The North Coast 500, Scotland: a road trip like no other! Join us for some vanlife fun on the NC500

Hello friends, welcome back to the channel and welcome to my truck. Today lockdown has eased in Scotland which means it is the first time in over a hundred days that you can travel more than five miles, so take every opportunity in this beautiful Scottish summer weather and we will head to Inverness and begin the

north

coast

500. This is our loop around the top of the Scottish mainland and it will take us about four days to do it so let's do it which sounds like just crossing the bridges to get out of Edinburgh we have about a three hour drive to Inverness and that's where we come from the five hundred stars, so we start in Inverness and we'll call it old direction clockwise.

I think this is the best way to go because of the most stunning scenery, so here we will cross the Kecak Bridge at the start of our 500 adventure on the

north

coast

. Purists will immediately notice that this is not the official Inverness route, but this is my first piece of advice: it is not necessary to follow an exact path today despite it being summer, we are guided by the weather and navigate to take a route a little more direct towards the north coast. The east coast section is not the star of this route, so by going anti-clockwise from Inverness you will certainly get the best.

Further along the journey there are

some

native fishing ports as well as the impressive Robin's Castle, but we were happy to be taken to the northeastern tip of the continent. The next thing I would say is don't expect too much from Jonah Gross, especially. However, on a day like today the sea stacks and lighthouse at Duncan Head are spectacular and in any weather and just a short drive away, this is where we would spend the first night d1 and the weather has not been the appropriate; came to us so it's time to set up the van, you've got a tarp, this cost me ten quid, this little tarp has a seat on it which costs ten quid, put this together and it holds up quite well.

I would say it's obviously raining, but it's also quite windy, and it just gives a nice sort of extension to the back of the van and in HD it would be possible to keep the doors open all night. I guess I hope that later in the

trip

it might happen that the space really does look so cozy tonight and despite this weather. outside I think this is going to be quite cozy number 10, good morning, the second day started with

some

nice views of the Orkney Islands. I always forget how close they are to the mainland. I also took a walk to the questio to see the puffins and sheep.

Before we pack up and head along the upper coast castle is usually a good stop but each one is still closed as we come out of lockdown. The true northernmost point of the continent was next with an

other

impressive lighthouse from Robert Stevenson and more from Hugh. opal phoric yo thanks after a quick stop for a coffee and the best scones we have ever had we were reaching Betty Hill for me this is where the North Coast 500 really starts to pick up steam gradually the scenery will change the

road

s . will become narrower and the mountains higher around this time, the weather was also showing some signs of improvement, just in time to visit one of my favorite beaches in the world, which I swear wouldn't look out of place among the many small seashells .

Nooks and crannies to explore on this picture-perfect beach, but don't expect it to normally be so quiet in July, you'll soon arrive in the dark and East has become West. This is a great little place to stock up. fuel and

other

essentials, there are also many accommodation options on offer here from the dark, it has easy access to stay in difficult conditions and the sun would keep the wrath requires a short ferry crossing, but it is on my wish list for The future, part of it is owned by The Ministry of Defence, so don't be surprised if you hear some explosions during some pretty important military exercises.

Here Sandé and her beach have been on my bucket list for a long time and, with enough light left in the day, we decided to give it a try. today we just commit darkness and we are dying here, I think so. I think if we keep going this way, we can walk, quite possibly drive a little further and then we can do the hike, which I think is about five miles to Sand, Seaweed and Sand Beach with The beach is haunted, only the driver bloomed or parked at the start of this walk was absolutely spectacular and I'm so sorry that my future here doesn't do it justice, it's like a different world, this is another tip.

If you have time, please make these small detours. I promise you will not regret. Here we go, the walk begins to sound. It would be sand with beach fondant. Well, I'm not sure if it's haunted, but I'd still probably be too scared to camp. If I'm honest, there is so much meth and magic associated with the sandwich. The fairly long walk to get there almost guarantees you a quiet beach to soak up the atmosphere of this very special place if you're brave enough to spend the time. At night I think there are a couple of these in the area, if you don't feel like chipping in at 10am they will offer a bit more warmth and protection from the ghosts in the Sheep.

