked it. If I was going up to meet @Hood (Dundee/Perth area) I would go via Edinburgh, but I'm undecided about which way is best to get to Western Scotland from Newcastle. It's shorter by Edinburgh but you have about 15 miles of stop/start traffic on the Edinburgh ring road which just seems to get worse no matter what time of day or year.
The route up via the motorway (A74M) to Glasgow is long and boring, but it's easy to get through and round Glasgow and onwards up past Loch lomond. Getting across from Newcastle to near Carlisle (where you would join the M6/A74M) is OK - but quite a busy road. However if you have the time and want to explore a bit of history about how we english (well Romans actually) kept the likes of @Hood at bay, you could explore the road that runs parallel with the A69 and just underneath Hadrian's Wall. It's a very nice road to ride and there are several places where you can stop to view bits of the wall. If that's what you want to do take the A69 west out of Newcastle but turn off at Heddon on the Wall and take the B6138. You can rejoin the A69 if you want to at Gilsland or follow it further round to eventually get to Longtown and then join the A74M at Gretna (which has some history - for young couples who needed to get married in a hurry)
Mike
Any time of year works for me wearing the right gear will keep you warm and dry, nobody goes to Scotland for the weather. If you avoid the school holidays and the summer holiday season you'll also avoid the never ending convoys of camper vans, caravans and other tourists clogging up the roads for a traffic free ride. October through to March will not suit everybody, February is mostly to be avoided but do a last minute check of the weather forecast before setting out. Riding in Scotland is not for fair weather riders, expect it to rain and in the unlikely event it stays dry you've been blessed.
We,the IBA UK, do an annual east coast to west coast ride every year on the winter solstice (22nd December). Each year there's a different ride with different rendesvous (RV) points, this years ride was Peterhead in Inverness, across the Scottish Highlands to Neist Point on the Isle of Skye. The rains came on cue and melted away what snow and ice there was the week before and the temperatures soared to a balmy 5°C for an awesome traffic and tourist free 300+ mile ride across the Scottish Highlands. We have just three rules...
1) Come on a roadworthy solo motorcycle.
2) Group selfie at sunrise at the east coast RV point.
3) Group selfie at sunset at the west coast RV point.
![Cloud Sky Tire Wheel Vehicle]()
![Cloud Trousers Sky Smile Body of water]()
We,the IBA UK, do an annual east coast to west coast ride every year on the winter solstice (22nd December). Each year there's a different ride with different rendesvous (RV) points, this years ride was Peterhead in Inverness, across the Scottish Highlands to Neist Point on the Isle of Skye. The rains came on cue and melted away what snow and ice there was the week before and the temperatures soared to a balmy 5°C for an awesome traffic and tourist free 300+ mile ride across the Scottish Highlands. We have just three rules...
1) Come on a roadworthy solo motorcycle.
2) Group selfie at sunrise at the east coast RV point.
3) Group selfie at sunset at the west coast RV point.
Following thread as might make a trip up next year 👍
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