Tour route a highway to hell for residents
THE popularity of Scotland’s answer to Route 66 has left some local people so unhappy they have upped sticks, a study claims.
The North Coast 500 was launched by Prince Charles’s North Highland Initiative four years ago to breathe new life into remote parts of Scotland.
But Stirling University researcher Gary Woodcock says the 516-mile route has become a highway to hell for many.
His research claims there has been an increase in “antagonistic encounters between residents and tourists” and local people have moved away.
Since the route was launched, it has brought 29,000 more visitors to the Highlands and added £9million to the economy.