North Coast 500 facts for kids
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Quick facts for kids Route information |
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| Length | 516 mi (830 km) |
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| Tourist loop | |
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| Primary destinations: |
Inverness, Lochcarron, Applecross, Gairloch, Ullapool, Lochinver, Durness, Thurso, John o' Groats, Wick, Helmsdale, Dornoch, Invergordon, Dingwall, Castletown |
| Road network | |
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The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile (830 km) scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. The route is also known as the NC500 and was launched in 2015, linking many features in the north Highlands of Scotland in one touring route.
The route has increased visitor numbers to parts of the north of Scotland, which has brought economic benefits to some areas. The increase in traffic has also led to more instances of bad and dangerous driving, as well as damage to the roads and concerns about the environmental impact.
Route
The route runs through the traditional counties of Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness.
Working clockwise, the route starts at Inverness and runs via Muir of Ord, Applecross (including the Bealach na Bà), Gairloch, Ullapool, Scourie, Durness, Castle of Mey, Thurso, John o' Groats, Wick, Dunrobin Castle, Dingwall then back to Muir of Ord and Inverness. The route of the North Coast 500 takes in many areas of the North Highland Way, a walking route along Scotland's North Coast.
History
The North Coast 500 was launched in March 2015 by the Tourism Project Board of the North Highland Initiative (NHI), in an attempt to work with all aspects of the tourism sector to bring unified benefits to businesses across the route. It was identified that a gap existed in the market within the North Highlands for a tourism offering that included each county of the area (Caithness, Sutherland & Ross-shire) and that the North Coast 500 would address that. The initiative was supported by Visit Scotland and Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE).
In 2015, the route was named fifth in the "Top 5 Coastal Routes in the World" listing by Now Travel Magazine. It has been described as "Scotland's Route 66".
The NC500 is also regarded as a challenge for endurance cyclists. In August 2015, Mark Beaumont established the record for the 516 mile route, completing it in 37 hours and 58 minutes. After others improved his time, Beaumont reclaimed the record in September 2022, finishing in 28 hours and 35 minutes.
