HIGHLAND FLING

After our short but enjoyable road trip to the mountains and valleys of Wales back in September 2020 (as featured in the September 2021 issue of MiniWorld) we wanted more and started thinking ahead to the next trip. I have visited Scotland a few times, as we have family there, so I know how good some of the roads are. I had never been there in my Mini and I had never been to the very top of Scotland.

The North Coast 500 is a 500-mile route around the very top of Scotland, starting and ending in Inverness and traditionally going clockwise across to the west coast then up along the north coast and back down the east side to Inverness. The route has grown in popularity in the last few years with petrol heads looking for great driving roads and tourists just wanting to enjoy the scenery, especially with the recent travel restrictions making travel abroad more difficult.

My dad, Derek, and I began planning the trip and took some advice from my sister, Gemma, and brother-in-law, Calum, who live just south of Inverness so knew the area and the ideal time for us to go. They suggested May, early June or late September as the route is likely to be quieter and we would miss the legendary Scottish midges.

We decided on late May and also planned to do the route anti-clockwise for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we thought there may be less traffic travelling in the anti-clockwise direction to hold us up and we were told that the scenery on the west coast was the most impressive so wanted to save that until the latter part of the trip.