Overview
Discover one of the world's most incredible road trips, that sits right on our doorstep. Explore ruined castles, sweeping bays and white-sand beaches, incredible mountain landscapes and corners of the UK that seem as if they shouldn't exist in the British Isles, all at your own pace and in true style in a Volkswagen Campervan.
You decide on the amount of time you take to complete the NC500, then pick up your campervan from just south of Lancaster. Note: Pick up is on Monday or Friday only.
Whether you take a week, ten days, or two weeks, you’ll begin by joining the NC500 route, we would recommend starting at Inverness, making the city your base for the start or the end of your adventure.
From there, everything is entirely up to you. Drive west to the rugged west coast and the winding passes that take you over to Applecross and the magical bay that overlooks to Isle of Skye. Or, drive north up the east coast, and stumble across whisky distilleries and crumbling coastal castles.
It would be impossible to list everything there is to recommend on this 516 mile coastal adventure, but particular highlights include the bay of Applecross, the unique and unexpected Inverewe Gardens, the dramatic geology of the Assynt region, the stunning beaches of the north-west coast, and the many brilliant gin and whisky distilleries across the north-east region of the country.
For those keen on hiking and willing to go that little bit further for a truly beautiful corner of the world, we’d recommend climbing Suilven in Assynt, the mountain with ‘the greatest views of any mountain in the UK’, or heading to Sandwood Bay, a stunning, mile-long beach with no road access.
Along the way you may spot wildlife as varied as dolphins, seals, otters, red deer, golden eagles, red squirrels, puffins, and much, much more.
There are deep lochs, vast swathes of pine-forest, rugged mountains, cosy pubs and magical little towns and villages along the entire route, but with wild camping legal in Scotland, you can enjoy the freedom of choosing absolutely anywhere along the route to stay.
And you don’t even necessarily have to stick to the NC500 all the way around. With places like the Isle of Skye, Kinlochbervie and Oldshoremore Beach, or the renowned Cape Wrath lying off the trail, the entire ring road is a treasure trove of sights and experiences just waiting to be discovered.
To give you some inspiration for your NC500 road trip, we have provided an example 10 day itinerary below to give you a few ideas for your own adventure.
Heidi is a newly refurbished, 2012 T5 VW campervan in a fetching shades of green. She comes with everything you need to have an incredible journey whether you decide to pootle around the picturesque Lake District or Yorkshire Dales or to take on the epic NC500. Equipment includes kitchen hobs with all cooking essentials, a small table, heating, USB ports, power sockets, a small fridge, and a rear shower head. Heidi has a full width bed downstairs and a pop top upstairs with a single bed. She can seat 6 and quite comfortably sleep a family of 4.
