Exploring The Nc500

A lively and entertaining road trip around Scotland's North Coast 500 Route, exploring the history and cultural heritage of the area with plenty of exciting diversions and anecdotes along the way. Journeying around the Northern Highlands of Scotland, the author visits many towns and villages as well as sometimes going off the beaten track.

Handy little full colour map of the Northern Scotland. Detailed mapping and tourist information ideal for any road trip.Main features of this map include: - Clear mapping- Tourist attractions located and described- Ideal for touring with sights, places to stay, cafe/restaurant, things to do all on the map- Index to places of interest and place namesEssential for those planning a trip around Northern Scotland.

Enjoy the local color and majestic scenery of the Scottish Highlands with this essential road trip guide along the scenic North Coast 500. Known as Scotland’s Route 66, the North Coast 500 takes travelers on a winding journey across northern Scotland’s breathtaking coastline. Acclaimed Scottish travel writer Brigid Benson guides you on a journey that begins in the charming city of Inverness, then weaves westward to the historic village of Applecross and up the Atlantic coast to the most northerly points in Britain before heading back to Inverness along the North Sea. In addition to stunning mountains, moors, lochs and beaches, the route also features exquisite towns and villages, castles, distilleries and breweries. Benson divides the route into manageable daily itineraries, suggesting where to discover history, observe wildlife, meet great local characters, shop at quirky stores, taste outstanding food, drink in friendly bars and cafes, and stand in awe of amazing sights. She also recommends campsites, inns and other places to stay, along with places to picnic, swim, surf, walk and stargaze. “For Scottish travel it doesn’t get better than North Coast Journey, an eco-friendly, common sensical, well-researched foray around the locale of the North Coast 500 and beyond.” —The Scotsman, UK

This guidebook describes a 528-mile cycling route in northern Scotland. Starting and finishing in the highland capital Inverness, the circular route passes through the ancient counties and districts of Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Easter Ross and the Black Isle and is suitable for all types of bike: the going is entirely on asphalt-surfaced roads, though many are quiet with little traffic. The circuit can be comfortably completed in a fortnight. Featuring clear and concise route description, together with 1:150,000 mapping, gradient profiles, suggested schedules and invaluable practical information - including complete lists of all hostel/bunkhouse accommodation, official campsites and services for cyclists and advice on other accommodation and refreshment opportunities, this guidebook provides all the information needed to plan and execute a terrific cycle tour. Alternative routes are provided in case you should wish to avoid the steep ascent of Bealach na Bà or the undulating Assynt peninsula, or to include the busier A9 east coast road. The route boasts stunning scenery and rich historical interest and cyclists will be treated to mile upon mile of unspoilt wilderness. The journey takes in varied landscapes of craggy mountains, verdant glens, rolling peat moorland dotted with lochs and wild rugged coastlines - and if the scenery isn't enough, there are many distilleries and micro-breweries on or near the route guaranteed to entice. With notes on history, geology, wildlife and local points of interest, the guide offers a perfect way to get to know Scotland's captivating far north.

In Winter Solstice Rosamunde Pilcher brings her readers into the lives of five very different people.... Elfrida Phipps, once of London's stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life -- shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name -- still she finds herself lonely. Oscar Blundell gave up his life as a musician in order to marry Gloria. They have a beautiful daughter, Francesca, and it is only because of their little girl that Oscar views his sacrificed career as worthwhile. Carrie returns from Austria at the end of an ill-fated affair with a married man to find her mother and aunt sharing a home and squabbling endlessly. With Christmas approaching, Carrie agrees to look after her aunt's awkward and quiet teenage daughter, Lucy, so that her mother might enjoy a romantic fling in America. Sam Howard is trying to pull his life back together after his wife has left him for another. He is without home and without roots, all he has is his job. Business takes him to northern Scotland, where he falls in love with the lush, craggy landscape and set his sights on a house. It is the strange rippling effects of a tragedy that will bring these five characters together in a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan. It is in this house, on the shortest day of the year, that the lives of five people will come together and be forever changed. Rosamunde Pilcher's long-awaited return to the page will warm the hearts of readers both old and new. Winter Solstice is a novel of love, loyalty and rebirth.

The SWC300 Route has been described as Scotland's Secret Corner - with some justification. This book seeks to shed a light on the history and culture of this largely ignored part of Scotland. By delving into the colourful events that happened here in the past, the intention is to enhance and enrich your exploration of this land of contrasts as you travel through its rolling hills and along its spectacularly scenic coastline. The Neolithic settlers, the first Christians, the medieval warlords and the reivers - all played a part in shaping this war-torn land. Sharing a common border with the Auld Enemy - the English - it was badly affected during the Wars of Independence, just as it was during the Covenanting period: what came to be called the Killing Time. Sad to say, there were more deaths from disasters down the mines, out at sea, in the air, and in what remains, to this day, the UK's worst-ever rail disaster. Follow in the footsteps of those who left their mark here. It's a varied cast of characters: kings, commoners and Covenanters; saints and sinners; murderers and martyrs; monks and ministers; poets and pioneers; engineers and explorers; artists and architects; geniuses and gypsies; writers and witches - even troglodytes and cannibals. There are ruined castles and tower houses; grand houses and gardens; abbeys and churches; standing stones and stone circles; museums and monuments; retired railway engines and planes from yesteryear. There are legends; folktales; and tales of the supernatural - all part of the rich tapestry that forms part of the greater and enthralling story that will be revealed to you as you explore what has been a neglected part of Scotland for far too long. It's hard to imagine there can be another part of Scotland that has so much to offer the tourist.

Lovesick sheep, rumors of war, storms at sea, whisky galore - a midlife escape from an 'empty nest' in America to start afresh in the wilds of Scotland.When their children grow up and leave home, authors Jack and Barbara Maloney sell their house in a midwest suburb and run off to the Highlands. Following a one-lane track called "The Wee Mad Road," they discover an isolated remnant of traditional Gaelic culture, peopled by characters as unique and memorable as the surrounding mountains. The Maloneys settle into an old stone cottage and spend two years in repeated collisions with quaint Highland ways. Entries from Barbara's diary detail the realities of village life, while Jack recounts tales of poachers, crofters and lairds in one of mainland Britain's most scenic and isolated corners.The Wee Mad Road is a warm and witty account of two years in the Highlands, with illustrations of everyday life in the wildest reaches of the United Kingdom. It's a 'how to' book for anyone who dreams of escaping the doldrums of suburban midlife and starting over.