Next on the list was our much-anticipated tour at Dunnet Bay Distillery - founded and run by a husband and wife team who are creating excellent artisan gin and vodka. We also stopped in at Storehouse of Foulis for a coffee and to buy some of their delicious tablet (seriously, it's incredible! Surrounded by beautiful scenery, Ullapool offers great hiking and cycling routes, good accommodation options and has a few pretty cafes. To overcome this problem, many single-track roads, especially those officially designated as such, are provided with passing places. Brenna and I spent 5 full days travelling along the North Coast 500. We wanted to treat ourselves to a little bit of luxury with a stay at the wonderful Kincraig Castle Hotel, hence why we only went twenty or so miles down the road on this day - however we packed in some attractions from further along the route into today's section. Enjoy it, the two variants from the 'official' 500 route are far better for bicycles … North500 Motorhomes, Glenurquhart Rd . Miles on the clock | 346 (note that we have deducted the extra mileage to go kayaking from our totals). Elevation and ascent statistics with customisable elevation graph. The reason it's important to know some of those place names in particular is because this is a coastal loop route, but it is not a single coastal road - and your GPS will not like that one bit! Overnight Parking is generally allowed on the North Coast 500 but there is exceptions to this. The North Coast 500 route is Scotland’s answer to Route 66. Be prepared for our Scottish midgies too. We use cookies on our website. North Coast 500 - Distance: 816.99 km - Elevation: 2029 hm - Location: Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom The Ultimate Scottish Roadtrip is waiting for You to come and Explore! Twenty-seven years later, the North Highland Initiative created a 500-mile route around Scotland’s most northerly coastal roads. and spent a little time in the pretty town of Tain where it’s situated. The North Coast 500 is not a waymarked route and the highlands of Scotland are renowned for not having a 3g or even in some places a mobile signal, you will need actually need a paper map of the North Coast 500 route. Now, this is the day where our route is a little different to the standard. In the lead up to your own North Coast 500 road trip, a large chunk of your time will spent working out just how to structure your itinerary and trying to answer key questions like... Where to stay each night? The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile (830 km) scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. North Coast 500 route maps are made easily available online plan your route around Scotland's Route66 NC500 with google maps & plan your route around the Coasts of the Northern Scottish Highlands as you drive through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, visit famous location made popular by movies like Braveheart filmed in Glen Nevis by Fort William We’ve plotted it all out for you in the below map in blue (feel free to zoom in and click around - the red pins are where we stayed along the way). If you’re arranging motorhome hire in Scotland for the trip, they can probably supply these, but always check first. Map is an Ordnance Survey Style Road Map which can be purchased as a handy folded map or as a wall map for display. Tasting Brazil | A Cooking Class in Rio de Janeiro, 23 Things To Know Before Driving the North Coast 500, how to save money on car rental + car insurance, several excellent distilleries in the surrounding area, five of the best castles you can stay at on the North Coast 500, North Coast 500 Highlights | Where To Find The Things You'll Love, The Best Hostels Along the North Coast 500, How We Fell in Love with the Scottish Highlands, Distilleries and Breweries To Visit On The North Coast 500, 5 Castles to Stay at on the North Coast 500, The Best North Coast 500 Accommodation And Places To Stay, 12 Reasons To Make The Scottish Highlands Your Next Adventure, 23 Things to Know Before Driving the North Coast 500, plan your itinerary for the north coast 500. A real highlight of the evening was visiting Hootananny's for an evening of live traditional Scottish music. The route starts in the northern city of Inverness, then weaves along the west coast to Applecross and then northwards towards the bustling towns of Torridon and Ullapool. Well, we would definitely extend out our time and nights on the west and north-west sections, and take away one night from the east coast. Will you leave enough time for hikes and walks up Munros or to spot some wildlife? A quick stop off at the Morrison's supermarket near the centre of town allowed us to stock up on essential snacks and drinks for the upcoming few days. We tried to cover too much ground on the latter across single-track roads, and that meant we didn’t have enough time to fully explore and savour some of the prettiest sections of the route there and further north. It's a beautiful and challenging drive with hairpin bends and steep gradients. We knew the highlight of today's section would be the notorious Bealach na Bà road, however we wanted to start the route with open eyes and to drink in the first few hours of scenery. The Official Facebook page for the North Coast 500. Firstly, which season are you embarking in? Changes | Nope. Twenty-seven years later, the North Highland Initiative created a 500-mile route around Scotland’s most northerly coastal roads. Are you being realistic in terms of daily driving times? Main points of interest | Strathnaver Museum, Farr Bay, Strathy Bay, Melvich