One Girl and a Van

Jan 28, 202211 min read

NC500, here I come...

Updated: Jun 16, 2022

Vanlife Road Trip - Part 11: NC500 East Coast

10 - 13 September 2021

I had been on the road 'up north' for 90 days and it was finally time to head to the famous NC500 route. After nearly two glorious weeks exploring Burghead and the local area with my chums, it was with a heavy heart that I set off and headed towards Inverness and on to Golspie, to meet back up with George.

The drive along the A96 and then on to the A9 was beautiful; the sun was setting over the sea, and I continued my search for a dolphin playing in the tide, as I travelled over the vast bridges spanning the Moray and Cromarty Firth. I arrived at The Mound in the dark and was relieved to find George there waiting... We found this park up on Park4Night, but as work was being undertaken at the carpark we decided to move on to Golspie.

Just outside of the quaint village there is a small carpark next to the road, where you can stay overnight and enjoy the picturesque 'Big Burn' walk. This is a short circular walk taking in pretty woodlands, a flowing burn, rustic seats (perfect for picnics), quirky troll infested (in my mind) footbridges, a looming dark gorge and a stunning waterfall. The footpath leads you over various walkways and bridges spanning the burn, the towering mossy gorge walls hug the pathway at points and you feel as if you need to tip toe silently through this epic landscape so as not to disturb the fairy tale creatures who live here. Eventually you come to an offshoot from the main path that leads you to a viewing platform at the foot of the plunging falls. Before you even get to the end of the platform you can hear the roar of the water rushing over the rocks and gorge walls as it makes its way to the ravine below.

Unfortunately, the fall isn't accessible for a swim, so after a few photos we continued the walk up the side of the waterfall to loop back on the higher path to the old skating pond. The pond, once used for skating, is now adorned with lily pads and pondlife, there are gorgeous sitting areas dotted around (there's a little loop you can walk) where you can sit quietly under the canopy of trees and watch the birds flit around, hunting out tasty morsels. From here we returned to the van down a steep hill to the initial 'Big Burn' path, over the little foot bridges, where I would sing the Troll Song, and under the arch of the railway bridge near the start of the walk.

We chilled at the carpark for two nights, as it was a bit damp, and semi planned our route north. From Golspie we continued just up the road to Dunrobin Castle for a morning stroll around the outside of the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. We wanted to go in but it was too expensive, so we enjoyed the lovely walk that takes in the woods and seafront vista surrounding this great house. I peered through the gates at the bottom of the formal gardens, like a little homeless orphan, dreaming of the treasures and magical world beyond the vast metal barrier. Even from outside the fortified gardens the view of the house was pretty special, and you could imagine grand parties taking place with guests arriving in fancy carriages and sipping fizz pop in the extensive gardens as a string quartet played in the background. I know; I'm a secret romantic! After dreaming of fancy parties and canapes, I decided to do a little ballet on a random hay bale, before we mooched back to the carpark and on to our third spot for the day...

Bora Bora; ok it's not called that; it's actually called Brora, and it's the home of our first NC500 beach. Now, if you've ever thought 'Scottish beaches? Oh no, they'll be cold, exposed and far too rugged to enjoy', then you would be unbelievably wrong! Don't tell a sole, but Northern Scotland beaches are even better than Cornish beaches... shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

So, the plan was to surf at Bora Bora and after a bit of a struggle to find a car parking space, we managed to park next to the river on the opposite side to the lovely sandy beach... It was Sunday, so we had our pancake breakfast and watched the tides, before struggling in to our wetsuits, grabbing our boards and debating the best way to cross the rather icky smelling river. The tide was out and although there was still water in the river, it was definitely more muddy, slimy, seaweed infested bog, than nice clean floaty river. As the official chief tester and health and safety officer, in I plunged to the mud; quickly getting on to my belly to swim over the river avoiding touching any suspicious objects under the water's surface. George, despite having a perfectly floatable surfboard; screamed, panicked and splashed her way across, probably getting wetter and in more of a state than if she had just lay on her board and kicked her way over!

