The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness. The route is also known as the NC 500 and was launched in 2015, linking many features in the north Highlands of Scotland in one touring route.
North Coast 500 route
Leaving the Isle of Skye we headed north and by-passed the southern section of the NC 500 by joining at Lochcarron and driving the route in a clockwise direction.
This meant that we tackled probably the most challenging part of the road trip first, the southern part of the Applecross Peninsula. To do this we had to drive the Bealach na Ba, a curvy mountainous road located about half way between Lochcarron and Applecross. This twisting, single-track mountain road is the third highest road in Scotland rising up to 2,054 ft. above sea-level. It’s one of the most scenic drives in the world.
It has very tight hairpin bends which switch back and forth up the hillside, with gradients approaching 20%. It is recommended that camper vans, beginner drivers and those who don’t know how to reverse, avoid this road. The road is so narrow that there are several ‘passing places’ so two-way traffic can pass.
We were driving up Bealach na Ba mid-morning, so the road was relatively quiet. This helped immensely to smooth our quick passage!
One of the meagre passing places on the left as we drive up the road – two wide vehicles would struggle to pass each other
Looking down the valley from the top of the Bealach na Ba
View from the top of Bealach na Ba to the village of Applecross and the Inner Sound to the Isle of Raasay in the distance
After the white knuckle ride up Bealach na Ba and the drive around the Applecross peninsula, we stopped for a very posh Afternoon Tea at the Torridon Hotel. Located on the shore of Upper Loch Torridon, this boutique resort hotel was recently featured on the BBC series ‘Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby’ presented by Giles Coren and Monica Galetti.
The Torridon Hotel
An exceptionally fine Afternoon Tea in the hotel’s ‘1887 Restaurant’
A short drive later, we arrived for a 4-night stay in Gairloch. The town is spread out around the head of Loch Gairloch and includes a working harbour and glorious beach.
The next day we headed for the Beinn Eighe National Reserve to walk the Mountain Trail. Beinn Eighe was the UK’s first National Nature Reserve (NNR). Set up in 1951, it covers a vast area of 18 square miles – stretching from loch-side to mountain top.
At its heart is the Beinn Eighe ridge – a cluster of rugged peaks, ridges and scree slopes between Loch Maree and Glen Torridon.
The circular Mountain Trail starts roughly at sea-level on the southern side of Loch Maree and finishes at 1,800 feet. The trail is 4 miles long, which starts in woodland and finishes in landscape that would typically be found in areas above the Arctic Circle. The second part of the ascent is on steep narrow rocky paths, with only waymarker cairns (piles of stones) to mark the way. It took us over 5 hours to complete the trail and was undoubtable one of the most challenging walks we have ever undertaken.
Here are some photos from the walk:
Early morning as we climb through birch and pinewood forest – the 3,200 ft. Slioch mountain dominates the far side of Lock Maree
As the route begins to emerge from above the forest, the landscape becomes precipitous, with many gleaming white quartzite crags – Charlotte steadily climbing the trail; we only saw one other person on the mountain, a young woman who practically jogged past us!
At 1,800 ft. the highest point of the trail is reached and there is a tremendous view of the ridges of Beinn Eighe
The path down from the trail summit passes a number of small lochs, which provide a reflection of the splendid peaks beyond
After our mountain climbing exertions, we just finished our day gently exploring Gairloch. However, the next day was of course another early start to visit two more really interesting landscapes in the local area – Camas Mòr and Red Point Beach.
Firstly we had to drive to the Lighthouse at Rubha Reidh, which is located on the tip of the peninsula north of Gairloch. It is reached by a very narrow, 3-mile long single-track road from the village of Melvaig. There were no other cars on the road to the lighthouse – the only traffic jams were caused by sheep!
Slow going due to the numerous sheep using the road!
The lighthouse at Rubha Reidh has been in operation since 1912 and was automated in the 1980’s
Camas Mòr is spectacular geological marvel nestled in a small bay of azure blue waters, consisting of a series or natural arches and sea stacks. The view over Camas Mòr is accessed via a very challenging 1.5 mile walk from the lighthouse to the east along the cliff-top. This was no South West Coast path!
On the way to Camas Mòr; walking close to the cliff edge gave us views of fabulous coloured rock formations
Cormorants line the cliff tops
The fabulous view over Camas Mòr
The second visit this day was to Red Point Beach. Red Point takes its name from the iron in the hills that has turned the sands a reddish-brown colour. The beach has over 16,000 acres of sand, which are managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
The beach has high dunes that on a clear day serve as lookout points from which one can spot the Outer Hebrides, Skye and Loch Torridon. The beach was featured in the British comedy-drama, ‘What We Did on Our Holiday’ starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly.
This beautiful, secluded beach lies about 10 miles south-west of Gairloch and is backed by dunes and grassy slopes, interesting stones and rock pools. When we visited we were the only inhabitants on the beach, except for a handful of sheep – it’s the first time we had shared a beach with sheep!
Long sweeping Red Point Beach with its reddish-brown coloured sand
Bright green seaweed amongst the stones provides a dramatic foreground for the beach
On the way back we caught site of a small heard of beautiful Highland Cattle
One of the beautiful Highland Cattle
After an energetic couple of days, we took it easy on our last full day in Gairloch and visited Inverewe Garden in Poolewe, a National Trust for Scotland property. Located on the shore of Loch Ewe, the gardens offered an amazing plant diversity from around the world, which is unusual for a garden, this far north. At the same latitude as Moscow and Hudson Bay, Inverewe benefits from a unique garden microclimate thanks to the effects of the Gulf Stream.
