NC500 – North coast 500 Miles – Scotland Roadtrip
Rainbows, Dramatic layered landscapes, Waterfalls, Lochs and Castles
Our NC500 Scotland Adventure
We’d wanted to do the North Coast 500 for a while, and eventually decided it was time to stop talking about it and actually go. We’d done our research beforehand, of course. We watched YouTube videos, read up on other people’s experiences and, most importantly, bought the Robbie Roams NC500 book, which became our little bible for the trip. But we didn’t want to plan every single minute.
In fact, our approach was pretty simple. Each day, we’d leave wherever we’d stayed, explore, and then work out the next day over a beer in the pub. We’d look at where we were on the route, what the weather was doing, what we’d fancied seeing and then decide where we were heading next. It meant the trip felt like an adventure rather than an itinerary.
Things we borrowed
Table
Cooking equipment inc Kettle, Ridgemonkey, Cadac safari Chef, Coffee press
Took
Kite, Chairs, Cooler
FEW FACTS
MILES – 1610 miles
PETROL – £362
CAMPING – £184
HOTELS – £450
ACTIVITIES – £71.90
PARKING – £9.00
Three ways of camping
We spent nine nights away on the trip, although only six of those were actually camping as part of the NC500. For the first three nights, we went car camping. We had the tent with us too, which gave us a bit more flexibility with where we stayed. One thing we quickly discovered is that private campsites were absolutely fine with this setup, whereas the Camping and Caravan Club sites don’t allow it.
We then spent another three nights properly camping in the tent, before finishing the trip with three nights in a hotel – although that was outside the NC500 itself.
It was a good mixture, although I have to admit that if we’d been travelling around in a campervan, we’d probably have taken things a little slower. There were places we simply didn’t have enough time for.
The 8am starts
One thing that became a bit of a theme was our early starts. We generally aimed to be packed up and leaving the campsite at around 8am, partly because the weather wasn’t always brilliant first thing in the morning. Getting on the road early meant we could make the most of the day and, hopefully, catch the better weather later on. Top tip – We were at John O’Groats at 8am, just before the 6 coach load of tourists arrived.
There’s also one campsite tip I’d definitely pass on: check your check-in times before setting off for the day. A lot of campsites want you checked in by around 5 or 6pm, so it’s worth knowing where you’re heading before you get too carried away exploring.
Our very important morning routine
We also developed a fairly fool proof food strategy. There are plenty of Co-ops dotted around, so most mornings we’d find one and stock up on a coffee, sandwich and a snack. We’d have the coffee and probably something small in the morning, and the sandwich and snack would become our lunch later in the day. Simple, cheap and it meant we didn’t have to spend our days hunting down somewhere for lunch when we were busy exploring.
Podcasts & historical facts…
You are in the car with the other person FOR A LONG time! Download podcasts before you go and Chris also had me reading out random facts for laces and monuments when we came across them
Everywhere we went, Chris would ask me for facts. “What’s that?” “How old is it?” “Why is it famous?” So I spent quite a lot of the NC500 pretending to be a walking encyclopaedia.
And then there was the hair…
Before we left, Danielle did my hair in braids. I had absolutely no idea how long they would last, especially with camping, Scottish weather, sleeping in a tent and generally being outdoors all day. Somehow, they lasted the entire trip.
And with the car packed, the braids in and absolutely no idea exactly where we’d end up each day, we headed north.
This is how our NC500 adventure unfolded…
🏔️ Our NC500 Scotland Adventure
After all the planning, YouTube videos, reading Robbie Roams’ NC500 book and talking about doing it for ages, we finally packed the car and headed north.
Our plan wasn’t really a plan at all. 😂
We knew roughly where we wanted to go, but each evening we’d sit down in a pub with a beer 🍺, look at where we were on the route and decide what the following day would look like.
We’d check out what was nearby, what we’d fancied seeing and, probably most importantly, what the weather was doing.
It made the whole trip feel like an adventure rather than an itinerary.
And there were definitely a few surprises along the way…
🚗 DAY 1 — Nantwich to Perth
Our NC500 adventure started with the drive from Nantwich to Perth.
⛺ Scone Palace — £33
Our first night’s campsite was at Scone Palace, costing £33.
It was clean, had nice facilities and even had a racecourse on site 🏇, although there weren’t any views.
We’d made our own butties for the journey 🥪, so we didn’t need to stop for a full meal. But obviously, a road trip requires coffee and cake. ☕🍰 We stopped at Gretna Green for exactly that before carrying on north.
