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Scotland Road Trip (part two) - North coast 500

One of the reasons we decided to do a Scotland road trip was after reading a article in a magazine about the North Coast 500 a trip around northern Scotlands scenic highways. The route starts and ends in Inverness and we spent 5 days doing it which seemed about right.

I'll add its part of the world with no chain hotels so it needed a little work booking a variation of B & B's before embarking. It was good to book ahead as most places were full, going hoping to find somewhere isn't really an option.

Day 6 :- Inverness to Wick - Hit the road early crossing the bridge north out of wick heading for a area at the other side of the water called "The Black Isle". With Cathy navigating we soon left the duel carriageway onto a b road only to find ourselves back and crossing back into Inverness. Next attempt we found our turnng and drove to Chanonry Point which is opposite side of the Moray Firth to Fort George (but watch out for stray golf balls as you drive through the course). The beach had a few people looking out and we soon found out why with lots of Dolphins entertaining us.


We drove to the the end of the black isle through some lovely scenary but were dissapointed when reaching Cromatarty to find the water area totally industrialised.



After touring the black isle we joined the A9 heading north again but it wasn't long before we decided to divert and go to Bonner Bridge where we found a lovely cafe for lunch (actually overlooking the bridge).


Then it was up to Lairg but not before diverting along a single track B road to visit the "Falls of Shin", It was pretty and apparently a good place to see Salmon jumping up the waterfall but we were a week or so early I believe.

 Eventually had to make our way to the main coast road and on to Wick (really could have stopped anywhere).

Did make a few stops including a walk on the beach at Brora and then at the Badbea Historic Village where as it was friday had my weekly haircut much to Cathy's amusement.






Was a couple of stops for scenic photos and finally a cafe about 30 minutes south of Wick (lets just say excellent home made cakes).

Finally arrived in Wick and found our B & B "Harbour House" which is a small place with just 4 rooms. Unusually it doesn't have a dinning room the procedure is order your beakfast night before with a time of your choosing and the owner delivers on a trolly to your room, was a different experience but worked just fine.

On the evening in Wick just across the Harbour we found an excellent french restaurant called "Bord de L'eau" for our meal. Finally was over to Wetherspoons to finish the night before walking back to the B&B at 11pm still in daylight.

Day 7 :- Wick to Stathy - We left Wick or tried to but the Navigator decided we should drive along a wide footpath which went well until we got to the end and some steps. Soon reversed up and found the road and a Tesco Petrol Station to fill up.

Not a long drive today but plenty of iconic places to visit including of course John O'Groats.

Nothing much there other than the expected tourist shops and cafe where we had a coffee before moving a short distance east to Duncansby Head.

Had a stop at a secluded beach, other than the sheep of course, two of which were on an escape mission charging down the road towards us at one stage.

After a look at the views we went for a walk along the Cliff tops to the Stacks of Duncansby, nice view but the exercise was good.


Eventually back in the car for the short drive to Dunnet Head the most northern point on the British Mainland again it was great views.


Feeling a bit peckish we decided to then drive to Thurso to find some where for a snack. Ended up in a small cafe attached to a bakers and enjoyed a lovely meat pie.

After leaving Thurso we headed west stopping first at St Mary's chapel. We had to park a distance away and enjoyed the walk to the ruins with more amazing views.

Afterwards we drove to Strathy passing Reay Golf Club apparently the most northerley 18 hole course in the country.
We were staying at the Strathy Inn but didn't check in as went to Strathy Point first. Apparently its where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North sea and of course another lighthouse.

Was another good walk from the car park, great to get some exercise on these road trips.

Finally got to our B & B a lovely little pub run by a Yorkshireman with 3 rooms to let, we got the one on the ground floor and were both impressed.

We ate at the Pub and the food was fantastic especially washed down with a few local brews. Cathy took the opportunity to try Old Pulteney Whisky which had been recommended to us. We also enjoyed the breakfast the following morning and would definately recommend the place to anyone touring he north coast.

Day 8 :- Strathy to Ullapool - Now the roads started to get interesting, even the A roads were single track in lots of places.

We took a detour from the coastal route heading inland along the B871 and B873 along the beautiful Loch Naver. Decided the weather was hotter than we thought so while in middle of nowhrere stopped the car for us both to do a striptease and put our shorts on (Frightning the sheep in the process).

Then headed back to the north coast enjoying a coffee stop at a small cafe along Loch Loyal. Bit of an issue when Cathy wanted the toilet as both had signs for "Gents", apparently the owner said he ordered both but they sent two "Gents" signs so he fitted them anyway (only in Scotland, lol).

