Notes From The Travel Journal--North Coast 500 Part Two

We spent two nights at The Torridon Hotel, our longest stay on the drive, which we were grateful for as we adjusted to Scottish time and eased into vacation mode. There was lots to discover in the area and after a great night's sleep, we headed off to Sheldaig to catch our morning boat cruise with Torridon Sea Tours. Ken and Gemma welcomed us aboard the perfect little boat and with only 4 other guests, we got underway amidst the bright blue sky and sunshine.

We spotted some seals, an elusive sea eagle, a silly sheep on an island, a daring rock climber and the most beautiful stretch of blue water framed by mountains. Ken gave us some geological info but I would be hard pressed to regurgitate any of that at this point other than to say that the rocks were all quite old. Ha! They also served tea and biscuits on our way back to shore which Simon really got a kick out of.

During the afternoon, we explored two trails at the nearby Beinn Eigh Nature Reserve, delighting in more stunning views before stuffing our faces at The Torridon's pub, enjoying our third sticky toffee pudding of the trip (obsessed), and tucking in before hitting the pavement for the third day of our journey!

Notes From The Travel Journal--North Coast 500 Part One

Apparently and sort of unintentionally, 2016 was the year of the trip. Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica and finally Scotland! I'm grateful that we were able to jaunt away so often and to such amazing destinations.

Scotland proved no exception. We had heard about this "new" driving route around the northernmost Highlands, the North Coast 500. It was advertised as tiny roads through fields, mountains, and lakes, and I knew this was right up my alley. Then one of Simon's co-workers did it, reporting that of all the many places she has traveled, this was by far the beautiful. Sold! We booked the trip in August, scrambling a bit to pull it all together for our late September departure.

The first 5 days of our adventure included 598 miles of left side of the road driving, 8 hikes, 6 sticky toffee puddings, 2 castles, 1 wedding anniversary, a million sheep, and over 600 photos. We set out from Logan Airport on an overnight plane to Dublin, quick connection to Edinburgh, and train to Inverness where we crashed for a night, grabbed our rental car and hit the road.

We learned quickly what sort of natural eye candy we were in for. Our first day of driving included an easy hike at Roggie Falls followed by traversing the Bealach na Ba, a mountainous pass famous for its windy, narrow, cliffside road. We drove it. Bikers biked it because apparently they were insane. Stunning views from the top then we cruised into Applecross for a beer at the Inn and more beautiful vistas on the drive to our destination for our first two nights on the NC 500, The Torridon Hotel.