The far north of Scotland is full of beautiful unspoiled countryside with exquisite views. The NC500 is a touring route that takes you around 500 miles of roads from Inverness up one side of the coast and back down the other. The route takes you through Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Easter Ross, the Black Isle and Inverness-Shire. 

The coastal views are outstanding and if you plan your route in advance you can be sure to have a trip to remember. Some of the roads are single track and are not shown on google maps so can be missed. 

You can choose one of the ready-made itineraries from the NC500 website or you can create your own itinerary to suit your personal pursuits. Whatever you choose, take your time and plan your route. Some people prefer to choose just two or three places to base themselves at so that they have time to enjoy and maybe take a trip or two off the beat and track.

Why do the NC500?

The first reason for doing this has to be the iconic views but that’s not all that the Highlands has to offer so be sure to include other activities in your planning. There’s castles, museums, distilleries, golf, fishing, cycling, walking, archery, gorge scrambling, canoeing and more. There are also white sandy beaches, mountains, cliffs and even some hidden gems like Smoo Cave for instance.