Scotland

North Coast

Lithic

Isolated

Maritime

Inverness, Scotland ❘ Faba-Photography/Getty Images

Dunrobin Castle ❘ Paul Wordingham/Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0 Deed

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A road trip full of Stone Age relics, Neolithic history, and seaside drama.

On the archipelago of Orkney, you’ll find dramatic bluffs, a selection of Neolithic structures, and colonies of seals splayed on seaside rocks.

The cliffs of the rocky coast in the north of Scotland, which drop off suddenly to expansive ocean vistas, can make you feel as if you’ve reached the edge of the Earth. The best way to take in those misty views and most remote bits of Scotland’s landscape is by driving (or biking!) the winding roads of the North Coast 500. This loop route passes some of the country’s most secluded beaches, nautical towns, ancient ruins, and herds of mop-headed highland cattle.

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Inverness is an excellent place to begin, and it’s one of Scotland’s most underappreciated cities. Here you can walk along the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness—in fact, Nessie’s home is just a half-hour drive away. You can also explore the quiet and lush Ness Islands, where a fallen tree has been turned into a sculpture of the legendary cryptid. Or walk deeper into the city toward the Old High Church, whose graveyard (or “Kirkyard”) was the site of a mass slaughter of Jacobites after their defeat by English forces in 1746. Shake off the weight of that history—or burrow deeper into it—at Leakey’s, a used bookshop adjacent to the church. In this beloved Inverness fixture, you can find antiquarian treasures or just a good read for your coming trip.

Carn Liath Broch ❘ David Lyons/Alamy

If you travel clockwise from Inverness, you’ll quickly pass into Sutherland. Here lies Carn Liath, a rare surviving example of a Stone Age dwelling called a broch. Today, its remains look a bit like a sunken living room, walled off by stones and built into a lush coastal hill. You can also visit the Dunrobin Castle in Golspie, where (between April and October) a tour includes an introduction to falconry.

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Along the northern coast, the route also offers access to one of Scotland’s hidden wonders: the archipelago of Orkney off the country’s northernmost tip. There you’ll find dramatic bluffs, a selection of Neolithic structures, and colonies of seals splayed on seaside rocks. After returning on the ferry, drive westward to Smoo Cave, with a subterranean waterfall. Finally, at the southwest edge of the loop is the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve, full of mountains with knobby tops and mostly treeless trails offering unobstructed views.

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To complete North Coast 500, you’ll need to learn to drive on the left side of the road (if you’re not already acquainted), and it’s best to familiarize yourself with “passing places,” which are designated spots on narrow country roads where drivers pull over to let oncoming traffic pass. In the highlands, take note: A friendly wave on these roads is pretty much required.