BEST RIDE IN BRITAIN

Circle Scotland

What makes a special ride, special? Is it a preference for the rhythmic heartbeat of long, arcing curves of billiardsmooth tarmac, or relishing the relentless challenge of tight hairpins and variable surfaces? Or maybe it’s the scenery that gets us where it matters; a predilection for that thin strip of blacktop breaking the bright horizon between snow-capped mountains, or the rolling, tumbling romp through tree-lined hills? We all have our ideas of what makes a special ride, special. One rider’s trip-of-a-lifetime could be someone else’s what’s-all-the-fussabout? But there’s one mainland UK route we should all navigate at least once – if only because it’s got all of the above, in spades. The North Coast 500 has become famous in touring circles – for bikers, cyclists and drivers; it’s a convenient number describing a loop around the Highlands, starting and ending in Inverness. But really, 500 miles is far from the whole story; and it’d be a shame to miss out on some cracking roads just to observe a numeral! Hence the NC767. It mostly follows the same track as the NC500 – but it’s way more than a mere 267 miles better. Helpfully for those of us arriving at the NC767 from England, it starts in Glasgow and ends in Edinburgh – meaning you can link up with the M74 and M6 in one direction, and the A68 and A1 on the return. A corner-by corner account of the route would fill a novel – taking the ride clockwise, it kicks off alongside Loch Lomond, just north of Glasgow, on the A82, pivots north through the glacial grandeur of Glen Coe, rockets north to the steepest climb in the UK over the Bealach na Ba to Applecross, then jinks and snaps under the shadow of Torridon before the perfect fish and chip lunch on the quay at Ullapool. The end of the day will see you land in Tongue, well on the way along the A836 that runs across the north coast of the the UK mainland. Pick up the route in the morning, and head for John o’ Groats past glittering white beaches and crystal blue seas – be rude not to stop for a skinny dip. At John o’ Groats, the landscape switches to farmland – but the A99 picks up pace back down the east coast, over three firths (Dornoch, Cromarty and Moray) as it runs into Inverness. Collect the A9 south, then off at Carrbridge on the A938, then the A939 around the back of the Cairngorms – a perfect dessert of the UK’s highest (and craziest) road. You’ll arrive, breathless and dizzy, in Blairgowrie; from here, jump on the M90 at Perth and you’ll be in Edinburgh on the Forth bridge before you know it. And you’ll be safe in the knowledge you’ve just had the best couple of days you can spend on the roads in the UK.

‘White beaches and crystal blue seas – be rude not to stop for a skinny dip’