Today we headed to the Kelpies which were amazing. https://motorhomelife.uk/2022/07/08/the-kelpies/
We then headed to this lovely harbour, free parking amazing views and a cafe right on the front open most days from 9 -5
Lovely walks around the harbour with views across to Edinburgh
We stopped here to walk the waterfalls and visit the Old Mill, there is a large main car park that is quite uneven and 3 overflow car parks that are quite flat, you can either pay for 24hrs or 28days parking for cars or coaches, I paid for a coach @£5 but had to use the machine as my number plate on the app wanted to charge me £3 for cars.
I checked with the visitor centre that what i had done was ok and informed them i would like to stay over and they were very happy for me to do so. (we stayed in the flat overflow car park no2)
The Mill is amazing with so much to do including a cafe and lots of areas for kids to play.
Just adding a small addendum here: We found the actual buildings all dog Unfriendly, cafe, shops and most buildings were not accessible if you had a dog.
We walked upstream towards the hydro electric power plant through a fantastic riverside path that was very well maintained and laid out, the waterfalls were spectacular and that was without too much rain.
We arrived here after an hour and half drive from our last stop, an absolutely beautiful stop over, free day and night stop over but NO services, no water, no Chemical waste disposal and only a handful of bins.
You can park on gravel hard standing overlooking the canal with ducks and geese everywhere, the canal is a fairly busy waterway with some large boats up and down, it can get busy with dog walkers and picnickers but very quiet in the evening.
Lovely walks along the canal, you could also cycle if you wished.
We stopped on route to refill the LPG (GPL in France) and then headed here, the first place we stopped right by the canal is no longer an Aire, they have moved the official place to 50m down the road.
It’s now a gravel car park for Camping-Cars with rubbish bins, grey waste, chemical toilet waste and fresh water ( when working, currently not ) also EHU for 4hours is available for a charge ( also currently not working ).
There is a €5 charge per night but nobody appears to take the money nor was there anywhere indicated to go pay.
There is also a pharmacy and farm shop 200-300m from the Aire, the farm shop stocks all essentials as well.
We left Kinlochbervie and headed south to Kylesku Bridge where we had tea and homemade cake for a mid morning stop.
At newton we branched off right on the B869 headed towards Clashnessie and Lochinver, the road was very narrow with some scary hills and bends, plenty of passing places and quiet roads enabled the wife to keep her eyes open most of the way, Clashnessie Beach was lovely.
We then headed into Lochinver but never stayed long as raining and couldn’t really find the right place to stop.
We continued on towards Ullapool and found a lovely stop over at Knocken Crag Nature reserve, a tarmac car park with toilets and fresh water set up out the of the way with amazing views over a loch and some great information regarding the rock formations.
We left Altnaharra and headed across NW along the A838, the midges were out in force so we barely stopped except for brunch tucked away overlooking Loch Stack.
We arrived at one of our favourite stops Kinlochbervie, a night stop well worth a visit, £15 a night with EHU, £10 without or £5 if you just want to empty and top up.
Fresh water and CDP, bins and a very well stocked shop, the views across the harbour are fantastic, this plays fills up quick so I would aim to be here between 12 and 2 if you can, after that you may struggle.
We left Fortrose and headed north, just a short 1 hour drive to a lovely spot called Bonar Bridge, as you approach from the south there is a turning into the car park area on the right, there are concrete bays as you enter but if you go all the way through it turns to a gravel area right at the end and opens up into a viewpoint of the water and valley.
There are toilets here but currently closed, no facilities but the town is a very short walk across the bridge with conveniences store, take away and a pub.
We left Cumbria nice and early with a 5-6 hour journey ahead of us, traffic was surprisingly light, we stopped a couple of services on the way up but especially liked Cairn Lodge.
We made our way up and along Loch Lomond, stopping along the way to get some photos
We stopped off at the Falls of Falloch for a cuppa and a walk to the falls
Finishing off for the night along the edge of Loch Lomond, a free viewpoint overlooking the water.
We left Loch Tulla Viewpoint heading towards Killin, we had breakfast before we left but did find an American Diner on route that had a great breakfast menu and coffee.
We arrived in Killin and managed to find a space in the small car park, not many places you could fit a 7.1m Motorhome but we were lucky.
The Village is beautiful and definitely worth a wander, food, coffee and gift shops.
The Falls Of Dochart were truly spectacular, we even watched salmon jumping.
We were supposed to stay here but decided to start the long drive home and ended up at the Forestry Commission Car Park at Ae-Naze, £3 to stay the night with no Services.
This was virtually the end of our NC500 Tour, just driving and sleeping left now, we had an incredible time and will definitely return, we personally preferred the Lochs and the East side and would concentrate on those areas when we return, possibly 2021.
We left Inverness heading south along Loch Ness, this day mostly consisted of amazing views as we drove towards Killin and The Falls of Dochart.
We stopped at Lidl in Fort William for supplies, lots of parking so no probs for Motorhome’s, we then carried on stopping for photos.
We arrived at our stop for the night, Loch Tulla Viewpoint, Lots of hard standing parking with gorgeous views, no bins or services but worth it.
