What is the NC500?
The North Coast 500 is Scotland’s ultimate road trip adventure. Think of it as Scotland’s equivalent of Route 66 but with ancient castles, beautiful beaches, and fields at every bend.
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Which direction to drive the NC500?
The thought had never crossed our minds that we wanted to spend two weeks in Scotland or even drive the NC500, however thanks the pandemic confining us to London for over a year we needed to explore greener pastures. Scotlands allure of fresh air and salty water was exactly the kind of holiday we were hoping for.
Before leaving we spent a lot of time researching different routes and alternative ways to tackel the route. The most helpful thing we did is made a saved list on google maps of all the points of interest.
For us the best way to tackle the NC500 was east to west. This seems to be the most popular direction for travellers as well due to most of the attractions being on the west side. In saying that make sure not discount the beauty of the north, we absolutely wish we spent more time there.
Here is our route of the NC500:
📍Edinburgh – Lochness
📍Lochness – Keiss
📍Keiss – Shegra
📍Shegra – Althandu
📍Althandu – Red point
📍Red point – Gleneg
Read to the end to find out our recommended itinerary for this trip!
We didn’t exactly stick to the NC500 route itself as we deviated to find over night places to park, most of which had absolutely epic views. (The rules on free camping aren’t exactly clear in Scotland so please always remember to be respectful and read signs before stopping overnight).
How we drove the NC500:
The North Coast 500 can be done in several different ways.
Many people drive, go on motor bikes, in camper vans or even cycle. For us it was best to rent a camper van as it meant all the essentials we needed would already be provided for us. For us the best option was to rent a camper van from Indie campers.
It was their Nomad model which was the best option for us. We opted for the slightly larger van as we wanted the convenience of having a toilet and shower on hand so that we could be completely self sufficient and camp in some of the more remote locations. Having a larger van also gave us a large kitchen inside as well as extra seating inside as it was still quite cool in June in Scotland with temperatures averaging around 16 degrees.
We absolutely loved our camper van and didn’t want to say goodbye to it!
A lot of travellers also prefer to drive this route and then stay in either cabins or hotels along the way.
For more on essential items for renting a camper van check out our post.
Day 1:
London ⇢ Edinburgh ⇢ Loch Ness
This first day of our trip was absolutely massive. It was the busiest day however we were rewarded with so much rest and relaxation afterwards it was all worth it.
To get to Scotland we left London on the early morning train from Kings Cross which took around 4 hours before arriving in Edinburgh city centre. From there we then took a local bus (X24) out to Indie Campers depot where we picked up our Fiat Nomad camper van which we named Frankie.
Up the road from the depot is also a large supermarket and petrol station which we did our grocery shop for essentials and filled up before hitting the road to our first stop.
Our first night was spent alongside Loch Ness which wasn’t something we had originally planned. The plan was to have had time in the day to see the Loch and then continue on further to camp for the night. However time got away from us and I’m so glad we chose to spend the night here.
For our camp that night we were on the side of the road along the Loch near a town called Dornie. All the places we stayed can be found on Park4night or WikiCamps (both these apps were absolute lifesavers while travelling, do be sure to download all the maps offline as reception is spotty).
Attractions:
📍 Loch Ness
Day 2:
Loch Ness ⇢ Inverness ⇢ Keiss
After a not so great sleep due to getting used to life in the van we made ourselves an extra strong coffee in our trusty Aeropress before setting off into Inverness for the morning.
We got into Inverness very early and it wasn’t anything special just another small town it felt very ehh for us. However we wanted to come to Inverness castle which is the official starting point of the North Coast 500 (insert cheering here).
As we had now spent a night in the van and realised all the other essentials we had forgotten from out original shopping trip we used being in town to our advantage and stocked up on some other basics for the van. When hiring a van I recommend to read exactly what they provide for you and then make sure to add any other day items you may need to your shopping list. For the list of essential items we recommend check out our post.
After that we then continued on to Dunrobin castle and then onto Brora beach. We would absolutely recommend that you head to Brora beach for a lunch stop, unfortunately there is no over night parking however it was a great location that we spend most of our day here reading and unwinding.
Due to the days being long in the summertime we were able to add in a stop at Sinclair Girnigoe castle ruins which were absolutely stunning before settling in for the night at Keiss Beach.
