Stops Worth Making on the North Coast 500
The North Coast 500 is one of the great road trips, and the best of it is in the stops along the way. From beaches and bridges to castles and cliff-top stairways, these are the places worth pulling over for.
Curated and written by Hidden Scotland
Updated 23 September 2026.
The North Coast 500 is one of the great road trips in the world, and the mistake most people make is not stopping enough. There are beaches at the end of a walk, bridges that curve out over the sea, castles on the cliffs and a stairway cut into the rock down to an old harbour. The drive is wonderful, but the stops are the point.
We've rounded up our favourite places to pull over along the route. A few of them are worth a whole afternoon.
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