A decade after the North Coast 500 was officially launched, the Press and Journal wanted to explore its impact on communities.
Reporters Alex Banks and Alberto Lejarraga completed the route in March, speaking to nearly 100 locals and business owners over four days.
During the first two days, we spoke to 25 residents from Inverness to Ullapool.
We then spent the next two days speaking to locals before making our way back to the Highland Capital.
We asked more than 20 residents in Tongue, Thurso, John O’Groats, Wick and Golspie what they thought of the NC500.
The views from locals on the tourist route
Tongue residents have their say on the North Coast 500
The morning after our interview with some neighbours in Laid, who told us the NC500 is a “monster out of control”, we hit the streets of Tongue to ask people what they thought of the route.
Speaking about the North Coast 500, a pensioner told The P&J they are “not geared up for the volume of traffic at all.”
She said: “I feel very sorry for the folk who have been enjoying it and using it as it should be used but it’s just that we’re not geared up for it, we don’t have the resources.”
A 47-year-old woman said: “I’ve been living here for 10 years, and it’s changed a lot. Public toilets are now open, but they have been shut many times because people from campervans have dumped their chemical waste and blocked them.
“I guess it’s brought more people but also, we’ve always been busy and before people would stay for a week or a couple of nights but it’s more nightly now.”
What do people in Thurso think of the North Coast 500?
After our Tongue stop, we drove to Thurso to gather more local views.
Joan Alan, 86, said the NC500’s impact has been “positive.”
He said: “It’s bringing people to the north and everybody seems to enjoy it.
A 55-year-old man born and bred in the Caithness town, also thought it’s been “mostly positive for Thurso”, although he acknowledged that “it’s a different story in the West.”
Alan Elder, 62, also said the NC500 has been “mainly positive.”
“A lot of people used to come as far as Inverness and turn back but now they come right up round and see how beautiful the countryside is up here,” he said.
However, Mr Elder raised the road issue.
He added: “I’d say it’s brought money to the economy, but it’s brought a lot of congestion.
“More money should be invested in the roads.”
Resident Sheena Mclachlan, in her 60s, explained she has a “bit of a mixed view.”
She said: “The volume of traffic and the state of our roads, they are not built for the huge number of people coming.
“A good thing is that it makes the town a bit busier, people are getting to see the glorious countryside.”
‘Tourists not spending much money’
Francis Miller, 59, Jennifer Plummer, 66 and Allan, 72, stopped to speak to The P&J on the High Street.
They said that “campervans are a problem because they park anywhere and leave their rubbish lying.”
The trio explained: “They take Portaloo toilets and empty them on the street and laybys. Some of them have a bad attitude towards the locals, not giving a damn about people driving or walking across the road, they just drive past you.
They continued: “The potholes, the roads are horrendous, they are doing nothing about that either.
“We get nothing, they give it to Inverness, Thurso gets nothing. And all the good shops are closing down. It’s not been that positive for the economy; tourists are not spending that much money.”
We then spoke to 39-year-old Leanne Deighan inside the Cancer Research shop.
She said that the North Coast 500 has a “mix of positives and negatives.”
Ms Deighan explained: “Tourism has brought in a lot more people to the area who are shopping locally, they’re buying things, but the negative point is that not everyone is using it the way they should be using it.
“They’re bringing a lot of negative things to the area like camping in places they shouldn’t be camping in, in some places they are not even observing the speed limit and are rushing through villages.”
John O’Groats locals have their say on the NC500
After speaking to Thurso locals, we drove to John O’Groats, where we enjoyed lunch at Cafe Groats.
We spoke to Vanda Church, 57, at the First & Last in Scotland shop.
Ms Church, who is a John O’Groats resident, said the NC500 has been “mainly positive”.
She said: “It’s just a little harder to get around really. There should be more investment on the roads, definitely, more passing places at the very least.
“It’s obviously making the area more recognised. On the whole, people are very naive about what the north is like and it’s good because it’s opening people’s eyes.
We also spoke to Sheona Cormac, 49, at John O’Groats Knitwear Co.
She explained that the impact has been “positive”.
“It brought a lot more trade, a lot more business and the season’s been extended now you get people all year round.”
When asked if there was any negative impact for locals, she said: “The only negative I would personally see is going out west, I don’t go out west in the summer because it’s so busy.
“The road surface is horrendous, just after Bettyhill is just disgraceful.”
Do people in Wick like the NC500?
After lunch, we drove to our next stop, Wick.
Our first interview with a Wick resident was actually in Thurso, as 21-year-old Christopher Window was inside the Cancer research shop.
The young man said the NC500 has brought: “positives and negatives.”
He explained: It’s brought people to the area but there’s been a lot of times when people camping or in campervans would just leave their rubbish and their waste.
“I’m a farmer and we’ve had people who have stayed near me in people’s fields, we’ve had people in our land who just climbed the fence and took their dogs into our field without asking permission and left their dog mess and their rubbish.”
Kerry Bain, 45, was with Darren, 14, on Wick’s High Street.
She said that the town “is still pretty dead”, but that more people are coming in the summertime and that’s “positive.”
Jordan Munro, 27, who spoke to us at Tesco, argued that the route has been “mainly positive for business but negative for locals.”
He said: “Single-track roads were never built for multiple cars. Trying to drive anywhere is a nightmare.
Has the NC500 been positive or negative for Golspie?
The morning after it was time to start our drive home to Inverness.
However, we had time for a stop in Golspie, well-known for being home to the majestic Dunrobin Castle.
Resident David Beins, 47, told The P&J the NC500 has brought “positives and negatives.”
He said: “It’s mostly the campervans, I mean they are not all bad, just the ones that sort of take advantage. The countryside is for everybody, which means leave it as found.
“The area would die without tourism.”
Malcom Dickson, 79, said it is “not so bad as the West Coast”, but claims that the A9 across the town has got “busier and busier and busier.”
He explained: “Our village used to have a few cars passing and now it’s just a constant stream of lorries and cars.
“The NC500, the councils need to build toilets and facilities for that. There needs to be more facilities, places where they can park.”
The last two people we spoke to on our trip were Anne, 60, and Henry Duce, 73.
Campervans an issue for locals on the NC500
The pair raised the issue locals are experiencing with campervans.
They said: They’re parking everywhere rather than designated campsites. Because obviously we have a small campsite here in the village and you see campervans parking in lay-bys, passing places.
“We saw one guy, when we were coming across the side of Loch Ness, pouring raw sewage out of his caravan into the water.
“Yes, we encourage everybody to come, it’s a very short season, people have got to make a living in the Highlands and it’s a big contribution to that.
“But I can’t understand it when somebody gets a campervan, and they’re going to go away for two weeks to all these places and they don’t want to pay one single penny.
“So, it’s a cheap holiday for them, isn’t it? And, you know, a lot of the local shops don’t get the benefits.”
What are your views on the NC500? Let us know in the comments below.
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