The North Coast 500. 6 days / 5 nights. Over 1100 miles. In October.
That was the plan, anyway!
Since the previous year, when James my older son and I had done a marathon 2-day blast of the NC500 by car, the seed had been sown, and the idea of a campervan to tour our incredible country started to grow. The northern roads and coastline are just stunning, and this was the true test of the van – could we live in the small confines for multiple days and stopovers? Was there enough room for two to be comfortable, and enjoy rather than endure the trip? Turns out there is, especially if you organise in advance, agree what kind of trip you are going to have, and roughly where you want to stop every night. Expecting it to be pretty busy during the October school break ( it wasn’t), we structured the whole trip, and I booked ahead to campsites every night. I love wild camping in the van, but for this trip, I wanted to really enjoy it, with the luxury of a hot shower, and somewhere to eat every night – after all it was a holiday, not just a camping trip.
So, the trip was planned out as follows, and I would do virtually the same stops again, as everywhere was really welcoming and had the facilities to make it a great place to stop.
Day 1 – home to Inverness (A9), top up fuel, then on to Applecross.
Day 2 – Applecross to Ullapool via Shieldaig, Poolewe and Gairloch, to Ardmair Point.
Day 3 – Ardmair to Durness via Assynt and Scourie, to Sango Sands
Day 4 – Sango Sands to Wick ( ended up at Inver, campsite in Wick closed!) via John ‘O Groats and Duncansby Head
Day 5 – Inver to home ( became Inver to Cannich and a further night away!)
Day 6 – Cannich to home via Inverness again for fuel topup.
1150 miles all in, and Ali Bongo never spluttered, used about 200mls of coolant ( since been addressed, minor leaks on pipework), no oil, no drama. Campsites were all busy by evening time, so best advice is book ahead and try to arrive in the afternoon, then explore locally in the evening by foot. The roads were reasonably quiet, despite the holidays, and the weather was very kind to us, only really raining persistently on the day from Durness to Inver via Wick etc, and not all day either. There are some excellent places to eat, and the most memorable was a little craft shop and cafe somewhere between Tongue and Strathy, absolutely the best cheese and onion toastie ever!
We were enjoying the wandering life so much, we added the extra stop in Cannich, just to get another night away, eating in the van that night, but enjoying the site cafe in the morning before heading home leisurely. Average fuel consumption for the whole trip was around 32mpg, which is by all account very good for a Bongo.
That trip decided us ( me!) that I was keeping Ali and bringing him up to as high a standard as I could reasonably afford to. I was going to get the rust repaired and freshen up the paint. I would then sort out the wiring and maybe fit a diesel heater to warm the rear area when parked up off-grid.
On the way home, I called ahead to RMA Autos in Bonnybridge, to have a chat with Robbie about Ali’s bodywork, and get a cost estimate for what I wanted to get sorted.
So, where are the results?
All will be revealed in the near future, once the finishing touches have been put to the details on the van, the alloys fitted, and everything polished up nicely.
As for our fabulous NC500 route, I for one would recommend the experience to anyone who wants to try the campervan life. The scenery is spectacular, the roads incredible and the people and places friendly/. Our wee Bongo is ideally suited to picking it’s way along these narrow single track roads, tight corners and steep climbs, and is really capable. I am determined to visit the NC 500 again this year!
Ali Bongo's adventures 