Scotland and England: North Coast 500, Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye

Eleven nights from the Peak District or London to the far north of Scotland and back, taking in the North Coast 500 and Skye. Riders bring their own bike, or hire one from London.

The Forest of Bowland opens it, then the Lake District, running the length of Windermere and Thirlmere to Derwentwater, and on to Edinburgh. Perth follows, the original Scottish capital, then the Cairngorms, the largest national park in Britain, and down to Loch Ness.

The North Coast 500 is the centrepiece, a circuit of the northern Highlands of roughly five hundred miles that has been called Scotland’s answer to Route 66 since it was branded a decade ago, and which runs out to John o’Groats by way of castles and narrow coastal causeways. The traffic it has attracted is real, but so is the scenery, and in May or September it still feels empty.

The West Coast Drive then leads to Skye, with the island circuit, the Cuillin, which are the most serious mountains in Britain, Dunvegan Castle, held by the same family for eight hundred years and the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland, and the Talisker distillery. The route returns south through the northern English national parks and over the Cat and Fiddle, among the best known biking roads in England. The price is quoted per rider. Eleven nights is enough to ride the 500 without rushing it and still include Skye, which a shorter Scottish tour generally cannot manage. The run up through the Lake District and the Cairngorms at the start also means the trip is good riding from the first morning rather than a motorway slog to reach the good bit.