The NC500 in a motorhome
516 miles, two roads a large motorhome should avoid, and a route where how long you take is now a question of manners as well as enjoyment.
516 miles from Inverness back to Inverness. Seven days is the sensible minimum, ten is better, and five is the number that has caused most of the route's problems.
Two things make this different from any other road trip in Britain: parts of it are genuinely unsuitable for a large vehicle, and the communities along it have run out of patience with people who rush it.
How long — properly
The mileage is misleading. Much of the route is single-track with passing places, and in a motorhome 30 mph is a realistic average on long stretches. 516 miles does not behave like 516 motorway miles.
| Days | What it is | Honest verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 3–4 | Driving, not travelling | Don't. You will see the inside of the van and the back of a caravan |
| 5 | Possible, and the source of the trouble | Long days, rushed overtakes, no slack for weather. This is the version locals complain about |
| 7 | The common answer | One to three hours' driving a day, time to stop. The realistic minimum |
| 10 | The good one | Weather flexibility, proper walks, side trips to Applecross or Handa |
| 2 weeks | The route as intended | You stop being a tourist doing a loop and start being somewhere |
| A month | Off-season, slow | Different trip entirely — and the one the communities would actually welcome |
If you have five days, do half the route properly rather than all of it badly. The north coast alone, out and back, is a better week than the full loop at speed.
The roads a big motorhome should not take
This is where the NC500 differs from every other named route in Britain, and where a generic itinerary can put you somewhere you cannot turn round.
Bealach na Bà (Applecross). The famous one. Hairpins, gradients up to 20%, and explicitly not recommended for large vehicles or those towing. It is a wonderful road and it is not for a 7-metre coachbuilt. Alternative: the coast road via A896 / A832, which is longer and also spectacular.
B869 Drumbeg road. Narrow, steep, tight bends, and regularly the site of stuck motorhomes blocking the road for hours. Alternative: the A894.
Neither is a legal restriction. Both are a question of whether your vehicle physically fits and whether you can reverse it a quarter of a mile uphill when you meet a lorry.
This is why an itinerary should know your vehicle. A campervan and a 7-metre motorhome should not be given the same NC500, and almost every published itinerary gives them exactly the same one.
Where to stay, and why it matters more here
The NC500 has become the clearest example in Britain of what happens when a route gets popular faster than its infrastructure.
The route's own impact assessment makes uncomfortable reading: four in five residents report detrimental congestion daily or often, and local positivity toward the NC500 fell from 40% in 2015 to 10% in 2025. It has appeared on international "reconsider travelling here" lists. The specific complaints are congestion on single-track roads, litter, improperly disposed toilet waste, and unauthorised camping.
Two things follow.
Wild camping in a motorhome is not a right here. Scotland's access rights apply to people on foot and exclude motor vehicles, so a van parked overnight on the verge is a question of landowner permission and local restrictions, not of the Access Code. The full explanation.
Book, or use proper stopovers. Campsites, aires, pub and farm stopovers, and the growing number of council sites built specifically to absorb this traffic. In season, arriving at seven with nothing planned is how you end up parked somewhere you should not be.
Being the reason it stays open
Every restriction along this route was created by behaviour, and there will be more.
- Use passing places to be overtaken, not just to pass. A queue behind you is how resentment starts
- Never park in a passing place
- Take everything, including waste. Especially toilet waste — this is the single most cited complaint
- Buy locally. The economic case for tolerating visitors is made in shops and pubs
- Off-season if you possibly can. May and September are better trips anyway
The practical bits
- Fuel is sparse in the north-west. Fill at Ullapool, Durness, Thurso — do not run to a quarter tank
- Phone signal disappears for long stretches. Download the map before you go
- Midges, June to August, worst at dawn and dusk in still weather
- Single-track etiquette is a real skill. Practise the reverse before you need it
- Weather decides more than the plan does. Build in a spare day, and use it
In one line
Seven days minimum, ten if you can, avoid Bealach na Bà and the Drumbeg road in anything large — and treat how long you take as a courtesy to the people who live there.
Last reviewed 21 August 2026. Road suitability, restrictions and local facilities change. General guidance, not legal advice — signage and local authorities are the current authority.
Sources: NC500 route information · NC500 community impact assessment · Scottish Outdoor Access Code · Highland Council.