North Coast 500

The main roads north of Inverness carve through the valleys to reach little villages along the coast, and taking a loop tour has always been an obvious way to visit the area. In 2015 the concept of NC500 was launched as a tourist initiative, to promote an area that visitors to Scotland often overlooked, and to help small places like Lochinver, Durness and Thurso reach public attention under a collective banner. It was touted as "Scotland's Route 66" but fortunately there is not the slightest resemblance, and Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way is a better comparison. And it succeeded: doing the NC500 has become a "thing", a holiday wish-list item, a commodity with associated merchandising, some of it flaky.

Meanwhile it slowly dawned on all concerned that successfully promoting a driving itinerary tends to mean extra traffic. The main roads are two-lane and in good repair, as they're year-round truck routes, but they're winding and undivided with few opportunities to overtake safely. Tetchy convoys build up behind the cautious fellow from Belgium whose forward view is limited by his left-hand driving position. The back roads are mostly single track, with passing places that can just about fit a single car towing a caravan, but not a cavalcade of them. And the bulk of the tourist traffic comes in a surge in July and August. They all jostle to take the same photo of the castle that was a film location, they all scrummage to buy the same haggis-flavoured ice cream from the exact same cafe-shack that some celebrity enjoyed in a TV travelogue.

It's not a race! - don't mistake NC500 for Northwest 200, that harum-scarum on-road circuit around Coleraine. Cyclists can go as fast as they dare, and since 2021 their circuit record stands at just over 29 hours, but anyone who treats it as the Tour-de-Kinlochbervie is destined to see next to nothing of the area. For it is worth seeing, and realistically you need a vehicle, and to come when the days are longer and the weather is better. A one-week trip is about right, with 70-80 miles of motoring per day plus sight-seeing, moving on each morning. To spend longer anywhere, either extend the duration or use a short cut to skip part of the loop. Shoulder season of Easter to June and September to October is often a good time. In July and August book everything well in advance, and be patient with that slow fellow ahead, who by avoiding an accident is doing everyone else a favour.

You need eligibility to enter the UK, which is no longer part of the EU. You may need proof of covid status to enter, or at least to board transport to come here - these rules continue to evolve.

Some continental visitors bring their own vehicle, so they need to check their vehicle documention will be valid. But this means a left-hand drive on difficult roads - flying into one of the Scottish cities and renting will mean right-hand drive, and cut out days of motoring just to start the route.

The itinerary crosses remote areas, often without mobile phone reception. Filling stations and EV charging points are pricey, far apart and open limited hours, and you do poor mileage-per-gallon on the twisty hilly roads. Refill whenever your tank drops below half-full.

Accommodation books solid in July and August. So you definitely need to book ahead if you come then, which means you commit to a schedule and won't have flexibity to spend an extra day somewhere. Local communities are fed up with visitors parking overnight in passing places and on verges, and it's got so bad that police may turn back campervans and caravans who haven't booked a space.

Bring powerful sun block - even gloomy days transmit a lot of UV, and mid-summer days are very long. And bring lots of midge repellant - the West Highland Midge greats campers in ravenous clouds.

Inverness is the recommended start and finish. Indeed the way Highland transport routes funnel towards it, you'd have to go out of your way to start or finish anywhere else.

Many visitors come in their own car. So factor in another day or two to reach Inverness from the south of England or the continental ferry ports. From Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, which have a much better range of flights, allow four hours from picking up your rental car. A9 is a good highway but mostly undivided, busy with oncoming traffic, and dotted with speed cameras.

The route is here described clockwise, but you can just as well go anticlockwise.

• Hike: lots of trails, see Walk Scotland for each area. These include the "Munros" - mountains above 3000 ft / 914.4 m. None are technically difficult, so you hike not climb them. Many valley trails were historically used to drive cattle to market and are just as muddy today.
• Dark skies but not in mid-summer. This sparsely populated area has no light pollution, so any clear night the stars and moon shine bright, and you might see the Northern Lights. But May through July it's never properly dark, just a brief "simmer dim".
• Golf courses are mostly down the east coast, with only a couple west, such as Ullapool.
• Highland Games, Clan Gatherings and Agricultural Shows are held in various villages in summer.
• Distilleries produce whisky in Dingwall, Tain, Wick and Thurso; tours may be available.

• Camping and caravanning: you normally won't have a problem finding a pitch or hook-up except at the height of the season. Check the site instructions for any size restrictions on the approach lane, and what to do if you arrive after office hours. Wild camping is usually tolerated, but please leave the place clean and tidy, and be very careful about lighting fires - this may be prohibited in a dry season. What you cannot do is park up and stay overnight in a layby or passing place. The police will rap on the door at midnight, fine you, and order you to move on.
• Hotels and B&Bs are small independent places, and may have quirky rules. A few are grand converted castles, so you might feel a bit sheepish if you don't turn up in a classic car to match. If you get stuck, try asking in local shops or cafes, and the bush telegraph may discover that Mrs Mackay ten miles up the road does indeed have a vacancy. This became more problematic in 2022, as anyone offering short-term accommodation in Scotland requires a licence, and can't informally open up a spare room for you. In the long run it's bound to benefit businesses and travellers by cutting out the flaky providers.

Road safety is a top concern just about anywhere, and here the added problem is single-track roads along the west coast. The Applecross Pass out of Lochcarron and Drumbeg loop north of Lochinver are not suitable for caravans or large motorhomes. Along with that goes road courtesy on the lanes: use the passing places not only to let oncoming traffic through, but to let faster traffic overtake. Always pull to the left, even when the loop is to the right. Keep in mind when you last passed a loop, because you might have to reverse to it if something big and ugly looms into view.

Bad weather can set in any time, any day.

• Skye initially disappoints, as you arrive in low-lying Sleat. But in the centre are the Cuillin mountains, and Trotternish peninsula north has dramatic scenery.
• Orkney Islands are easily reached from Thurso, a landscape of prehistoric monuments, red cliffs, and bright sea inlets between its pastures.
• Stornoway is reached by ferry from Ullapool. Lewis is a sparse moorland landscape, Harris (southern part of the same island) is more rugged.
• Moray and Aberdeenshire lie east of Inverness, with a string of scenic fishing villages, big-name whisky distilleries and crumbling castles.
• Aviemore is the first large settlement on A9 south of Inverness, the best base for exploring the Cairngorms.
• A9 south of Aviemore crosses bleak Drumochter Pass then descends towards the lowlands at Perth.
• Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland was the inspiration for NC 500. But it's 1550 miles / 2500 km long, so only plan for a short section per trip, unless you have an insatiable appetite for craggy coves strewn with bladderwrack and the occasional lobster pot.