Kinlochbervie resident Margaret Meek says the North Coast 500 has turned into a ‘monster’ and is calling for it to be ‘wound down’.
The 73-year-old created the Facebook group NC500 The Land Weeps in 2020 to “give a voice” to locals who wanted to report “poor behaviour” on the 516-mile tourist trail.
She says the popularity of the North Coast 500, which was launched by a marketing firm 10 years ago this month, has led to “unsustainable” tourism – a claim disputed by the company.
In an interview with The Press and Journal, she directly addressed North Coast 500 Limited, saying: “You wanted to promote the area north of Inverness and attract tourists. You have achieved that.
“You’ve made it a thing. Now wind it down.
“It’s been a disaster for the people who live here.”
North Coast 500 Ltd’s development and engagement manager David Richardson said: “The problem is we’ve got people out there who think that everything is wrong with tourism.
“It’s evil and it’s destroying everything. It isn’t.
“We don’t have overtourism. We have problems in certain parts of the North – of course we do – and we need to address them…but we don’t have overtourism.
“And what these complaints are doing is damaging businesses, local economies and communities.
“Somehow, we need to change the rhetoric and work out how we’re going to work together.”
How the North Coast 500 became a ‘monster out of control’
The P&J drove to Kinlochbervie to meet Ms Meek and her friend Susan Black, 77, who is also an active member of NC500 The Land Weeps.
Ms Meek, from Canada, moved to the Sutherland village in 1995 after her husband, from Inverness, got a job as a teacher.
She complains that North Coast 500 Ltd, which markets the route, is “not listening” to the locals.
She said: “They’re selling a public road and they’re not listening to the people who live here at all.
“They acknowledge the problems, but just say it’s not their fault… it’s nothing to do with them.
“They say we need to complain to the government that the roads have been destroyed and that all the toilets are broken.
Ms Black said they are being “abused in many ways”, adding: “We belong to the place.
“We weren’t asked and we don’t like it.”
David Richardson, 67, insists the firm is listening to local businesses and residents, who will be part of a meeting in Inverness on April 2.
He said: “What we want to do is to ensure they behave responsibly and so on. Let’s discuss it and find solutions.”
Mr Richardson added: “The NC500 admin are listening to what residents and businesses are saying.
“I’ve been talking to happy and unhappy residents, Highland councillors, MSPs and MPs and the information on our website changes depending on what people are raising to educate people better.
“We’re doing everything we can and have meetings all the time to see how we can make tourism better.”
North Coast 500 tourists ‘don’t respect the community’
Ms Meek and Ms Black recall that before the NC500 was created, sustainable tourism in the area was a “successful way of life.”
They explained: “Tourism has always been here.
“In the past, people who came were repeat visitors who stayed several days and got to know the people. They loved the countryside.
“Now it’s just a road trip and people don’t respect the community.
One such problem is dirty campers.
Ms Meek took the P&J to a lay-by outside of Kinlochbervie.
She claimed that around 1,000 vehicles have stayed overnight in it, with neighbours disgusted by a rise in tourists toileting in public or even in gardens.
77-year-old Ms Black added that it is not uncommon to see human excrement in lay-bys.
She said: “Everybody’s seen it. We’ve all taken photographs of it. You stop in a lay-by, step out and you step in a pile of s***.
“A lot of people call it the WC500.”
Mr Richardson said: “It is horrendous when things like that happen. But what we’re going to do is to stop it.
“That means having the right infrastructure in place; more toilets, more disposable points, and so on.
“Secondly, education. You need to tell people what they can and cannot do, but also where the facilities are and thirdly, you need enforcement.
“If people are caught doing things, then they should be punished.”
North Coast 500 Ltd has also introduced a visitor pledge in a bit to combat badly-behaved tourists.
It urges visitors to respect the environment, support local communities, engage with the community and promote responsible tourism.
NC500: The ‘motorhome invasion’
Ms Meek and Ms Black claim one of the main issues of the NC500 is the motorhome “invasion.”
They say many motorhome owners are not using campsites and are staying overnight in lay-bys instead.
“There are beautiful campsites; Scourie, Durness; and their numbers are all down,” they explained.
Ms Black said: “If you’ve never driven a big vehicle in your life and you take them on a single-track road, you’re asking for trouble because half of them can’t reverse.
“They don’t know which side to pull to. They just keep going through. They’re wrecking the roads and making life very unpleasant.”
The pair added that the roads have now become “dangerous” due to people misusing them.
“People are just racing around the route, making the roads dangerous.”
Mr Richardson acknowledged the issues related to campervans and said regulations on this should be updated.
He said: “People want to own campervans. It’s a really popular thing nowadays. And you know, we can’t say ‘the North Highlands is special, we don’t want them here’.
“We live in a free country; people can go where they like and do what they want as long as they follow the rules.”
The Press and Journal also spoke to Robin Pettigrew, who runs Facebook group NC500 The Dirty Truth.
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