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.