The North Coast 500, Scotland: a road trip like no other! Join us for some vanlife fun on the NC500

[Music] [Music] [Music] hi folks welcome back to the channel and welcome to my van today lockdown has been eased in Scotland which means it's the first time in over a hundred days that you can travel for more than five miles so taking every opportunity in this beautiful Scottish summer weather and we're gonna head up to Inverness and start the north coast 500 this is our loop around the top of the Scottish mainland and it will take maybe about four days to do so let's do it that sounds just making our way over the bridges out of Edinburgh we've got about three hours journey to Inverness and that's where the five hundred stars from so we start the in inverness and we're going to call it an antique clock wise direction I think this is the best way to go because most of the stunning scenery so here we go crossing the Kecak bridge at the start of our north coast 500 adventure the purists might note straight away this is not the official route of Inverness but this is my first tip there's no need to follow an exact path today despite being summertime we were guided by the weather and is sailing to take a slightly more direct route to the north coast the East Coast section is not the star of this route and so by going anti-clockwise of Inverness you're certainly receiving the best for later in the trip there are some native fishing harbors as well as the stunning done Robin castle but we were happy to be shown to the northeast tip of the mainland the next thing I'd say is don't expect too much at Jonah gross especially on a day like today the sea stacks and lighthouse at Duncan's behead however are spectacular and any weather and only a short drive away and this is where we'd spend the first night [Music] [Music] [Music] d1 and the weather hasn't been - came to us so it's time to get the van setup you got a tarp this cost ten quid to me this little tarp has a seat cost 10 pounds scoot this together and it's holding up pretty well I'd say obviously raining but it's quite windy as well and but it just gives a nice sort of extension to the back of the van and in an HD it'd be possible to keep the doors open all night I guess hopefully later on in the trip that might happen that space actually looks so inviting tonight and despite this weather outside I think this is gonna be quite cosy number 10 good morning day two started with some nice views over the Orkney Islands I always forget how close they are to the mainland I also had a walk down to the questio to see the puffins and the sheep before we packed up and headed along the top coast [Music] [Music] castle of me is normally a nice stop but every still closed as we ease out of lockdown done it head the true northernmost point of the mainland was next with another impressive Robert Stevenson lighthouse and more of Hugh's opal phoric me thank you after a quick stop for coffee and the best scones we've ever tasted we were arriving in Betty Hill for me around here is where the North Coast 500 really starts to come into its own gradually the scenery will change the roads will become narrower and the mountains taller around this time that weather was also showing some signs of improvement just in time for a visit to one of my favorite beaches in the world which I swear wouldn't look out of place in the seashells [Music] lots of little nooks and crannies to explore on this picture-perfect beach just don't expect it to normally be this quiet in July [Music] soon you'll be arriving in darkness and the East has now become the West this is a great little place to stock up on fuel and other essentials there are also loads of accommodation options on offer here from darkness you have easy access to keep rough and Sun would be keep wrath requires a short ferry crossing but it's on my wish list for the future a chunk of it is owned by the Ministry of Defense so don't be surprised if you hear some explosions during some pretty big military exercises here [Music] sandé would be and it's beach have long been on my wish list and with enough light left in the day we decided to give it a shot today [Music] we just commit darkness and we are dying here I think so I think if we keep going down this road go up to can walk very possibly drive a little bit further and then we can do the walk which is I think about five miles up to sand weed beach and sand with Beach is haunted just the driver to bloom or carpark at the start of this walk was absolutely spectacular and I'm so sorry that my future here doesn't do it justice it's like a different world this is another tip if you have time please make these little detours I promise you won't regret it [Music] here we go the walk starts to sound would be sand with beach fondant well I'm not sure if it's haunted but I still probably would be too scared to camp out there alone if I'm honest but there is so much meth and magic associated with sandwich the fairly long walk to get there almost guarantees you a quiet beach to soak up the atmosphere of this very special place [Music] if you are brave enough to spend the night I believe there are a couple of both these in the area if you don't fancy pitch in at 10:00 they'll offer a bit more warmth and protection from the ghosts in the Sheep the five-mile walk to get there wasn't too bad actually the toughest part was getting over the sand dunes