It's generally agreed on that for creative pieces of writing, such as stories and blogs, the writer should not give their conclusion early on in the piece. Well, I'm not good at doing things that are generally agreed upon, so, yes, the NC500 is worth every second of the time it'll take to drive the north coast.
I embarked on my NC500 journey after leaving a job role I wasn't happy in, and decided a 3 week trip to the most remote reaches of Scotland would be the best way to clear my head. And it was fantastic.
The NC500 offers photo opportunities from start to finish, and although many consider the East coast the "boring" leg of the journey, I would say these people aren't looking hard enough for things to see. If you have a week spare, there is nothing wrong with visiting the well known spots and getting those classic shots you see all over instagram. If you're passing John O'Groats, why not stop and take a photo with the signpost? While you're passing Castle Sinclair, why not nip down to the cliffs and wander around the ruins? But with some research, there are more exciting places to visit just off the beaten path that I would say are more rewarding photo opportunities. Not everyone has the luxury of 3 weeks without work, or commitment to other projects, but in a week, it's possible to see plenty of fantastic sights, and capture plenty of fantastic images. "Well, what exactly are these fantastic sites I'll see?" you might be thinking...
Scotland has an abundance of a few things. One of these things is mountains. Although the east coast of the NC500 is reasonably flat, the west coast and the north coast have plenty of fantastic mountains, with towering peaks and jagged cliffs that are perfect for keen landscape photographers. If you enjoy a good hike, or climb, the west coast is for you. Another thing Scotland is well known for is it's castles. Sure, the famous ones are Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, but in the Highlands reside many fortifications with a steeped history of clan feuds, and warfare (Primarily against English invaders). The well known castles on the NC500 are Castle Sinclair, and Ardvreck Castle, but there are countless others. Several of which I believe are more picturesque, and frankly more interesting.
So, we've established that the NC500 offers strong photo opportunities, but how much do you have to spend to do this? Well, as much of a cop out as it might seem, as much as you want to spend. If you want to spend 2 weeks in hotels and BnBs then you could spend thousands, but if you're like me (And you'd rather spend all your money on camera equipment than splurge on hotel rooms) you can camp. It isn't very glamorous, but either camping in a tent at a campsite, or just camping in your car really isn't so bad. There's plenty of places to park up for a night where nobody will disturb you, and with a decent sleeping bag and a good air mattress you can make it work year round. Campsites are around £15 a night or sleeping in your car is free! The other common choice is to hire a campervan for your trip, if folding your seats down and rolling out a blanket isn't boujee enough for you. I've not done this myself, but it looks like you can get a small campervan from around £500 per week on the very low end. The cost pretty much just reflects the level of comfort you have. I did my trip on a budget of around £600 all in, including fuel, campsites and food. Not bad for a 3 week holiday, and I slept like a baby in my not so roomy Renault Megane.
My plan for this blog is to detail my itinerary, my experience, and of course, my photos, from my 3 week trip. My hope is to hopefully inspire someone to plan their next adventure, or, if they're already inspired, at least help make that planning a bit easier. All the NC500 guides say the same things, suggest the same places, and I won't say they're wrong, but they omit some fantastic hidden gems, and some key pieces of advice that would have been worth their weight in gold to me before I started planning my trip. So, hopefully, something I say will offer that same value to you.
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