Our trip began in Edinburgh, a city we also happened to visit during Fringe Festival. I won’t recommend accommodation, as I wouldn’t personally stay there again but that is sometimes the downside of a budget..

We set off to see the sights, starting with Circus Lane, St. Bernard’s Well, and Dean’s Bridge. All were close together and connected by a beautiful walkway. Next, we visited the Vennel Viewpoint and Victoria Street, which reminded me of One Day and Harry Potter! I loved it! Then, we headed to dinner. Since we were short on time, we decided to go to Edinburgh Street Food. We’ve found that during travel, markets work well because we can both get what we want instead of trying to pick one thing we both want.

After exploring the sights and savouring the food, it was time for a show! We headed to Shamilton, a comedy, musical improv show that’s different every night. The crowd gets to choose the celebrity they want to be the main character, and then they improvise a show based on that celebrity in the style of Hamilton, with music and a storyline. For us, the celebrity was Liz Truss, which made for an interesting show with many references to the cabbage and, well, some other descriptive words, one of which had a C. The cast did an incredible job; we laughed and were entertained the whole time, and even Harry enjoyed it! To round out the night, we finished at a wine bar called Spry Wines, where we had a lovely orange wine before heading back to our humble abode.

Before embarking on our NC500 adventure, we ensured we got our daily steps in by climbing Arthur’s Seat. And boy, were we glad we did! On a beautiful day, we were rewarded with breathtaking 360-degree views of the city. We highly recommend making this trip!

The North Coast 500

Day two of the NC500 started off well with explore to top of Scotland going for a walk to the light house and Duncansby Stacks.

From there, we continued along the coastline, making significant progress from John O’Groats to Ullapool. We were optimistic about hiking the next day, but the storm had other plans. Since we hadn’t booked accommodation, we had a wild camping spot in mind and set off on a 7-hour journey. I wouldn’t recommend taking our route, as the driving was quite long and involved narrow lanes with many side banks to pull into when the road narrowed to a single lane. We stopped off at Durness Beach to admire the beautiful coastline before continuing on our way. As we entered the Highlands, we were treated to breathtaking views.

Highland Cows

We took a little detour for our lunch break, heading to Oldshoremore. There, we passed the beautiful Highland cows, which was a silly but still a highlight! We had a cook-up and then went for our first ocean swim of the trip. It was a bit chilly, but very needed to break up the day!

Beware of the Midges

Stormy Skye

Getting drenched, we stumbled upon the best and cutest cafe in Skye, Birch. What else can you do in a storm? We stayed for a while before realising we couldn’t see or explore much in Skye and started to head back. As we headed into the storm, we were held up for two hours in the car as multiple caravans tipped over due to the storm. Thankfully, we got out okay and had lunch in the car before heading to Oban.

Oban – our last stop in Scotland!

After getting in late to Oban in the evening, we finally had to indulge in some Scottish fish and chips. We visited The Oban Fish & Chip Shop, and it was by far the best fish and chips we’ve ever had! We stayed at the Oban Backpackers, which was well-set up and comfortable. After a couple of long days, we finished the evening at Wetherspoons. Oban turned out to be a delightful surprise at the end of our trip, with its charming fishing town vibe. It’s definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Scotland.

Scottish Takeaways

• Visit Scotland in Spring!
• Midges are no joke
• The Fringe Festival is incredible!! So thrilled we managed to go.
• Edinburgh is also a must visit
• Wild Camping is great in theory – unless you’re out hiking book accommodation.
• Take the NC500 slower than what we did
• Enjoy the fish and chips
• Try Irn-bru