The beach is 2 miles long and sandy, with a cluster of rocks near the river's mouth and shingly on the side where we had parked the vans. The area is well documented for its wildlife, but once again there were no Scottish beasties out to play. After the dramatic river crossing, we walked up the beach, totally looking like surfer pros, with our boards tucked under our wetsuit clad armpits, and found a good break to surf. The water was cool but not cold and there was a lovely clean two to three foot surf. We paddled out, had a play, caught some waves and then decided to head back in as as there was quite a strong rip current near by. We parked (ok not a surf term!) the surfboard and grabbed the belly board to play in shallower water away from the rip. The waves were perfect for my belly board and we caught some epic waves and some fun footage on my new GoPro (thank you again to everyone who helped me buy it), before we clambered out of the surf and chilled on the beach for a while watching another surfer. The tide was coming in fast, so we grabbed our kit in preparation for another fun river crossing!! This time, George paddled her board over with my stuff on top and I just swam; so much easier! Back at the van it was time for our first outdoor shower with the Karcher. It worked rather well as a shower, and despite the odd looks we were attracting standing in our bikinis at the back of the van with a pressure washer, we felt so much cleaner again and ready for the rest of our day...

From Brora we continued north towards Wick, the epic coast line to our right, with castles and brochs dotted along the rugged cliffs and sandy shores. This stretch is full of history, from the Iron Age Ousdale Broch to the 17th Century Dunbeath Castle, and from the Neolithic Standing Stone at Latheron to the Whaligoe Steps, used to heave herring up the 76m high cliff face. The area is absolutely stunning and we really didn't have chance to thoroughly embrace all the history at hand. I'd love to return and visit all these amazing sites... In fact, there is a brilliant interactive map created by the Caithness Broch Project, that is certainly worth checking out for ideas of places of interest to visit on this stretch (and beyond) of the NC500.

We had planned to end the day in Wick, but after an intense, fun day, I was exhausted, and by Lybster I could feel the tiredness starting to encroach on my driving. I had read that you could stay overnight at Lybster Harbour, so I indicated right and pulled over at the entrance to this pretty village. George accused me of just pulling over because there was a field of Highland Coos, but I was definitely tired and they were an added bonus! I said hello to the coos and we popped in to the church grounds to see The Lybster Stone, a Pictish stone carving believed to have been a baptismal font, before mooching down the steep hill, past an epic waterfall to the harbour. There were already vans settled for the evening and the fisherman were finishing up after a busy day at sea; we got chatting to the van next door and admiring their giant crabs from the local fishermen costing a whole £5!! The local swim group were preparing for a dip and we debated joining them, but I was hungry so that was the first port of call... Unfortunately, we had missed getting hold of bargain fish from the fishermen - must arrive earlier next time!

It was wonderful at the harbour and a great spot for the night. I had coffee in bed with the back doors open, feeling as if I may fall out in to the water, and after breakfast we had a bimble around, chatted to some more vanlifers and filled up our water for a bargain donation of £5 (pretty cheap for an awesome night's park up and water).

Next stop Whaligoe Steps...

OK, if you are planning to visit this well known NC500 tourist spot, be aware that there are absolutely no signs for it!! Before we knew it, we were at Tesco in Wick town centre and hadn't even glimpsed a steep rock carved staircase... We decided we couldn't be bothered to drive back again, so grabbed some groceries and mooched on up to view a lighthouse engine house for sale... well we could dream! After strolling around the lighthouse at Noss Head, and imagining living on this breath taking stretch of coast, we headed along the cliff tops taking in the wonderful rock formations around the Cove of Barberry - where I thought it would be fun to stand on a narrow rock overhanging over the sea - before we headed back to the carpark to drop off the dogs and then visit Castle Sinclair Girnigoe.

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is a proper castle! Yes it's rather in ruins, but you can tell that it would have been quite a sight back in the 1600s, especially after the Sinclair's 'modernised' the original fortifications of Castle Girnigoe, originally built in the 1300s. The castle sits precariously on top the crumbling cliffs, with strange imposing rock stacks jutting out of the sea, and the remains of the harbour far below the castle walls. We scrambled down to the rock stacks and debated jumping across to see them up close, but the tide was coming in fast, so after a good nosey around the castle, we retreated back to the van and on our merry way we trundled.

