Scottish Highlands and Skye

Before you go

• The NC500 is 516 miles (830 km) and starts and ends at Inverness Castle. Many stretches are single-track roads with passing places.
• Bealach na Bà rises to about 630 m with gradients near 20 percent and is considered unsuitable for very large vehicles. It is often impassable in winter.
• Skye is linked by the Skye Bridge, which has been toll-free since 2004, and by ferries such as Mallaig–Armadale and Glenelg–Kylerhea.

The drive

The NC500 runs clockwise or anti-clockwise through Applecross, Gairloch, Ullapool, Durness, Thurso, John o' Groats and Wick. Growing traffic has caused problems on single-track roads: drivers not using passing places, convoys and damaged road edges. Use passing places to let others overtake, and allow more time than the distance suggests. Skye covers 1,656 km² and has many single-track roads as well.

Camping

Scotland's access rights allow wild camping on most unenclosed land under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. The code describes it as lightweight camping by small numbers of people for no more than two or three nights in one place. Access rights do not include motor vehicles, so they do not cover motorhomes and campervans. Landowners, councils and Police Scotland can restrict parking, so use campsites or follow local signs. Popular Skye sites such as the Old Man of Storr attract over 250,000 visitors a year.

FAQs