Later, we stopped at the Birds & Bees pub in Stirling, with views towards the William Wallace Monument. It was a lovely little stop and, completely by chance, this would actually become quite significant to our trip…This is where we eventually finished our NC500 journey.
🏔️ DAY 2 — Perth to Fortrose
We were up and out early, heading towards Fortrose and our next campsite, Rosemarkie Camping, which cost £44.
⭐ Our favourite campsite
The views were incredible, the facilities were lovely and there was a golf restaurant right there. ⛳ We later discovered that the golf club is the 15th oldest golf club in the world, which naturally meant Chris wanted to know all about it.
Actually, that became a bit of a theme of the trip…
🥐 House of Bruar & the Cairngorms
Our first proper stop of the day was The House of Bruar, where we stopped for breakfast before heading into the Cairngorms. The Cairngorms aren’t technically part of the NC500, but I’d spotted them while researching the route and really wanted to go. And I’m so glad we did. 🥶 It was -2°C… 🩳 And Chris was wearing shorts. Of course he was. There was a lovely restaurant at the top, and the whole detour was absolutely worth the trip.
We carried on and stopped at Loch Morlich for some photos 📸 before making our way to Fortrose.
By the end of the day, we’d settled into our favourite campsite and were already planning the next day over a well-earned beer. 🍺
🌊 DAY 3 — Fortrose to Wick
Next stop: Wick.
⛺ Wick Campsite — £27
We stayed at Wick Campsite, costing £27.
It didn’t have much of a view, but it had possibly the best facilities of the whole trip. ✨ Absolutely spotless. We also walked into Wick itself, which was a nice change from spending so much time driving and exploring the countryside.
🐟 Rogie Falls
But getting to Wick was about much more than simply reaching the campsite. We stopped at Rogie Falls, where we watched the salmon jumping. It’s one of those things that’s quite difficult to explain until you’ve actually stood there watching them trying to make their way upstream.
🏠 The Traitors’ pink house
We then headed to Loch Glass to see the famous pink house that appeared on The Traitors.
🏰 Dunrobin Castle
Then came Dunrobin Castle, which was absolutely beautiful. It’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Britain, and the setting made it one of those places where you could easily spend far longer than we had time for.
And then there was Wick Castle. We also discovered that Wick is home to what is known as the smallest street in the world. 🌍
By now, we’d definitely settled into our routine:
🚗 Drive
📸 Explore
🤓 Ask for random facts
🍴 Find food
⛺ Check into the campsite
🍺 Have a drink
🗺️ Work out where we were going next
🌿 DAY 4 — Wick to Scourie
From Wick we headed towards Scourie.
⛺ Scourie Campsite — £24
Our campsite that night was Scourie Campsite, costing just £24.
It was lovely.
There wasn’t a huge amount that particularly grabbed us between Wick and Scourie, but we still managed to find plenty of places to stop.
📍 John O’Groats, Dunscaby stacks, Bettyhill & Smoo Cave
Arriving at John O’Groats before the 6 coach load of toruists arrived was a great idea. We also went to Dunscaby Stacks. We stopped at Bettyhill and then carried on to Smoo Cave, another place we’d seen recommended online. And because apparently TikTok was now part of our official trip planning…
🧀 We went looking for the cheese and toast we’d seen on TikTok.
🏖️ Balnakeil Beach
We also stopped at Balnakeil Beach, which was beautiful.
🌳 Moire House
Then we continued towards Moire House, which ended up being one of our favourite stops of the day. And actually, I think part of the reason we loved it was simply because we needed a walk. After spending so much time in the car, getting out and stretching our legs became increasingly important.
⛽ Thurso
We also stopped in Thurso to top up with diesel before carrying on.
🌅 Beautiful views
🍺 A pub on site
🛒 A Spar shop
It became our second favourite campsite of the trip.
By this point, the scenery was really starting to feel like the Scotland we’d imagined when we’d first decided to do the NC500.
🌊 DAY 5 — Scourie to Gairloch
We left Scourie and headed towards Gairloch, staying at Gairloch Sands Camping, which cost £29.
⛺ Gairloch Sands — £29
It was a nice campsite, with a restaurant and shop on site, but it was VERY windy that night. 💨 We’d hoped to eat in the restaurant, but it was completely full, so we ended up sitting outside. 🥶 And it was freezing. There was also a pizza van 🍕, which came in very handy!