Loch Ewe also has a fascinating history as it was a staging post for WWII Artic convoys to Russia.
View across the beautiful traditional Walled Garden to Loch Ewe in the background
Charlotte admiring the Pond Garden
It’s Sunday morning and we are packing our bags and moving to our next 4-night stop in Elphin, a small village between Ullapool and Lochinver. The weather is cloudy and drizzly, so the afternoon in our new accommodation was spent planning the next few days for our exploration around what is supposed to be one of the most beautiful parts of the Highlands.
Ephin is in the heart of the North West Highlands UNESCO Global Geopark. Global Geoparks are a UNESCO designation celebrating internationally significant geological heritage to encourage sustainable development through geotourism and cultural tourism. There are about 150 Geoparks worldwide. We are hoping this translates into lots of stunning scenery!
The next day we went to see The Old Man of Stoer (not to be confused with The Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye, which is at the top of a mountain). This is a fabulous 197 ft. tall sea stack near the Point of Stoer, north of Lochinver.
After the usual early start we drove to Stoer Lighthouse, parked and started the 4-mile roundtrip hike to the end of the headland. However, instead of following the trail along the coast, we somehow took the wrong path and went inland. No real problem, except that we had to traverse a peat bog! Charlotte won the prize for the deepest foot insertion in the bog – up to her knee.
Charlotte extracting her leg from the bog – Graham thought it was best to take a photo instead of helping!
We finally joined the correct coastal path and were rewarded with some stunning scenery, including The Old Man himself.
Another minor sea stack on the coast
The Old Man of Stoer
The morning drive to Stoer Lighthouse took us part way around the Assynt Pebble Driving Route, so in the afternoon we finished driving the route. There are several Pebble routes, which are self-guided trails allowing you to explore the lesser-travelled by-roads of the Geopark. They are typically on narrow single lane roads and are slow to drive. However, they do provide stunning views of the local landscape, the only drawback is there not many places to stop and take photos. Here are just a couple taken during the afternoon drive.
Looking down Loch Glencoul towards Beinn Leòid
Charlotte exploring the deserted Clachtoll Beach
The next day we hunted out some of the best beaches in the area, these included Achmelvich Beach and Achnahaird Sands.
The south-west facing coastline in Assynt between the fishing village of Lochinver in the south and Stoer Lighthouse in the north, is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Scotland. This includes a number of fantastic beaches, of which Achmelvich Beach, is the most well-known and popular. Arriving at the beach early (as always) ensured we had the area virtually to ourselves when exploring the beach and local surrounds.
The golden sands and clear blue waters of Achmelvich Beach
A drive south from Lochinver and past Enard Bay took us to our next destination. Achnahaird Sands is a lovely crescent of sand in the Wester Ross region that is considered one of Scotland’s best beaches. There are lovely views of Stac Pollaidh and other neighbouring mountains from the beach and most of the surrounding area is within the Inverpolly Nature Reserve.
The vast expanse of flat golden sands at Achnahaird
Storm clouds building over the mountains behind Achnahaird Sands
Wednesday is a last full day around Elphin in the Assynt region and we decided to try some Corbett Bagging!
Corbetts are Scottish mountains over 2,500 ft. and under 3,000 ft. There are 221 summits classified as Corbetts, and they are named after John Rooke Corbett, who originally listed them. Different names are given for mountains of different heights, for example ‘Munro’ for peaks above 3,000 ft. and ‘Graham’ for mountains between 2,000 and 2,500 ft.
Corbett Bagging is a traditional Scottish pastime of people who like hiking up to the top of a Corbett and when they hit the summit, they have bagged a Corbett.
So we headed for the Quinag.
Quinag is not a single mountain but a dramatic range of peaks. Sàil Gharbh (2,651 ft.) means the rough heel, Sàil Ghorm (2,546 ft.) the blue heel, and Spidean Coinich (2,506 ft.) is the mossy peak. These are three of Scotland’s most northern Corbetts. The open hillsides below the peaks are a mosaic of heather moorland, grassy slopes and peat bogs.
Next to Spidean Coinich is the peak of Bealach a Chornaidh (2,342 ft.), which is what we eventually climbed up. From the car park (elevation 800 ft.) we ascended over 1,800 ft. to the summit and back in what ended up an extremely challenging 5-hour hike. The final climb to the summit was very steep, but we were rewarded with some stunning views.
We decided not to continue the climb to Spidean Coinich, so unfortunately didn’t bag a ‘Corbett’. However, we did technically bag a ‘Graham’, which Charlotte was a little disappointed with as she had already bagged a Graham many years ago.
Here are some photos from the hike:
The Quinag range of mountains viewed from the path at the beginning of the hike
In the early morning light, looking back down at Lochan Bealach Chornaidh at the base of Spidean Coinich
Charlotte ascending to the summit with Loch an Leothaid and Eddrachillis Bay visible in the background
Tomorrow we leave for Kinlochbervie for the start of the northern section of the North Coast 500.
Charlotte & Graham's Travels 