Thanks for replies. I have just joined .
I have a swb Citroën Relay, which is predominantly my work van which I am in the process of making a bit more comfortable for our trip.
Having seen a few videos on YouTube of the NC 500 we can't wait to go.
You'll love it ... clockwise or anticlockwise is a matter of choice, both have their advantages ... clockwise going up the west coast lets you see a lot of the shoreline that you'd maybe not see as well in the opposite direction. IMHO the west coast is without doubt the bonniest so I like going up that way.
If you have a map, there are a multitude of wee unclassified roads which take you through some stunning beauty spots, but I'll leave you to find your own "special places" ... just last year I found a road I'd never driven and it was overwhelmingly bonnie.
Travelling the east coast has many small harbours, many are very pretty and quite isolated and always worth investigating ... there was a thread recently on here which mentions Lybster and Latheronwheel.
Across the top, has a number of places also worth visiting (Smoo caves etc.)
I live just north of Perth and my holiday doesn't start until I'm well past Inverness if going anti-clockwise. However, when going the other way I'm on holiday a few minutes after leaving the house!
I won't even hazard a guess at what you might like so I won't make any effort to advise on what to see, where to go except ... Driving up the Bealach na' Ba (Gaelic for Pass of the cattle) from Kishorn (excellent sea-food restaurant here, but don't blink or you'll miss it) to Applecross is heart stopping for the passenger, I've met a few tourists who's wife has said they aint driving back
THAT way! ... there are some serious tight bends and views down into the valley. Applecross has toilets and 24hrs fuel (expensive) and there is very highly spoken off food available in the Applecross Inn ... Drive a further 5 miles or so along from the inn and you will get to Toscaig pier. Bonnie stopover worthy of a night or two.
Or, once at Applecross, turn right and head up the coast. The photos above were taken quite a bit up there somewhere. As you meander along, eventually you will make it to Durness. A few miles before Durness is a spot I like to stop at (you won't miss it if your eyes are open) and in Durness itself there's the shopping mall (Spar) with toilets beside the shop. Ignore those toilets and drive a little further along the road where you will see a campsite on your left (the one that is free of charge over winter) ... watch out for a brown building set back a little off the road and pull in there for toilets ... HOT WATER and clean loos.
If I carried on, I'd need a couple of days to type up some of my favourites, but, I prefer to simply whet your appetite and let you discover it all for yourself.
One thing I often suggest (actually I harp on about it an awful lot) is consider becoming a geocacher (is great for kids too) ... have a look at geocaching.com and you can either join for free or as a premium member. Geocaching will help you to discover many places that you never knew existed (there aren't very many on the west coast) and to be honest, the first time I traveled my favourite west coast route after becoming a geocacher I found places that I'd driven past many times without knowing they were there.
There are so many threads on here with information with regards to the highlands and the islands that you can probably start now and still be reading more by the time you are ready to leave, it really is that glorious.
Most important, enjoy yourself/selves.