The five mile hike to get there was actually not bad, the hardest part was getting over the sand dunes as you get closer to the beach. There was a pile that came to Sandra Peach. We have kitchen equipment. Amazing pans. The meals don't match. The light. The beach on this July afternoon was beautiful. perfect place for photographers I guess because of everything that happened here, my favorite story is about a Spitfire pilot who got into trouble and crashed on the beach, came out unscathed and I think you can still see the engine in certain weather conditions when the sand reveals some of its colorful history while I was acting like a big kid the sky looks really low so let's head back, we're kicking up a storm at the moment after that walk Cochise and we'd Beach, ah , tired and hungry.

Cheers the weather at the start of the third day was absolutely crazy so here is the most obvious package of advice and be prepared for anything even in what we Scots call summer the sun was out for two minutes so we tried to make a light breakfast then it started raining again we didn't have breakfast today we soon arrived at Loch Enver we have been here before and it is a great place as a base to walk to my favorite mountains Sylvan and Stack Poly there is also a great beach nearby Here in AK Melva yes the weather would have been better, kayaking might have been possible on the leg of the

trip

.

I'm sure you're used to narrow

road

s in passing places, but here's a warning: the ruler of Lochinvar is especially crazy about To be honest, it's the only road I don't enjoy driving on on the entire north coast. Some of the blind bends on the scary back roads are not for the faint-hearted, even on a calm day today. I guess you could take our detours. Avoid the stretch of road you certainly wouldn't attempt in a larger van or when towing, just be aware that you may have to back up a little awkwardly to allow traffic to pass.

I can't even imagine what it would be like on a normal summer day, if you decide to take this road my only advice would be to drive slowly, stay focused and be prepared to meet some of the locals along the way. A bonus to this road is access to Stack Poly, there is a car park and it's an easy hike to the steep summit, it may not have Munro status but it's incredibly fun to have breakfast rapper - Courtney in the afternoon, our pools are weird For me, it's a nice enough place, but it always feels like you're returning to civilization. and every time I get there I just want to turn around and go back to the hills that said the north costs 500 still has some delights in store south of here, especially around Tora Don, all week here, look at this guy hanging around around the car park, always keep your eyes wide open, you never know who will see you south of torrid and soon you will be hugging the coast again and on a strange day this will give you some beautiful views of Rona Rossi and the sky beyond always seems to be sunny when I drive along this coast and I have encountered some aku here in the past no less times.

I'm afraid we were going to spend the night and do Applecross, but we decided to go a little further and higher to get some phone signal to check tomorrow's weather. As you can see it's very different up here, this is another trail you really have to be careful on and the weather we're seeing here today is not unusual any time of year, but wait until you see the treats and the store coming down the road. other side. In the morning, I have Southern Passerby's Applecross in mind, Scotland's coolest route. I'll link the fuel run here or in the description below.

I'll try to do this early in the morning to avoid too much traffic. I've seen some audience moments here in the past. It's a tricky ride with tight bands so it's worth it, after all that fun there are only a few miles left until Locker n' This Cute Little Villages makes the decision to complete the 500 properly. From here you will continue to Inverness, but with the best. With the route not behind us we decided to turn right and return to Edinburgh via Sky and Glencoe. There is the least exciting way to cross the river. See when the weather is good and there is not too much traffic.

Heaven is always an easy decision once we cross the bridge we are headed for. Heading up the east coast for a bit of walking on the way back to Edinburgh from here included an island stop and a castle and then an overnight stay at the Three Sisters in Glencoe and for the last time on this trip the everlasting fat will drag to the back of the van thank you very much for taking the time to look today. I really hope it gives you some insight into this great road trip. If you have any questions, please leave a small comment below.

I try to answer them all, thank you. again and see you soon