as you approach the beach itself was a stack [Music] made it to Sandra peach we've got cooking equipment awesome pans meals no matches the light the beach on this July evening was gorgeous a perfect spot for photographers I'd guess from all the real stuff that's happened here my favorite story is of a Spitfire pilot who got into trouble and crash-landed on the beach he walked away unharmed and I believe you can still see the engine in certain weather conditions when the sand reveals some of its colorful history meanwhile I was just acting like a big kid the sky is looking very low so we're gonna head back [Music] we're just kicking up a storm at the moment after that walk Cochise and we'd Beach ah tired and hungry Cheers [Music] the weather at the start of day three was absolutely crazy so here's the most obvious tip pack and prepare for anything even in what we Scots call summer [Applause] the Sun came out for like two minutes so we tried to make a light breakfast and then it started raining again no breakfast today [Music] soon we were arriving in Loch Enver we've been here before and it's a great place to base yourself for walking it to my favorite mountains sylvan and stack poly there's also a great beach near here at AK Melva had the weather been better that kayak may have been able [Music] by the stage of the trip I'm sure you'll be used to the narrow roads in the passing places but here's a warning the ruler of Lochinvar is especially crazy to be honest it's the only road I don't enjoy driving on the whole of the north coast some of the blind corners on scary rear roads are not for the faint-hearted even on a quiet day today I guess that our detours you could take to avoid the stretch of roads I certainly wouldn't attempt in a bigger van or when towing just bear in mind you might need to do a bit of awkward reversing to allow traffic to pass I can't even imagine what it'd be like on a normal summer day if you do decide to take on this road my only tip would be drive slowly stay focused and be prepared to meet some of the locals along the way [Music] [Music] [Music] one bonus of this road is the access to stack poly there's a car park and it's an easy walk up to the craggy peak it may not have Munro status but it's awesome fun up there [Music] breakfast rapper - Courtney afternoon [Music] our pools are strange one for me it's a nice enough place but it always feels like you're coming back into civilization and every time I arrive I just want to turn around and head back for the hills that said the north cost 500 still has some treats in store south of here especially around Tora Don [Music] all week here look at this fella just hanging about the carpark always keep your eyes peeled you never know who you'll spot you [Music] south of torrid and you'll soon be huggin the coast again and on a queer day this will give you some gorgeous views over Rona Rossi and sky beyond there always seems to be sunny when I drive this coastline and I've met some here aku's here in the past not less time I'm afraid we were going to spend the night and applecross but decided to head a bit further and higher to get some phone signal to check tomorrow's weather as you can see is very different up here [Music] this is another road you really need to take care on and the weather we see here today is not unusual at any time of year but wait till you see the treat and store going down the other side in the morning [Music] [Music] the southern passer applecross is in my mind Scotland's coolest route I'll link the fuel drive here or in the description below try to do this one early in the morning to avoid too much traffic I have seen some hearing moments here in the past it's a tricky drive with tight bands by so worth it after all that fun is just now a few short miles until Locker n' this cute little villages decision time to complete the 500 proper from here you'll continue on to Inverness but with the best of the route no behind us we decided to turn right and head back to Edinburgh via Sky and Glencoe [Music] there's the least exciting across the river see [Music] [Music] when the weather is right and it's not too busy sky is always an easy decision once over the bridge we headed up the East Coast to do some walking the road back down to Edinburgh from here included a stopper island on and castle and then overnight at the three sisters in Glencoe [Music] and for the last time in this trip the ever grease will crawl into the back of the van [Music] [Music] thanks so much for taking the time to watch today I really hope it gives you a bit of a feel for this great road trip if you've got any questions please just leave a little comment below I do try to respond to them all thanks again and see you soon you

Channel: SteveMarsh

Views: 380,711

Rating: 4.92977 out of 5

Keywords: NC, NC500, North Coast 500, The north coast 500, Scotland, scottish, roadtrip, Vanlife, van life, Highlands, UK, British, Scottish road trip, John O'Groats, Applecross Pass, Scottish Highlands, Inverness, Eilean Donan Castle, Glencoe, The Three Sisters, Three Sisters, Duncansby Head, Dunnet Head, Bettyhill, Durness, Ullapool, Stac Polly, Mountains, Van trip, Skye, Isle of Skye, Skye bridge, Travel, SteveMarsh, Trip report, Travel review, Travel Reviewer, travel, Applecross, van, VisitScotland

Id: puhQ2owLOsM

Length: 24min 28sec (1468 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 10 2020