North Coast 500 and more, our anniversary Highland Fling

Sejal Majithia-Jaswal on 25 September 2020
Ash and I had planned to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary, (30th September 2020) in the Greek Isles, where we first said our ‘I Do’s’ on the stunning island of Santorini. However, with all the uncertainty around overseas travel we opted to return to one of our other favourite places Scotland, for another Highland fling.

Scotland holds a very dear place in our hearts, we lived in Edinburgh for 5 years, (2011-2015) and were privileged to experience so much immense beauty and warmth in this stunning country we consider home. We took the opportunity to explore the northerly region in a novel way from our other road trips, via a VW camper van!

Using the classic North Coast 500 (NC500) route, which starts and finishes at Inverness Castle, and is 516 miles long, we adapted the route for our own 11-day journey. This allowed us to take in the Orkneys, Lochaber and Fort William. The NC500 can be done west to east in a clockwise direction or east to west, anti-clockwise. We opted for the latter.

Picking up our VW camper van just outside Glasgow, our first overnight stop was in Rosemarkie, a small ancient village on the Black Isles, overlooking the Moray Firth. Arriving late into the campsite we couldn’t see much, the next morning however, we were treated to a stunning sunrise from the camper van. After breakfast, we walked south along the white sandy beach to Chanonry Point, this is the ideal place to view Dolphins. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot these beautiful creatures, but were happy to be breathing in the fresh coastal air.

From here, we drove up the east coast, visiting the Rogie Falls, and then up past Wick to the spectacular Dunrobin Castle (seat of the Duke of Sutherland). And of course, we had to drop into the Glenmorangie distillery on the road to Wick for a wee dram and to stock up for the journey ahead! Next stop was John O’Groats for the obligatory photograph at Britain’s most north easterly point and serendipity as we discovered that we had been to Lands End, Britain’s most south westerly point for our fifth wedding anniversary.

The second leg of our Scottish road trip was from John O’Groats to the Orkney Isles. We always wanted to come to this little archipelago, and it didn’t disappoint...even the ferry journey over from John O’Groats was atmospheric. Steeped in Neolithic history, with the ancient ruined village of Skara Brae and a number of stone circles at its historical centrepiece (World Heritage Sites dating back 5,000 years) we spent a couple of days touring around the main island. Scarpa Flow, which was the scene of some critical action during WW1 and WW2, is also located in the Orkneys, as is the Italian Chapel just east of Scarpa Flow. The Chapel was constructed by Italian POW during WW2. I had read about this place in the book of the same name by Philip Paris, from my book club, nine years previously, so it was a delight to stumble upon this ornate Roman Catholic structure first-hand.

During our time in the Orkneys, the Northern Lights had been visible, but we missed them. We didn’t let that spoil our anniversary and celebrated in style with a memorable meal at The Foveran, one of the islands’ best restaurants rounding off a fantastic visit to this far flung part of the UK.

After the Orkney Isles, we headed to the very north west of Scotland, to Durness and Cape Wrath, where we discovered the pristine beaches of Ceannabeinne, Sango Sands and Balnakeil, as well as bagging a Munro (a Scottish peak over 3,000 feet) called Ben Hope, we were lucky with the weather for our ascent. Other highlights in the area included Smoo Cave, a spectacular sea cave set into the limestone cliffs with waterfalls which can be viewed from the walkway and the memorial to John Lennon – which was apt as this year would have been John’s 80th Birthday.

From Durness we headed south, along the west coast to Port A Bhaigh campsite, in Altandhu just outside Ullapool. Next to the campsite was the Am Fuaran Bar, sustained by a roaring log fire, convivial company and several single malts. This absolute gem gave us the excuse to enjoy a cosy evening in a traditional Highland pub on our one-night stopover.

The following morning, we wound our way through The Assynt (the most sparsely populated area in Western Europe), passing through Ullapool (taking in the immense beauty of Loch Ewe) and arrived into Gairloch, a pretty holiday village on the coast, where we sent another night camping by the beach at Sands.

From Gairloch, we continued south along the coastal road to the village of Applecross which is the main settlement on the Applecross Peninsula, Wester Ross. The weather came out to play again, and we were treated to a truly stunning drive. From the road on a clear day, you can see the Inner Hebridean islands of Skye, Raasay and several uninhabited ones.

The following day, with the fog having reduced visibility to just a few metres, we slowly negotiated the infamous Bealach na Bà, a winding single-track road through the mountains on the peninsula, considered to be the UK’s greatest (and hairiest) road ascent. I only shrieked a few times as Ash navigated his way down the pass.

The final leg of our road trip saw us leave the North Coast 500 route and continue south towards Fort William where, if the weather had been better, we would have done an ascent of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain at 1,345m above sea level. Unfortunately, the forecast wasn’t great so instead we opted for a hike around Glenfinnan (which is where we caught rainbow after rainbow during our 7-mile walk).

Glenfinnan is also famous for being the site of where Bonnie Prince Charlie began his rebellion uprising in 1745. It’s also the place where the Jacobite steam train (AKA the Hogwarts Express) runs from Fort William to Mallaig, across the viaduct, a marvel of Victorian engineering and now world famous for it’s appearance in the second (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and third, (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) Harry Potter films. As a huge Harry Potter fan this was a real treat.

From there, we headed further south through Glencoe, an immense, isolated and menacing valley, which is a climber’s paradise, and completed our journey with a drive along the shores of Loch Lomond before returning our VW camper van.