Family North Coast 500 road trip
The Covid 19 virus has made travel difficult for many of us, so like others my family searched for a UK break this year. Being regular travelers my family wanted a trip which had the excitement and aura that we’d normally associate with foreign destinations. After lots of research we found that the North Coast 500 is not only the most famous road trip in the UK, but one of the most admired in the world. It takes you on an epic winding adventure, starting from Inverness, tracing clockwise around the beautiful Highland coastline and ending up back at Inverness. Two weeks of mountains, lochs, turquoise water beaches and natural beauty is a dream trip for most people but especially a photographer ;)
With a 4am start from Brighton with a 1 year old and a car bursting at the seams, we headed off to our first destination 8 hours away - the beautiful town of Ayr. It’s sweeping sandy beach, farm park and shops made it a place we instantly wanted to come back to. The next stage of the journey took us on another long drive to Inverness, where we decided to take the more scenic route via Glencoe - what a great decision this was! Winding roads through the base of the mountain range was a spectacle to experience and something I will never forget.
We stayed the night in a lovely motor home just outside Inverness, then began the official North Coast 500 route! The route can be done either clockwise or anti-clockwise. We went for clockwise, the advantage of which you stay on the coast-side of the road throughout the trip. Starting by driving West to the western coast of the Highlands, we stopped at a waterfall on route, until we reached the famous Bealach na Bà road. This is more than a road, it’s an experience! The greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK, it twists and turns through the mountains to over 2000 feet above sea level. Some locals had warned us it’s not to be taken lightly, and as you pass the sheer drops on route you can see why!
Heading north along the western coastline, we passed through the lovely small town of Ullapool, our favorite spot in the Highlands. We decided to get the ferry from here to the Hebrides islands (a detour from the NC500 route). We took the opportunity to capture a nice family shot, while our little one was in the mood. Tripods are essential for landscape photography but also come in handy for self portraits!
Once we were back in Ullapool we set off again. As you travel further there are a multitude of beautiful beaches to explore, one of these being Achmelvich beach. We were blessed with a warm, sunny afternoon which made this one of our best stops on the route. Beware of the jellyfish though, there were tens of them along the sand.
Hitting the northern town of Durness, the route then takes you east along the coast - it felt strange to be at the opposite end of the country to Brighton. One of our highlights here was the Whaligoe Steps, a steep man-made stairway of 365 steps that descend between two sea cliffs. Many of the steps are loose and uneven so it took a lot of concentration as we made our way down and back up again, particularly with the narrow nature of the path.
You then hit John O’Groats and Dunnet Head - the northerly most point of mainland Britain. Tracing the eastern coastline now southwards, the scenery is not as dramatic as the West coast however there were still many sights to see, one being the beautiful Dunrobin Castle. This was a great family attraction as it included a tour of the castle, gardens and even a falconry.
The route took us back to Inverness, when it was then time to head South back to Sussex. Scotland is a beautiful country and the route had something for all the family. The North Coast 500 is definitely something for the bucket list which i’d highly recommend, it was the trip of a lifetime!