Beach, Dunnet Bay, tour at Dunnet Bay Distillery, Dunnet Head, Castle of Mey, John O'Groats signpost! We chanced upon the prettiest little house by the water, drove past fields of sheep and had regular stop-offs to enjoy the views which just got better at every turn. Be prepared for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists walking or riding in the road. The weather wasn't with us in the early part, with a blanket of mist restricting visibility, but we could already see that some of the landscapes were going to be unforgettable. Changes | Nope. After photographing some gorgeous 'Heilan Coos' near our hostel and spying some wild deer in another field, we hit the open road towards Torridon. You can go west from Inverness towards Applecross, or go east and north along the Black Isle. Road type | As we said above, the roads from Lochinver to Kylesku are a challenge - make sure you drive with adequate caution and make good use of the passing places. Komoot user Global Cycling Network recorded a road ride: North Coast 500 - Scotland Bikepacking Adventure with Mark Beaumont. Main points of interest | Beaches at Achmelvich and Clachtoll, a number of signposted viewpoints, Kylesku Bridge overlooking the water, Sandwood bay and other beaches in and around Durness, the Smoo Caves and Cocoa Mountain in Durness, the view over the Kyle of Tongue at sunset with the Castle Varrich ruins, the village of Tongue. INFO LEAFLET. By using these affiliate links you are directly supporting Along Dusty Roads to stay on the road, and to provide you with free content to help you travel more, and travel better. East Coast 250. Changes | Most of you will not spend two night going from John O’Groats back to Inverness due to the short distances and high-quality roads (it’s just over 100 miles between the two). This is one of the most common questions about the North Coast 500 when it comes to planning the road trip, however, it … Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site. Are there any restaurants or distilleries along the way that you simply have to visit? North Coast 500 Camping Route Map To help you visualise the above, we’ve put together a map of our 7 day North Coast 500 itinerary, which you can see as an image below, and on Google Maps here . Tight and narrow with numerous blind summits and corners, you'll need to be very cautious on these and, although the mileage count will be low, they will take you much longer than you think to pass through safely.However, once we crossed the iconic Kylesku Bridge, it was good, quick, double-sided road through to Scourie Bay and a little beyond until a return to single track roads (with lots of sheepies) leading towards Durness. Inverness IV3 8JL. We will post your ad for you FREE. Bringing together just over 500 miles of stunning coastal scenery, the route follows the main roads along the coastal edges of the North Highlands. Road type | The country roads have all been left back in the north as from here on in it's good quality trunk roads (however there are some wicked bends on the descent down to Dornoch). Camping and Caravanning The abundance of […] Additionally, as a wee gift from us to you, you can also get £25 off your first ever Airbnb booking (there are a bunch along the route) by signing up here. North Coast 500 – Scotland Road Trip of a Lifetime. I am not underestimating when I stress how popular the NC500 route has become. The North Coast 500 (NC500) was created in 2014 by the North Highland Initiative to highlight some of Scotland's magnificence to the world. The main reasons being that a number of attractions require a little driving off the route, some driving within towns and doubling back on ourselves because we wanted to take photos. In total, with all our detours and diversions to spots off the main route, we actually clocked 739 miles on our Highlands roadtrip!). Scotland’s incredible road trip takes in 500 miles around the north coast of Scotland taking in some of the most spectacular scenery in the world – there’s no wonder they call it Scotland’s Route 66. Find out more about the North Coast 500 at www.NorthCoast500.com Always take extra care on country roads while on The North Coast 500 and reduce your speed at approaches to bends, which can be sharper than they appear, and at minor junctions and turnings, which may be partially hidden. Where we stayed | A truly wonderful Scottish guest house called An Grianan Bed & Breakfast, Inverness. Outside of Lochinver, you'll find two of the best beaches the UK has to offer - Achmelvich and Clachtoll - and these definitely have to be on your itinerary! Although we didn't manage to stop off and visit everything we hoped for on our eight-day roadtrip, we did see and do a great deal on the route which we can happily recommend to others, alongside our own valuable lessons learned about the realities of driving Scotland's answer to Route 66. You can then print the map and a list of directions or just use the map to find your way around the northern Scottish Highlands. The North Coast 500 (NC500) was created in 2014 by the North Highland Initiative to highlight some of Scotland's magnificence to the world. Whilst this is great news for the local economies in this otherwise fairly remote part of the UK, it has also meant that it can be tricky to find accommodation. You can also take a look at the ‘official’ North Coast 500 map (also linked at the bottom of the page). Then it heads north along the scenic west coast to Durness, and across the northern edge of Scotland to John O’Groats before returning to Inverness. 2. 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