Five hundred-odd miles around the top of Scotland, from Inverness and back. We've broken the classic loop into five day-stages — each ending at a campsite we'd happily pitch at ourselves.
The NC500 is rightly famous and, in high summer, rightly busy — so the kindest and most enjoyable way to ride or drive it is slowly, off-peak, and with your overnights booked ahead at small local sites rather than chancing laybys. The single-track roads reward patience: use the passing places, let faster traffic by, and give yourself far longer than the mileage suggests. Below is the loop anticlockwise, the way the light tends to work best.
West from Inverness to the coast, finishing over the Bealach na Bà — the highest, most hair-raising pass in Britain. The reward at the top is the whole of Skye laid out across the water. Drop into Applecross for the night.
The emptiest, most spectacular leg — Torridon's peaks, the gardens at Inverewe, then up into the lunar landscape of Assynt. Pitch on the shore of Loch Assynt under Suilven and you'll forget what a town looks like.
Round the very top of Scotland past Kylesku's sweeping bridge and Smoo Cave to Durness, where the beaches turn Caribbean-white and the water turns genuinely turquoise. Short on miles, long on stops.
Across the wild north coast then down the gentler east, past Dunrobin Castle and a string of fishing villages. The riding eases off, the road opens up, and the campsites get a little more comfortable.
An easy final leg back to Inverness, with time for a last whisky at Glenmorangie and a wander round the Black Isle. Stretch it into an extra night on Loch Ness if you're not ready for it to end.
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