We eventually rejoined the coastal route to cross the impressive causway over the Kyle of Tongue.

A few photo stops of the amazing Scenary we eventually got to Durness where we stopped to get some supplies as we planned to eat at our B & B on the Evening.

One thing I'll add is there is a shortage of road side cafes along our route as we both were ready for lunch. It wasn't until we reached Scourie we found a cafe bar alongside a caravan site where we enjoyed a Panini. Bit of coincidence as we spotted a couple of lads on Motorbikes that had been at the same coffee stop a few hours earlier. Not sure whether its coincidence or lack of cafes in this part of the world.

Continued along the scenic highways before again leaving the Single Track A road to go along the smaller and scary B869, great fun driving around cliff top bends and steep ups and downs eventually arriving at Lochinver for afternoon Ice Cream.

Eventually arrived in Ullapool but had a drive around the other side of the Loch to our B & B which was basically at the end of a tiny lane. Lovely place had two rooms to let and a nice lounge for guests to chill out in. The owners actually had a pet sheep called "Pet" who after birth had been brought up by their dog, Read about it here Pet "The Sheep (dog)" .

On arrival was just a letter addressed to me telling us which was our room and where everything was, doors unlocked as its obviously a very safe and trusting part of the world.
Sun was still shining so we decided to crack open a bottle of wine to enjoy sat out on the lawn.
As the evening drew in we showered and changed before sitting in the lounge enjoying more wine with some cheese and biscuits we purchased earlier. The Landlady came in to say hello and we had a good chat, its a place i would recommend.


Day 9 :- Ullapool to Loch Carron - Following a good breakfast we hit the road but it wasn't long before our first stop to have a look at the Corrieshalloch Gorge and the Falls of Measach.


Back on the road it was a string of photo stops and admiring the fantastic scenery taking in Lochs, mountains and coast.




 Also stopped for a short walk at the Beinn Eighe nature reserve for a short walk.

Onwards to Victoria Falls for more pics and short walk.




Lunch was at a lovely place overlooking a Loch called Shieldaig very scenic and Cathy managed to mug them with the cost of a couple of Shandy's and nice Sarnies.


 Should have had something stronger to drink as the next part of the journey to Applecross was along a crazy road around the coast. Great fun and certainly got the adrenalin pumping.

Following a Ice cream stop in Applecross it was on a minor road over the mountains to our overnight stop in LochCarron. We seemed to climb for ages but then the down on the minor road was even more scary than previous roads, loved it. Did stop at the top of the road for a Photo Shoot.

Finally got to Lochcarron and happy to find the Pub we were staying at right on the Loch with great views. Had a bar meal in the busy place before going for a nice walk before returning and sampling the local brew.

Must add this was the place we tried Haggis with breakfast, better than expected I will add.



Day 10 :- Loch Carron to Loch Ness - Despite driving along beautiful Lochs and mountains to return to Inverness and finish the North Coast 500 it wasn't quite as inspiring as other days. Dont get me wrong its still amazing but just not the same as the previous few days.

Did find one real beauty spot along the way with a stop at Rogie Falls.

Across to Inverness for late morning and a short walk along a section of the Caledonian canal.

Then it was time to head along part of the most famous loch of them all to see if we could spot Nessie.

No luck with the monster search we decided to drive up a mountain until we found a nice spot in a forest along the Great Glen way for a picnic lunch.

After that a stroll in the forest, thought we were alone until came across a shed full of twitchers with rather large cameras looking for rare birds.

Then it was onto our hotel in Drumnadrochit which turned out to be part of the Nessie exhibition centre. Nice place we were in a block away from the main building, bar and restaurant was excellent for our evening meal.

Scotland Road Trip (part one) - Up the East

Cathy and myself decided to do a road trip tour of Scotland following many scenic highways and 12 hotels in 13 nights. We did all the planning ourselves and it proved to be a fantastic experience and something well worth doing.

Day One :- The Journey - Set off on a Sunday morning for the long drive to Edinburgh with first stop off (other than coffee & comfort break) at Lindesfarne (Holy Island). Prior to leaving we had checked the tide times and knew we needed to be back over the causeway by 2-10pm. Weather was kind on the way up and only hold up was a bit of traffic around Newcastle.
Enjoyed our picnic prepared the day before.

Eventually got to the border and visited a couple of nice little fishing villages as we left the A1 to take the more scenic B roads.

