The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile route that circles the north of Scotland from Inverness. It passes through the most remote, dramatic, and empty landscape in Britain — through sea lochs, mountain passes, ancient Caledonian forest, and along a coast so wild it barely registers as mainland Britain.

How Long to Allow

The route can be driven in three days if you are determined and value neither your sanity nor the experience. We recommend two weeks minimum. We spent three weeks and still felt we had not done it justice. The distance is not the constraint — the roads require slow driving — but the concentration of things worth stopping for is the real constraint. Between Ullapool and Tongue alone we stopped nineteen times.

Wild Camping

Scotland’s Land Reform Act gives walkers and campers the right of responsible access to most land — including overnight camping. This makes the NC500 a superb wild camping route. The passes above Torridon, the shores of Loch Assynt, and the headlands above Durness are among the finest wild camping spots in Europe. The midges, in summer, are the price you pay for the beauty. Bring midge nets.