We didn’t stop at the Whailing Waterfall but that was on the list so it’s one to look out for
We crossed Kylesku Bridge and stopped at Ardvreck Castle.
🥧 Lochinver Pies
We’d also seen Lochinver pies recommended on TikTok, so naturally we had to go and get some.
🦐 Ullapool
We carried on towards Ullapool and found a seafood shack, which made for a really nice stop. We had a wander around the harbour town before continuing on.
😱 Corrieshalloch Gorge
We also stopped at Corrieshalloch Gorge. There was a short walk, but there was one slight problem… The bridge. It was SO. SO. HIGH. UP. I absolutely could not bring myself to walk across it. 😂 So Chris could enjoy the view while I stayed firmly on the ground.
Another day, another campsite, another evening sitting down to work out where we were going next.
🏔️ DAY 6 — Gairloch, Applecross… and the Isle of Skye
This was probably the day where we realised that our route hadn’t been quite as carefully thought through as we thought.
🚗 Gairloch to Applecross
We headed from Gairloch towards Applecross and booked Applecross Campsite, costing £27.
The campsite itself was pretty basic. There were lots of midges 🦟 and we had noisy neighbours. But the bigger issue was our timing.
Gairloch to Applecross turned out to be much closer than we’d realised.
Rather than spending the time properly exploring Applecross, we’d decided to head further afield.
And somehow… That turned into a trip to the Isle of Skye.
🧚 Isle of Skye
Which, in hindsight, was slightly ridiculous when we were supposed to be doing the NC500. But we couldn’t resist.
We went to the Fairy Pools 🧚♀️, then stopped at the Sligachan Old Bridge, where we did what you’re apparently supposed to do for eternal youth…
We dabbed the water onto our faces. Whether it worked remains to be seen.
😬 Bealach na Bà
Then we headed back towards Applecross and drove the famous Bealach na Bà road. And honestly? It was the worst road I have EVER been on. I wouldn’t recommend it.
🧖♀️ Sauna & fish and chips
We eventually made it back to Applecross and booked ourselves into the sauna on the beach. We finished the evening with fish and chips at the pub.
Applecross itself felt very quiet, with not a huge amount there, and our personal feeling was that we’d probably bypass it next time.
Although, if we’d been travelling around in a campervan and had more time, we’d have done things very differently.
🏰 DAY 7 — Applecross to Fort William
We left Applecross and continued south, heading towards Fort William. This was another day where we wished we’d had more time.
🏰 Eilean Donan Castle
One of the highlights was Eilean Donan Castle. It was absolutely beautiful and definitely somewhere I would have liked to spend much longer.
🚂 The Jacobite Steam Train
We also stopped to see the Jacobite Steam Train, made famous by the Harry Potter films.
It was one of those moments where you recognise the scenery and suddenly realise you’re standing in a place you’ve seen on screen countless times.
🏘️ Fort William
We then had a wander around Fort William before checking into the Ben Nevis Hotel.
After days of camping, driving and being outdoors, having a proper hotel room and a swimming pool felt like absolute luxury.
🌆 DAY 8 — Fort William to Glasgow
By now we were heading away from the main NC500 route and towards Glasgow.
🛍️ The Green Welly Shop
We stopped at the Green Welly Shop, another place we’d spotted on TikTok.
It’s funny how many of our stops came from social media recommendations.
We then carried on towards Glasgow, where we’d booked a couple of nights away from the camping.
🍸 Glasgow
We visited the House of God Hotel and headed up to Kong Rooftop Bar.
After several days of muddy shoes, camping gear and sleeping in the car or tent, being in a city felt like a completely different holiday.
We also went to Top Cut Steakhouse 🥩, which was a pretty good way to finish the day.
🏡 DAY 9 — Glasgow to Lake Windermere
Our final day was taking us back south towards Lake Windermere.
Before leaving Glasgow, we had a mooch around the city and enjoyed having a slower morning.
🏰 Caerlaverock Castle
Then we stopped at Caerlaverock Castle, which has a connection to the poet Robert Burns.
It was another interesting stop on the journey south and a good reminder that even though our NC500 adventure was technically over, we still had places we wanted to see on the way home.
And just like that, our Scottish adventure was coming to an end.
❤️ And that was our NC500 adventure…
Nine nights.
