North Coast 500

The route was launched in 2015 by a development body which strung together existing roads into a signed loop of about eight hundred and thirty kilometres from Inverness up the east coast to John o' Groats, along the north coast to Durness and down the west through Assynt, Torridon and Applecross. The roads themselves are old, many of them single track with passing places, and the Bealach na Ba over Applecross climbs to 626 metres with hairpins and gradients around one in five, the greatest ascent of any road climb in Britain. The branding worked, arguably too well: visitor numbers rose sharply, and pressure on single-track roads, passing places, verges, waste facilities and small communities has become a genuine local issue that residents raise regularly.

What you actually see

• Bealach na Ba - Britain's greatest road ascent, on hairpins to 626 metres.
• The Assynt coast - isolated mountains rising from a lochan-scattered plateau.
• The north coast beaches - Durness, Balnakeil and Sandwood on the Sutherland shore.
• The single-track roads - passing-place driving for much of the western half.

When to go

May to September for daylight and open facilities; May and September avoid both the worst midges and the heaviest traffic. Winter driving is possible but many businesses close and conditions on the passes are hard.

Honest expectations

Passing-place etiquette is not optional and poor driving causes real friction locally; verge parking, wild camping without facilities and speeding are the main complaints from residents. Fuel stations are far apart and close early. Accommodation books months ahead in summer. Bealach na Ba is unsuitable for large vehicles and closes in snow.

Nearby

Inverness is the start and end; Torridon, Assynt and Durness are on the route.