We were having some long driving days on this coast, and, to be honest, if I was coming here again, I would do this section far slower... I think everyone is so set on making it to John O'Groats and on to the West Coast as fast as possible (as were we), that we have all been missing out on how stunning and interesting the East Coast actually is. The beaches aren't as big and sandy as on the North Coast and the mountains aren't towering over the weaving single track roads like the West, but this coast line is definitely not to be missed. It's certainly worth the time to take the slow road and enjoy all the quaint harbours, the vast array of castles, the Pictish Trail and the many pretty beaches (with great surf) on offer.

However, today we were whizzing north to Duncansby Head and the home of the famous Duncansby Stacks. On the drive, we glimpsed Sinclair's Bay, it's sandy beach inviting us to explore and the dunes begging to be sand boarded down. We passed brochs and castles, and drove across open moorland coloured by the purple heathers and could see the Orkney Islands poking out of the sea in the distance. It reminded me of Exmoor, where you drive from Porlock to Lynton, well, apart from the castles!

To get to Duncansby Stacks, you head right just before John O'Groats along a pretty single track road to Duncansby Head Lighthouse. Here there's a carpark, but when we arrived it was absolutely rammed! After a 12 point turn, we headed back down the steep hill, avoiding ramblers, sheep and drivers unable to reverse, and found a little grassy pull in near the footpath to the Bay of Sannick (more on that in a bit). A fab spot to park with incredible views, but not suitable for anyone who can't drive, doesn't want to damage their sportscar or is afraid of getting stuck in the mud! Fortunately I just throw Buttercup around, take her over dodgy ground often, have chunky tyres on and rescue mats for worst case situations!

From this spot, we turned around and headed across the fields, pass the inquisitive grazing sheep, and up to the coast path, to join the other tourists on the stroll to the Stacks. As you reach the steep craggy cliffs, you are first rewarded with views of the Geo of Sclaites, a large crevice cut out by the sea (rather impressive and a bit intimidating), then there is a lone standing stack known as the Knee (I assume for it's slightly knobbly knee like appearance?!), and finally there is one more large stack attached to the main cliff with a huge arch at its base, known as Thirle Door. Next you climb a final little incline where the two huge Stacks of Duncansby rise out of the water, huge sandstone pyramids looking like a film set from the Lost World or some other fantasy movie... You expect to see Pterodactyls flying overhead, but instead the landscape is awash with more modern birdlife, in their hundreds, nesting and visiting these majestic rock formations. To see the Stacks in photos, you just can't even begin to appreciate their raw beauty and sheer size. The rugged landscape has been carved out by the wild North Sea over the past 400 million years; creating breath taking natural features all along this coast and, in my opinion, Duncansby Stacks are quite possible the best example of this geological marvel.

After enjoying the awe inspiring views from the cliff tops, we made our way back to the vans, grabbed our swim stuff and plodded across the underused footpath to the Bay of Sannick for an early evening dip... Now, I'm not sure I really want to share this with you dear readers, as it was quite possibly the nicest beach I'd ever visited and now I'm worried everyone will flood there! The bay opens up below you in a crescent moon, the pale sand barely touched by humans and the only living creatures to be seen were 7 seals just enjoying an evening fish and swim a short way from the shoreline. We slid down the dunes to the lush soft sand and debated if it was safe to head in with the seals not far out. We decided we would keep a good distance from them to avoid scaring them or causing any issues, and after a quick change we were in. The sea felt amazing; it was warm (well I thought it was warm!) and sandy underfoot, with some large rocks just under the surface dotted around to perch and dive from. The seals were rather excited to have some friends and they floated closer to see what these strange creatures were up to, I decided I could clearly talk to seals and started having very interesting conversations with them!

We swam and played in this lush water for ages; every so often George would have one of her funny moments as something brushed her foot (I find this hysterical - just look at her face!), but eventually it was time to get out and say goodbye to our new chums, and this little slice of Scottish paradise.

Our final journey for the day was to drive back along the narrow road to John O'Groats and join the millions (OK, more like 50-70) of motorhomes parked up at the famous signpost at the top of the UK. It's actually not the most northern point like many believe, but it does hail the end of the epic Lands End to John O'Groats challenge, that thousands complete every year, and it's also the site of a very pretty harbour and gorgeous views out to Stroma and Orkney. We enjoyed the sun setting over the sea and climbed in to the van for some dinner and a well deserved rest after another fantastic stage of our adventure.