We stopped in North Berwick for our afternoon coffee and the good weather had brought people to the beach so a parking space took some finding. Its a lovely place and we got a lovely balcony viewpoint of of the beach and town while enjoying our break.

Continued on our journey reaching our Edinburgh hotel around 5pm, we were staying for two nights at the Holiday Inn Express at Port of Leith which was a great location with regular buses into the city and its worth noting a day ticket only costs £4.
On first night we decided to eat at an Italian restaurant about a 10 min walk from the hotel which the hotel manager had given us a 20% off voucher. Food was excellent and staff friendly but one other group could only be described as "family from hell" totally unable to control their kids. Still enjoyed as fortunately they left and afterwards sampled a pub over the river which to my delight served Theakstons Old Peculier on draft.

Day Two : - Edinburgh - Jumped on the bus to visit the City and its one well worth the trip its a smashing place. First stop was the tourist information office to buy historic Scotland passes which are great value at £40 each which allows free entry into lots of places for 7 days out of 14 (ideal for touring and saved us around £60). First use was at the Castle (the pass also allowed us to fast track and beat the queues) which is must see in Edinburgh.

Spent a good couple of hours before walking around the city centre, its certainly a place we are likely to return as feel only scratched the surface in one day.

Eventually returned to Leith and wandered over to look at the Royal Yacht Britannia which was right over the road from our hotel, sadly we didn't have time to go onboard as we had a meal booked for the evening at Browns in the City centre.

So was a quick shower and change then back on the bus to the City for a lovely Steak dinner and bottle of Malbec.

Day 3 :- Stirling Castle and more - We hit the road early but it wasn't long before our first pit stop in Queensferry for a quick photo shoot of the famous rail bridge.

Then it was a day of castles (making full use of our pass) first one was Aberdour Castle (across water from Edinburgh) which was nice mainly ruins but with a lovely garden which would make a cracking picnic place.



2nd stop was Castle Campbell which was set in woodlands high up a steep hill with fantastic views and of course car park was at the bottom so we got some much needed exercise. On the way down we followed a interesting forest trail rather than the road, was a nice stop off.

Although not on our original plan we had been advised to overshoot Stirling and go to the popular Doune Castle famous for the filming on "Monty Python and the holy grail" among other things.
Not the best ruins we visited but on the way there we stopped off a a statue of David Stirling where there are fantastic views of the beautiful countryside.
David Stirling is the man who founded the SAS.



Finally we finished the day at the impressive Stirling Castle which like Edinburgh is a must visit attraction.

Accommodation that night was at a Premier Inn close to the motorway, we dined at the Brewers Fayre pub next door that evening.

Day 4 :- Aberdeen to meet a friend - Hit the road after breakfast as we had a planned meet with Annette at 12-30pm for lunch in Stonehaven. Annette is a friend from two Just You holidays i'd been on in previous years.

One City we traveled through on the route was Perth a place that looks worthy of a visit on future trips, no time with our tight schedule this time.

Our first stop off was the Meigle Stone Museum where we were kindly given a brief history of the Pictish areas of Scotland by the lady running the place.

Another stop was Edzell Castle famous for its gardens and wall, apparently unique with its carved heads.








Met Annette as arranged in Stonehaven a pretty harbour town south of Aberdeen and it only seemed right to have fish & chips for lunch, nice they were too.


Annette took us to see Dunnottar Castle nearby whish stands impressively on some cliffs with great viewsof the North Sea.

Afterwards we went to our hotel (Premier Inn North) to get changed before been collected and kindly given a guided tour of Abredeen by our friend. First it was to the beach area for a coffee at a local cafe then to some cliffs where we spotted a few dolphins before returning for a night cap.

Day 5 :- Onward north to Inverness - Must admit following the coast was a long way around and we didn't make everywhere we planned to visit in particular Fort George and the Culloden Battlefield. Still it was a good day but if doing it again needs an overnight in between as so much to see and do bit of an error in judgement.

However it started badly our first port of call was Tolquhon Castle but due to staff shortages was closed for the day.

Still onwards north and we stopped at the Bullers of Buchan cliffs a beautiful viewpoint for a couple of photos.

Next port of call was Fraserborough and the National Lighthouse Museum, had a light lunch in the cafe there before moving on.

Duff House was next stop off then a few more scenic photo opportunties before driving to our hotel. So much to see and do along that coast and as i said earlier needs more time.

That evening got the bus into Aberdeen to eat at the restaurant at the Mercure Hotel before knocking the froth off a couple in a bar in the city centre. Didn't get much time in the City but liked what i saw and people were really friendly.

Next up part two "North Coast 500"