Should You Drive Scotland's ‘Ultimate Road Trip?' Locals Say Maybe Not.
Then came summer. An 'invasion' of vehicles, sometimes hundreds per hour, sped past her house daily, the noise reverberating for miles. 'You hear the motorbikes and racing cars all the way around. It just becomes worse and worse,' she said.
Unknowingly, Ms. Ramacher-Schmitz had settled along the 516-mile scenic driving route known as the North Coast 500, which has become one of the most popular destinations in Scotland.
When it began in 2015, 'Scotland's Ultimate Road Trip' as it was marketed, aimed to support businesses in the North Highlands by sending tourists where previously few had traveled. A project of the nonprofit North Highland Initiative, led by King Charles III, the NC500 rebranded existing roadways as a Scottish version of Route 66, starting and ending in the Highland capital of Inverness, and taking in small towns, historic sites and spectacular scenery across six regions.
But critics say this once-idyllic wilderness has been overwhelmed by an influx of tourists without infrastructure to support them.
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It is the second state visit he has been afforded - second-term US presidents are traditionally not offered state visits and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, usually at Windsor Castle.