Attractions:
📍 Inverness Castle
📍 Dunrobin Castle
📍 Brora beach
📍 Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
📍 Keiss beach
Day 3:
Keiss ⇢ John o Groats ⇢ Ceannabeinne Beach ⇢ Shegra Beach
This was an absolutely jam packed day! If you have the time to break this day and section into two days we think it is a must.
Thank goodness we got up and had a slow start with a beautiful but cold morning swim in the sea.
If we could do this trip again we would have slowed down a spent a few days along to north coast and been able to take in the scenery a bit more. Ill pop the recommendations of our ideal itinerary below.
To start the morning we arrived at John o Groats and Duncansby stacks. Make sure to get here early as it gets busy very fast! Afterwards we then continued on to a few different beach stops including Melvich beach, a lunch stop at Ceannabeinne Beach and then onto Sango Sands and Smoo caves before parking up for the night at Shegra Honor Campsite.
This was a very windy campsite but it was so worth it with all the little lambs running around, Aimee was very entertained. The campsite itself is donation based so make sure to have cash on you while travelling.
Attractions:
📍 John O’groats
📍 Dunnet Head
📍 Duncansby Stacks
📍 Melvich Beach
📍 Ceannabeinne Beach
📍 Smoo Cave
📍 Sango Sands
📍 Shegra Beach
Day 4:
Shegra ⇢ Lochinver ⇢ Althandu
This morning we had a short drive before to our first stop from the campsite to Kylesku bridge. Here we experienced our first attack of the Scottish midge!
It wasn’t the nicest weather today but thank god for hot food. Lochinver Larder comes highly recommended and im sure if you have done any research into the NC500 that this is high on everyones list. This is the first food of the trip we ate outside of what we had cooked ourselves and it felt like an absolute treat. Unfortunately we ate our pies outside in the charming Scottish rain, however they did not disappoint!
After we deviated slightly off the route for tonights stay as we were hoping to find another campsite along the coast however as a lot of the places we saw had no overnight camping signs we spent the night parked up near the side of a harbour where we caught a beautiful sunset.
Attractions:
📍 Kylesku Bridge
📍 Clashnessie Falls
📍 Clachtoll Beach
📍 Achmelvich bay
📍 Lochinver
📍 Old Dorney bay
Day 5:
Althandu ⇢ Ullapool ⇢ Red point
This morning we drove back to one of the no overnight camping spots to be able to have our coffee by the sea. It was a slow start which allowed us to soak up the salty air before continuing on.
Our next stop was Ullapool. This was our favourite little town on the route and would recommend taking more time and spending the night here. We picked up some local supplies from West Coast deli, some gin from Highland liquor company and then had lunch at the amazing Seafood shack. Make sure you order a main each and share some langoustines you won’t regret it!
For our parking spot for the night we went off the route a bit and stayed at Red point mostly because we wanted to be camped near the beach but also somewhere that we felt remote from other travellers. Alternative you could spend the night in Ullapool Caravan Park.
Attractions:
📍 Achnahaird Beach
📍 Ullapool
📍 Ardessie Falls
📍 Gairloch
📍 Red point
Day 6:
Red point ⇢ Bealach Na Bah ⇢ Glenelg
Would you dare drive the steepest ascending road in the UK?
You bet we absolutely gave it a go today. We didn’t drive all the way across to Applecross as we were now coming off the NC500 slightly before we headed across to Isle of Skye. We drove to the viewpoint which was absolutely magnificent, unfortunately for whoever the driver is it was definitely more nerve wracking than enjoyable but it was all worth it.
After a quick lunch stop at Eileen Donan Castle we continued on to Glenelg in search of a place to stay the night before crossing over to Skye on the last manually operated turnable ferry in the world.
Attractions:
📍 Bealach na ba
📍 Eileen Donan Castle
📍 Glenelg
What would we change about our trip?
If we did this route again we would only slightly change our plans as we wished we spent more time along the northern coast at some of the beautiful beaches. We would recommend this itinerary for a 7 day trip:
Edinburgh – Lochness
Lochness – Keiss
Keiss – Melvich Beach/Ceannabeinne Beach
Beach – Althandu
Althandu – Ullapool
Ullapool – Applecross
Applecross – Inverness
We also added on Isle of Skye on after our trip which wasn’t our highlight however its definitely something that you should visit which in this part of the world. Skye is very touristy even in the middle of a pandemic and it was expensive.
After we finished Skye we also added on the Inner Hebrides and West highland peninsula. We would absolutely recommend this as it is very remote and unspoilt land, however please remember as the saying goes to take only photos and leave only footprints.
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