🏕️ Camping
🚗 Countless miles
☕ Lots of coffee
🍰 Plenty of cake
🍺 Quite a few beers
🦟 A LOT of midges
🌧️ Scottish weather
🩳 Chris wearing shorts when it was -2°C
We’d started with a vague plan and ended up taking detours, changing our route, visiting the Isle of Skye, finding places we’d never heard of and missing places we’d originally intended to see.
And honestly, that’s probably what made the trip.
It wasn’t perfect.
We didn’t see everything.
We definitely didn’t follow the NC500 exactly as we’d imagined.
But we had an adventure.
And that’s what we went for. ❤️🏔️
🧭 Before You Go – Things We Learned on the NC500
We definitely didn’t have everything figured out before we went, and quite a few things we learned along the way.
So, if you’re thinking about doing the NC500 yourself, here are a few things we’d definitely keep in mind.
🗺️ Don’t plan every single day
This is probably our biggest tip.
We had researched the route, watched YouTube videos and read Robbie Roams’ NC500 book, but we didn’t book every campsite and plan every stop months in advance.
Instead, we’d sit down each evening with a beer 🍺 and work out where we wanted to go the following day.
It meant we could change our plans depending on the weather, how we were feeling and what we’d discovered along the way.
For us, that made it feel much more like an adventure.
🌦️ Keep an eye on the weather
Scottish weather can change quickly!
We generally left our campsite at around 8am, partly because the weather wasn’t always great first thing in the morning.
Some days were cold, some were wet, some were incredibly windy and then you’d suddenly get a beautiful sunny spell.
So don’t assume that because the forecast looks rubbish, the whole day will be a washout.
And equally…
Take waterproofs. 😂
⛺ Check campsite check-in times
This is something we hadn’t really appreciated beforehand.
Some campsites want you to arrive by around 5pm or 6pm, so don’t leave choosing your campsite until you’re already miles away from anywhere and having far too much fun.
It’s worth checking the check-in time before setting off for the day.
🚗 Think carefully about your vehicle
We did the trip with a combination of car camping and tent camping, and it worked for us.
Private campsites were happy for us to car camp, but we discovered that Camping and Caravan Club sites don’t allow this particular setup, so having our tent with us gave us another option.
That said, if we did the trip again, we’d seriously consider doing it in a campervan.
There were places we would have liked to spend longer, and having more flexibility with where we stayed would have made that easier.
🛣️ Be realistic about how much you can do in a day
The distances can look deceptively short on a map.
The roads, stops, viewpoints, walks and places you inevitably want to explore all add time.
We found this out particularly with Gairloch and Applecross.
We’d assumed we’d need more time to travel between them, but they were much closer than we’d realised.
That then resulted in us deciding to go to the Isle of Skye instead.
Which was brilliant…
But it also meant we didn’t really give Applecross the time it deserved.
🏔️ Don’t feel like you have to stick rigidly to the NC500
The Cairngorms weren’t technically part of the NC500, but we’d spotted them while researching and decided to go anyway.
And it was absolutely worth it.
We also ended up visiting the Isle of Skye.
So don’t be afraid of a little detour if there’s somewhere you’ve really fancied seeing.
Just remember that every detour means less time somewhere else.
⛽ Keep an eye on your fuel
We stopped in Thurso to top up with diesel, and it was a good reminder not to assume there will always be a petrol station when you need one.
When you’re travelling through more remote areas, it’s worth keeping an eye on your fuel level rather than waiting until you’re nearly empty.
☕ Use the Co-ops
There are plenty of Co-op shops along the route, and they became part of our daily routine.
Most mornings we’d grab:
☕ Coffee
🥪 Sandwich
🍫 Snack
The sandwich and snack would then become our lunch.
It was easy, convenient and saved us having to find somewhere to eat every day.
📱 Download things before you leave
Download your podcasts!
There were places where we had little or no phone signal, so streaming things as you went isn’t always going to work.
We found having podcasts downloaded beforehand made the long stretches of driving much easier.
The same applies to anything else you might need when you’re offline.
🦟 Prepare for the midges
We encountered plenty of midges, particularly around Applecross.
Don’t underestimate them!
If you’re camping, especially in warmer or calmer weather, having some midge protection with you is definitely worth considering.
🥾 Get out and walk
One thing we learned was that you can spend a LOT of time sitting in the car.
So when you see somewhere with a short walk, take it.
One of our favourite stops was Moire House, partly because we just needed to get out, stretch our legs and walk for a bit.
You don’t always n
