If you put one thing on your bucket list for the next few years: make it driving the North-Coast 500 in the Scottish Highlands!
What is the North-Coast 500?
The route starts (and ends) in Inverness, Scotland, and goes all the way along the North-Coast of Scotland for about 500 miles. Well, that explains the name. But what it is?! To summarise: A mesmerizing route on single-track roads with a lot of curves and hills and sheep who act surprised when they see an approaching car.
Yes, that’s what it is.
[This is basically getting normal after a few days of driving.]
And I did it!
Together with my boyfriend (he drove, I navigated) we conquered the tiny roads in the Northern part of Scotland during a month in August and September last year. Since then we've been sighing at every picture, sight or scene in a movie or photo that reminds us of Scotland. "When are we going back?"
And we will. But in the meantime, I'd like you to enjoy it too! It will be a trip you won't easily forget. And telling you all about it gives me an excuse to edit more pictures of the trips. Win-win.
Interested? Read on!
Preparations
Scotland is an impressive and beautiful country and part of the UK. The North-Coast 500 is a tour through the Northern Highlands, which is one of the more remote areas of Scotland. Expect lots of hills, barely any trees, many Lochs (lakes) and Glenns (valleys). Expect rain on your windows a lot and then suddenly the sun blinding your sight.
[Like this. Posted before.]
The basics
Some things you need to know about the North-Coast 500 before you go:
- People in the UK drive left of the road! You will be fine after an hour of feeling a bit confused, but luckily our brains can easily adapt. Driving left also means: drive the route clockwise! You’ll thank me later if you drive along the coast, want to stop to take a picture, and are already on the right (no, left, read more about Scottish road trip jokes) side of the road to stop very quickly. (Opt to go counter-clockwise though if you want to end on beautiful Skye. Valid option as well, just a bit different driving experience).
- Although the North-Coast 500 is about 500 miles, don't expect to 1) just drive those 500 miles (detours available aplenty! And they are so much fun!) and 2) drive those 500 miles like you would on a regular road. These 500 miles take TIME! Basically because: sheep. And: single-track roads means a lot of stopping and taking time to let other cars pass. Oh, and in my case: as a photographer, your heart will skip a beat like every 2 minutes. At least. You will return home 10 years older but with a lot of pictures. But yeah... Stopping that much takes time too.
- There is an etiquette while driving the North-Coast 500. And following it is appreciated! Basically: always assume you are the one who has to find the passing place if a driver approaches. Also: if you're the bigger vehicle and driving slower: try to find a passing place regularly so the faster drivers who are forming a little 'train' behind you can pass by. You will get a wave or a honk every time you follow up the unwritten rules! Scots are so friendly! Let's keep 'em that way. (You know, your holiday trip is their road to work or the dentist ;-))
[Empty road, electricity cables, white sign that says passing place. This sums up roads in the Highlands.]
[We found the roads to be quite empty, but some locals complained about the number of campervans on the roads.]
The other stuff
- In Scotland, you have to be prepared to encounter all seasons in one day! You could enjoy a picnic in the sun and later in the day be in a storm or even see snow. Clothe-wise this means: bring all your layers! Wool! Raincoats! And very sturdy waterproof shoes.
- From May to September you might encounter midges in the Highlands, and it depends on the year when they are most active. (They breed in three waves). There is even a Midge Forecast to check if there are many at the place you are going. They are nasty. But: if you walk or if there is a breeze they won't be able to keep up. I've been sprinting back into the car a few times though. Close the door, and for the ones who are still flying around your naked flesh (they won't be able to bit through fabric, use this wisdom!): windows open (so they can escape), air conditioning on, and DRIVE! The moving air will chase them away.
- Sleeping is best done in lovely Bed&Breakfast places. You will feel extremely welcome and breakfast is full of eggs, (blood) sausages, bacon, beans, etcetera. Vegetarians or vegans will have a harder time although I found one or two owners who were catering to them too. Money tip: you might find places via AirBnB but try to find the phone number of the place you want to book, because often the owner uses AirBnB as a nice extra, and if you book via phone you don't have to pay the 15% AirBnB fee.
- We were 'winging it' with accommodations, stopping at one place and booking another. But in high season, you might not be able to pick your preferred stay. Book in advance if you can or be flexible. The route is getting more popular each year, so it might either get worse with accommodation or the locals will just open up more Bed&Breakfast's. The locals are on the fence about what to think of the popularity of the route, so we will have to see how they are going to react to the relative wave of new visitors :-)
[It will happen that you look at your map with a pin that says 'B&B', and your route planner says you will arrive in only minutes but the B&B is still not in sight. Relax. There will be some hill or turn blocking your sight. The closest I've had to come to see my B&B was 450 meters! We took a turn and suddenly: there it was!]
The route
Most people take more time than 'needed' to complete the trip. Although the route itself is interesting enough to just drive in 'one go' (about 5 days), it's so much more fulfilling if you can stay in each place you stop over a few nights longer. Because next to all the 'main stops' there are many smaller day trips to do as well! And you'll have more time on those days for a long picnic or a beer at a local bar.
What we did:
- Take a train to Inverness from Rotterdam (because trains are a joy and we could hop in one from our hometown, yay), but you can land in Inverness by plane too.
- Stay a few days in Inverness and drive around the famous Loch Ness in a day.
- Drive from Inverness to Lochcarron. The road from Inverness to Lochcarron starts as an 'A' road and gets narrower after a while. This is a great first leg of the trip on which you'll slowly be able to get used to driving narrow roads.
- Drive from Lochcarron to Rhiconich, although I've heard most people are aiming for Ullapool before going all the way to Durness. We didn't find accommodation though, so we drove a bit more this day. But breaking up this part of the route is recommended since especially this part of the coast is so beautiful and I wouldn't have minded being able to take breaks a bit more.
- Rhiconich to Thurso - Thurso is a great base for exploring some 'lands' ends' and lighthouses.
- Thurso to Dornoch for a great whiskey bar in one of the many Scottish Castles.
- Dornoch to Inverness for completing the North-Coast 500.
[The black pins show where we stayed. The pink pins show where other logical points for a stop are on the same route, or where we tried to stay but were too late to book.]
[You feel at the end of the world here, definitely.]
I hope you got an idea of what driving the North-Coast 500 is all about from this post. I will use a few more posts to write in more detail about the different legs or simply show pictures of places you definitely want to visit.
Did you put the trip on your bucket list already?
All pictures on steemit.com/@soyrosa are created and edited by me, Rosanne Dubbeld, 2005-2018. Contact me if you want to discuss licensing or collaborations on creative projects :-)