The North Coast 500 Guide Book

by Charles Tait

The North Coast 500 Guide Book by Charles Tait is the latest in his serioes of guide books and incorporates all of the features of his previous books. These include hundreeds of his photographs, combined with clear mapping and old photos. A major feature is the inclusion of 14 suggested itineraries and mini indexes throughout. This is the definitive guide to the NC500 route which starts and finishes in Inverness and is based on years of exploring every byway in this vast and beautiful area. The route may be undertaken clockwise or anti clockwise. It winds its way westwards to Wester Ross to Applecross via the dramatic Bealach na Ba, before heading north to northwest Sutherland. it continues along the north coast to Caithness before returning to Inverness on the A9. The book covers the whole area in depth. Lavishly illustrated, includes archaeology, nature, history and all of the best places to visit. This 256 page book has over 750 images by Charles Tait as well as OS maps and old prints. The Introduction covers Natural History, Archaeology and History, followed by a detailed gazetteer of broken into convenient sections. The book is completed by information on Transport, Services, fourteen suggested itineraries, a Bibligraphy and an Index. It is 140x220mm in size and provides a comprehensive source of information to the visitor.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to the North Coast of Scotland, good pictures, clear information.

[Mylesgorton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive guide to North Coast 500, hopefully divided into different sections on different topics such as best places to visit natural history, archaeology and history. Also contains a gazetteer covering the various different areas and roots you'll be travelling such as Inverness Inverness to Garve, Applecross, etc. Includes a number of suggested side trips such as Loch Ness Skye, Lewis and Harris, etc and contains a reference section. My wife and I found this guide invaluable in helping to identify areas and places of interest on our route, which we then marked on the Collins pocket map along with The places we were staying meaning that each day we could decide what to do on our journey from place to place safe in the knowledge that we would have things of interest to choose from.

[Exokiwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We did the NC500 this year and found this book to be one of the best resources out there. It takes a while to get the hang of it as it is built up differently form most travel guides, but ones you work it out it works perfectly.

It is cover to cover full of information and pictures, has an anecdotal way of writing. I like using it a lot

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a copy of this book for sale in Ullapool, and bought it after reading a couple of pages.

The book's layout was logical. The place guides were concise, and relevant. This was honestly the best guide book I've ever read. If you plan on doing the NC 500, I whole-heartedly recommend reading this!

[Neil Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide to a must do trip

[Karen Soole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired us to do it!