Assuming you stayed in Torridon, the first thing we recommend you do is drive around the Applecross peninsula. This will take you on some seriously winding roads which will also offer you views across to the Isle of Skye. Leakey’s Bookshop – home to thousands of second-hand books, Leakey’s is an Inverness treasure trove.

A short drive north of Dunrobin Castle is Carn Liath, or the Grey Cairn. There’s a small parking area just before the Cairn ( here on Google Maps), and it’s a 2 minute walk from here to the Cairn via a footpath. For some options see our guide to our favourite B&B’s along the NC500, as well as our overall guide to NC500 accommodation. These tend to be some of the more popular places along the route, so booking well in advance is required.

Enhance Your NC500 Experience

Visit Loch Fleet –just fancy a stroll? Walk around Loch Fleet to Little Ferryand explore Balblair Woods. You might spot Ospreys and Crossbills in the trees.

Stac Pollaidh – one of Scotland’s best hill walks, with a well-made path to the summit, easy and fun scrambling over its pinnacles and ridges and incredible views over the Assynt mountains.I am thinking of doing the 5 day tour, I will be driving alone and not good at map reading . I would depend on my Sat Nav. Is that practical giving reception etc. Are places well signed. I intend to follow your 5 day Itinerary Photos: The Storehouse Restaurant & Farm Shop, Applecross Smokehouse, West Coast Delicatessen, Robertson’s the Larder 10. Be a safe driver

Planning a North Coast 500 road trip can be a bit overwhelming as it is a relatively new route and there isn’t as much information available online or in guidebooks compared to other top road trips around the world. But not to worry, we’ll provide all the information you’ll need to plan your NC500 road trip. The North Coast 500 brings together a route of more than 500 miles of stunning coastal scenery – 516 miles, to be exact. Not only is the NC500 one of the world’s best road trips, but it’s also one of the most beautiful. While the North Coast 500 is an experience in itself, you’ll also find plenty of adventures to be had along the way. We want everyone who visits the North Highlands to have the best time possible when driving the North Coast 500, so, in this article, we’ll bring you some top tips on how to make the very most of your trip. In terms of your question, assuming travel is permitted again in September (fingers crossed!), September would be a lovely month for this trip. It’s up with with May as our favourite month to travel in Scotland. The days will be slightly shorter, and I can’t comment on whether this is too ambitious without knowing how long you are planning to travel for. Day 3 Accommodation: Ullapool has a good range of accommodation options. Some places to consider are: Carn Liath is a broch – an iron age structure that is around 2,000 years old. There are many of these all around Scotland, and this is one of the better preserved and more easily accessible brochs along the North Coast 500, which we think makes it worth stopping at.

This itinerary assumes you’ll be driving the North Coast 500 in a car or motorbike, and staying in hotels or guesthouses along the way, and we have recommended some of our favourite accommodation options along the route for each night. There are over 10 golf courses in this area but a few golf courses to consider are the Inverness Golf Club in Inverness, The Nairn Golf Clubin Nairn, Nairn Dunbar Golf Club in Nairn, Castle Stuart Golf Links near Nairn, Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Clubin Fortrose, Invergordon Golf Club in Invergordon, and the Royal Links Championship Course & Struie Course in Dornoch. Laurence personally favors the western side for landscape photography, but we found great photography spot throughout the route. Here is a guide to some of the photography highlights of the North Coast 500.