Travel wishlist, Scotland on Sunday - Drive the North Coast 500

After lockdown get your kicks on the highway north

Stretching 516 miles, the NC500 can take five to seven days - longer if you stop often to take admire the views of mountains, lochs, beaches and coastline. Picture: Lisa Young

Our journey began as we pulled away from the comfort of Edinburgh’s Bohemian, boutique-chic Nira Caledonia hotel, two beautifully renovated Georgian townhouses, and glided along historic streets to the outskirts, where our Highland road trip, following the North Coast 500 (NC500) would begin. Although this route to the north has existed for years, the trendy new name, akin to California’s iconic Route 66, seems to be attracting more motorists.

Covering 516 miles, the NC500 can take five to seven days and there’s plenty of accommodation along the route, but book well in advance. Petrol stations can be found in most towns, and the weather is unpredictable, so be prepared.

Our car was a slick and extremely comfortable Hyundai Tucson, perfectly suitable for long drives, with plenty of power to take us up steep highland roads and along rugged tracks.

Eilean Donan Castle is one of the castles on the route. Picture: Lisa Young

Travelling clockwise our destinations would include Loch Ness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Applecross, Ullapool, Lochinver, Dunnet Head, Durness, Wick, Brora and Glasgow, before ending back in Edinburgh.

First stop, the luxurious Loch Ness Lodge and spa, a romantic get-a-way nine miles southwest of Inverness, the capital of the Highlands. It’s built close to the A82, but you can’t see traffic because of clever landscaping and through a foot tunnel under the road is the lochside, where we scanned the water’s surface for signs of Nessie.

Next morning, we picked up the A87 towards Kyle of Lochalsh, passing the Five Sisters of Kintail, and majestic Eilean Donan Castle sitting on a small tidal island at the meeting of three sea lochs: Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh.

Kintail Lodge is ideal accommodation for a castle visits and if you have time, take a trip to nearby Isle of Skye across the Bridge. Fifteen minutes’ drive from Kyle of Lochalsh is Plockton (population 378), a picturesque village on the shore of Loch Carron, famous for Hamish Macbeth, The Wicker Man and The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, where The Harbour Fish Bar chippy is a picturesque pit stop.

Ullapool sits on the shoreline, and if you have time, catch a ferry to Harris or Skye. Picture: Lisa Young

Next morning we prepared to drive across dramatic Applecross Pass or Bealach na Bà (Pass of the Cattle), beloved of petrol heads for its hairpin bends, single track sections and twists and turns which offer a rollercoaster drive with jaw-dropping scenery around every bend.

At the start of the pass, eager cyclists prepared for the beast of a road and to dig deep into their reserves of stamina on the ascent. At the top, a moody, jagged landscape surrounded us and we were overwhelmed by its sheer majesty, before descending into Applecross village, where heather clad hills meet the shore of Applecross Bay.

We stayed at the Applecross Inn, with great food and stunning views across the Inner Sound to the isles of Raasay and Skye, and met Inn owner, Judith Fish, who said, “We encourage people driving the NC500 to stay more than one night, not just pass through for the drive. I hate the idea of anyone slipping through here and escaping my interrogation; that’s what makes my life interesting.”

There are lots of walks, from a 400-metre woodland stroll to a 15km hike to Kenmore and Inverbain.

Lisa Young drove a Hyundai Tucson, suited to long drives and steep roads and tracks. Picture: Lisa young

Spotting wildlife is easy: stags, mountain hares, pine martens, golden eagles and other birds abound. So do otters, although we didn’t see any during an afternoon walk in the rain.

Continuing north towards Ullapool, hugging the shore, we soon came to the small bothy at Sand Bay which featured in Monty Halls’ Great Escape TV show, when Monty became a crofter in Applecross back in 2009. Our drive to Ullapool should have taken four to five hours, but as we kept stopping every ten minutes for another extraordinary view we took seven.

The roads, so open to the elements, can surprise at times. Turning a corner we stopped abruptly for local Highland cattle in the road. Chomping on spiky bushes, they occasionally raised their broad heads and looked out from underneath long red and blonde fringes.

My travelling buddy, Ketna, looked thoughtfully out of the window at the vast landscape. “If the drive through the rugged terrain today was akin to a man, this is the type I often (and regretfully) fall for… wild, proud, moody, unpredictable”.

We spent that night at Ullapool’s Ceilidh Place, arguably the best place to stay, and if you have an extra four days, catch a ferry to Isles of Harris and Skye. We didn’t and drove on another ten miles to Achiltibuie, a “Highland Haven” with possibly some of Scotland’s best views, right down the coast to the tip of Skye. We were overwhelmed by the sheer unspoiltness of it all. From here, you can visit the Summer Isles and beautiful sandy beaches.

The one-track road from Achiltibuie to Lochinver is not to be missed, as with its deceptive bends, climbs and drops, and neither was dinner that night at the Michelin-starred Albannach Hotel. Pushing northwest for an hour, we arrived at Achmelvich boasting a white sand beach and clear blue water. Onwards, and over the distinctively curved Kylesku Bridge that crosses the Loch a’ Chàirn Bhàin in Sutherland we found the small fishing hamlet of Kylesku.

The beautiful crofting village of Scourie a little further up the coast is a good base for exploring the surrounding countryside and also one of the only places you’ll find highland cattle under palm trees.

We drove on through vast, open landscape past Durness and the furthest northwest point of Scotland, with its majestic light house and sandy dunes, as we had to meet someone at the northernmost point of Great Britain, Dunnet Head.

Dunnet Head is a peninsula in Caithness; beautiful, dark, impressive and intimidating. My great grandfather was the coastguard there in the 1920s and I’d brought along photographs of him there, and stood exactly where he did all those years ago. I got to visit the cottage he lived in, too. It was an emotional afternoon.

Next it was on to Ackergill Tower in Wick, which appealed to my travelling buddy who has a love of period dramas and said: “This place has it all… beauty, aristocracy, kidnapping, suicide, ghosts, ruin, hotel, tourism and weddings…”

From Thurso to Brora and the Royal Marine Hotel, it’s around an hour’s drive to Dornoch, with its castle and restaurants, including the hospitable and nicely presented Luigi’s on the main street.

The final leg was in sight, and the urban contrast of Glasgow and Edinburgh ahead, but I could already feel the magnetic pull of the Highlands, and hear the call of the open road through this land of mountains, lochs and sea. I would be back, perhaps with more time to park and explore on foot what lies either side of the NC500.

FACTFILE

Remember, at present travel to Scotland's remote areas is forbidden under lockdown rules, although the tourist industry is looking forward to the easing of restrictions. Lisa Young's holiday pre-dates the current pandemic.

Hyundai: http://www.hyundai.co.uk/new-cars/tucson

https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/tours/driving-road-trips/north-coast-500/

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