The NC500 in 7 days
Seven nights, clockwise from Inverness, planned for a vehicle over 6 metres. Every leg below is computed on our own road router; every stop count comes from our live map.
688 km all in, about 11h37 of driving across the week — including the run home to Inverness.
Stops below are described by type and area, not business name — we do not name a pub or farm as welcoming campers unless they have actually said so. The counts are live from our map and honestly labelled unverified.
Your route is not the standard route
At anything over 6 m, two sections of the classic NC500 are not sensible, and this plan avoids both:
- Bealach na Bà (Applecross) — hairpins, gradients to 20%, not recommended for large vehicles. The A896/A832 coast road is longer and one of the best drives of the trip in its own right.
- B869 Drumbeg — narrow, steep, regularly blocked by stuck motorhomes. The A894 instead.
Neither is a legal restriction. Both are a question of whether you can reverse a six-metre van uphill, on a blind bend, when you meet a timber lorry.
Night 1 · Torridon
The longest day of the week, deliberately, to get west while everyone is fresh. Out through Muir of Ord and Achnasheen, then the A896 into Glen Torridon — where the trip stops feeling like a drive and starts feeling like the Highlands.
Stop type: Council parking with services, or a campsite in the glen. Book in season.
Within 10 km on our map: 2 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Slow section: the A896 west of Kinlochewe is single-track in places.
Night 2 · Gairloch
A short day on purpose, after a long one. The road round via Kinlochewe and Loch Maree is genuinely one of the great British drives, and rushing it is the whole mistake this plan exists to avoid.
Stop type: Pub stopover or coastal campsite. Gairloch has both, and beaches worth the stop.
Within 10 km on our map: 3 campsites & caravan sites · 2 service points — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Worth the detour: Inverewe Garden, if the weather is against you.
Night 3 · Ullapool
Along Loch Broom into Ullapool — the biggest town you will see for a while, and the place to do a proper shop, fill up, and empty and refill everything.
Stop type: Seafront holiday park or a booked pitch. Ullapool is busy; do not arrive at seven hoping.
Within 10 km on our map: 3 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Practical: fuel here. The north-west is sparse and prices climb.
Night 4 · Durness
North on the A835 and A894 — the Drumbeg avoidance — past Ardvreck and Kylesku. The scenery gets emptier and stranger the further north you go.
Stop type: Campsite or council-provided parking. Options are limited and fill fast.
Within 10 km on our map: 3 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Slow section: the A894 has long single-track stretches. Allow more than the map says.
Night 5 · Thurso or Tongue
The north coast proper. Long, open, and the most exposed driving of the trip — a crosswind on this stretch is a genuine consideration in a high-sided van.
Stop type: Aire or campsite. Thurso has more; Tongue is prettier and smaller.
Within 10 km on our map: 3 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Worth stopping: Smoo Cave, Ceannabeinne beach, the Kyle of Tongue causeway.
Night 6 · Wick or John o' Groats
The easiest day. John o' Groats is a photograph rather than a destination; Duncansby Head, two miles on, is the better stop and most people miss it.
Stop type: Campsite, or a harbour-area stopover where permitted — check signage carefully on this coast.
Within 10 km on our map: 4 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
Night 7 · Dornoch or Golspie
South down the east coast — farmland, beaches, Dunrobin Castle. After six days of the west, the east feels almost suburban, and that is part of the trip. The last morning home to Inverness is about an hour.
Stop type: Campsite or pub stopover. Considerably more choice here.
Within 10 km on our map: 4 campsites & caravan sites — unverified, from OpenStreetMap.
The part that is not about driving
The NC500 is under real strain, and at seven days you are moving fast enough to be part of the problem if you are careless. Use passing places to be overtaken; never park in one; empty waste at proper facilities only (Ullapool, Thurso and Durness all have them); book in season; go in May or September if you possibly can.
Wild camping in a motorhome is not a right in Scotland — access rights apply to people on foot and exclude motor vehicles. The full explanation →
The full editorial version
What seven days costs you, when to take ten instead, and the etiquette in detail: the complete written guide →