North Coast 500

Ten nights round the North Coast 500, self-guided, from Inverness, with a Highland experience of the guest’s choosing included.

Ten nights is a generous allocation for a five-hundred-mile loop and the right one: the roads are single-track for long stretches, the passing-place etiquette slows everything down, and the point is to stop.

Inverness opens it, then two nights in Wester Ross, which takes in the Bealach na Ba to Applecross, the steepest ascent in Britain, and Inverewe Gardens, where the Gulf Stream supports plants that have no business growing at that latitude. Ullapool follows for two, then Durness for two by way of the Assynt mountains, which stand as isolated peaks rather than a range, and Achmelvich Bay. Thurso and the far north come next for two nights, then Dornoch with Dunrobin Castle nearby, and the return to Inverness.

Ten nights of hand-picked en-suite accommodation, a Scottish breakfast daily, the personalised itinerary and pre-travel pack, a digital route map, a complimentary Highland experience such as a wildlife cruise or a distillery tour, ten days of car hire with comprehensive insurance and a personal travel specialist are all included. The price shown is per person. May to September is the window, since the Bealach na Ba closes in snow and the midges on the west coast peak in high summer. Eleven days makes this the most unhurried version of the route in this database, and the two-night stays at four of the five bases are what make that work: the loop can be driven in four days and is considerably better at ten.