We took a break away from the busy Motorhome Show to have a chat all things NC500 with Oli and Lois from @ollos.travels. We had a glimpse of their beautiful view, whilst they parked up about an hour out of Gairlock. With a few days left of their NC500 road trip, we thought it'd be the perfect time to get some tips and inspiration from them for anybody who's thinking of doing this famous Scottish route.
The Ford Transit Custom conversion
Earlier this year they bought a 2013 Ford Transit Custom with the goal of turning it into their very own camper for road trips. It was amazing to hear that within just four weeks they'd completed the entire conversion themselves, with help from @digsonwheels.
From the electrics and installation to the full interior build, every part of the project was completed just by them, making sure there were lots of storage options, from under the pull out bed to even under the fridge!
They documented the whole process on their Instagram and gave us a full tour on the live video (see at the bottom).
Why did they choose to do the NC500?
With Oli's 31st Birthday coming up and hearing from others about how much of a great experience the NC500 is, they decided that their first 'proper' road trip would be this route. With the van getting completed within a record time and being ready a lot sooner than they'd expected, instead of taking their usual October trip abroad, they thought it'd be the perfect time to test their new conversion around Scotland.
The route - Did they need to plan it? Or did they just go with the flow?
It seems that you can do it either way. They suggested for anybody who'd prefer to go with the flow to just head up in the NC500 direction, follow the signs, sat nav and use laybys for stop overs or book campsites as and when you find them.
However, Oli and Lois planned everything and followed the anticlockwise route - starting at Inverness and finishing in Glasgow. Doing it anticlockwise meant they got to see more impressive views on the West of the country. By starting on the East, they headed up to the top (John o' Groats), then headed back down on the West side of Scotland meaning coastal roads gave them better views than if they'd done the route clockwise.
Oli and Lois gave themselves 8 nights to complete the NC500 but said that it wasn't long enough for them to see everything they wanted to. They'd been speaking to other travellers who'd been on their trip for nearly 6 months.
A highlight was seeing the Alt Chranaidh Waterfall on their way to Clachtol:
Wild camping or campsites?
If you prefer wild camping with a fully sustainable conversion to go off grid, then there's more than enough places for everybody to stay. They did two rogue layby stayovers, one in John o' Groates and one towards the end of their trip.
However, they needed to use campsite facilities e.g. showering etc. so pre-booked majority of their stopovers via searchforsites.co.uk, but found a lot of the sites they wanted to stay at in the NC500 handbook. However as they went out of season, they were able to turn up to some campsites on the night and get a pitch. Also, they were able to stay on certain carparks from around £10 as an alternative option.
Top Tip! As majority of the sites were in the middle of nowhere, Lois recommended to download the whole of Scotland on Google Maps for when the signal is bad and you can't connect to the internet.
VB-SemiAir suspension was fitted to their Ford Transit Custom in July this year to improve driving comfort. It was brilliant to hear that they also found another benefit of using the airbags to slightly level the rear of the van when parked on uneven ground such as fields or bumpy campsites.
Although we don’t promote semi air suspension as a solution for this, Oli explained that by parking with the front of the van on the higher part of the field, he was able to add air to the rear bags to raise the back end and ‘level out’ their van.
Some of Ollostravels highlights
Oli and Lois shared some of the incredible spots along the NC500 that were their favourites. One of the most memorable was Smoo Cave in Durness, a 5,000-year-old sea cave that once served as a repair point for boats and even played a role in Norse shipbuilding. They also spent a night at the Clachtoll Beach Campsite in Lochinver, where the communal fire pit, honesty fridge and stunning coastal views made this campsite one they'd visited again. And of course, their visit to Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland which they said left them completely speechless with it's impressive structure and beautiful grounds, made it one of the highlights of their route.
Do the narrow roads make it difficult to travel?
We noticed that some people can be cautious about doing the NC500 in case the roads are difficult to get through, but Oli and Lois confirmed that even though the roads are narrow they didn't have any trouble getting around. They said that for anybody who has a larger motorhome or vehicle, that there's always signs at the start of tricky roads notifying people of this and alternative routes are suggested. This will come at a relief to some of our followers!
Top Tip! As the travel between fuel stations can be long, make sure you have a separate jerry can with spare fuel. Also, Oli and Lois never let their van's fuel drop below half a tank.
We loved chatting to Oli and Lois about their NC500 route, and it was brilliant to see just how much they’d enjoyed the experience.
We've dropped below the campsites they had on their list:
- Inverness (Kessock Caravan Park)
- Dornoch (Dornoch Caravan Park)
- John O'Groats (Sea View hotel)
- Durness (Sango Sands)
- Scourie (Scourie Caravan Park)
- Clachtoll (Clachtoll Campsite)
- Gruinard (Gruinard Caravan Park)
- Applecross (Applecross campsite)
- Loch Lomand (Lomand Carvan Park)