The first time we ever slept in our van was for our Honeymoon! After having our wedding delayed multiple times, due to the pandemic, we finally got married in May 2021. At this time, the UK was just easing out of the third national lockdown. To put into perspective the measures that were still in place; non-essential shops had only been open for 2 weeks and we were only allowed 15 guests at the wedding (including ourselves). As there were still quite a few restrictions, a more 'traditional' honeymoon was off the table (who needs sun anyway!?).
Fear not! We had an (almost) fully converted van! We decided that as William was almost complete we could use this as our first opportunity to give van life a try, and to check that everything worked in the van as expected. We chose to head north to Scotland and drive the North Coast 500 (NC500). This route starts and ends in Inverness, taking in both the north east and north west coasts of Scotland to the northern tip at John o'Groats.
The day after our wedding, very hungover, we drove home to quickly unload all the wedding decorations and repack our bags to start our journey north. Our first ever overnight stay in the van was on Charlie's sister's driveway in Lancaster (thanks Becky!). We were very grateful for this overnight pitstop, however there were two issues that we soon had to deal with:
Firstly, we realised that William is wider and longer than a car and therefore reversing into a driveway with a wall on either side of the entrance was quite tricky. In the end the cab doors were outside of the driveway, whilst the rest of the van was on the driveway. This meant climbing over the wall was the only way to get to the back of the van!
Secondly, Becky's driveway was far from flat. We didn't really think this would be much of an issue, but it certainly taught us a valuable lesson early on; don't try to sleep on a slope! Our bed goes across the van (driver to passenger side, not nose to tail) which meant that Roxy spent the night braced against the cupboards, trying to hold herself from being pushed out of bed as Charlie rolled towards her. We ordered some chocks the next day.
Having survived the first night on the driveway we continued north towards Inverness to start the NC500.
The Route
In total we spent 5 nights driving the 500 miles, spending three nights in campsites and two nights wild camping.
Day 1
We started the route in a campsite, Beauly Holiday Park, just outside Inverness. Our first stop was Rogie Falls which was a 45 minute drive from the campsite. This was a lovely spot for a short walk around the falls. It was really interesting to see the salmon ponds (although we didn't actually see any fish!) and we loved the suspension bridge across the river. We then drove to Chanonry Point to try a bit of dolphin watching and although we did see a few in a distance, the only picture we got was the seagull who landed on our roof! Our last stop was Tarbat Ness lighthouse where we managed to fly our drone for a few minutes, before the winds picked up too much. We ended the day parked up in a carpark (glamorous!) not far from Tain train station.
Day 2
We started the day with a short drive to Dunrobin Castle where we walked around the grounds. Then we drove to The Hill O' Many Stanes. We were very surprised at just how close you can park to the stones; we spent 5-10 minutes putting on layer after layer, only to discover that it was a 2 minute walk to see the stones from the parking space outside! Next we went to Camster Cairns which are two large Neolithic chambered cairns dating back 5,000 years. Unfortunately they were closed due to Covid, but we were still able to walk around them, and even managed to fly the drone again.
We stopped for lunch in Wick, then made our way to John o'Groats to see the famous sign. We found out that John o'Groats isn't actually the northernmost point of mainland Britain, it's actually the northernmost end of the longest distance between two inhabited points on mainland Britain, but that's much more of a mouthful so say! We also stopped off at Duncansby head to see if we could spot some Puffins (we didn't, but it was a beautiful walk nonetheless). Our final stop for the day was Dunnet Head, which is actually the northernmost point of mainland Britain. Here we enjoyed another lovely walk around the lighthouse before heading to Dunnet Bay Caravan Park for the night.
Day 3
We started the day by hopping across the road to Dunnet Bay Distillery, the northernmost distillery in mainland Britain. Luckily for us, as non-whiskey drinkers, they distil delicious vodka's and gin's! Charlie obviously got far too excited by this and spent a small fortune in their shop. They were also kind enough to give us a small bottle of vodka and mixer as a honeymoon gift! The next few stops we enjoyed some short walks along Thurso beach, Farr Beach and Tongue viewpoint. We then stopped at Smoo Cave. This is definitely worth a visit if you are doing the NC500. The waterfall that flows into the cave is pretty cool! Our camping spot for the night was one of our favourites of the trip. We found a spot somewhere along the road between Sarsgrum and Rhiconich, which had an awesome view across the valley towards the snow-capped mountains.
Day 4
We woke on this morning with the brilliant idea of trying out our battery powered shower. Safe to say this was not a pleasant experience in only 5 degrees. As we have no hot water system on board we had to boil the kettle several times to warm the water. However, the wind blowing through the shower tent meant that the water was cold before it hit our skin. We drove for a few hours stopping in Kylesku. We drove a bit more and then started to get cabin fever, so we decided to set off on a long walk in search of a waterfall. We were unsuccessful, but the views were amazing nonetheless.
We drove a little further, then stopped off at Stoer Lighthouse for another short walk before heading to Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve where we spent some time looking around their outdoor geology exhibits. We finished the day with a meal out at The Seaforth in Ullapool where we enjoyed some delicious fish and chips. Our camping spot for the night was along the edge of Dundonnell River where we were lucky enough to see a family of wild deer.
Day 5
Our first stop of the day was one of our highlights of the trip, The Falls of Measach. This is a stunning waterfall which you can cross using a Victorian suspension bridge (not for those
with a fear of heights!). We then stopped in Aultbea where we bought some lunch from a local store before heading to Poolewe where we learnt about Loch Ewe's Naval history. This was our final stop before heading back towards Inverness. It was this section of the trip where we experienced the best/worst section of road on the NC500. It's a section which is compared to the alps; think steep roads and hairpin turns. Roxy was driving at this point and refused to look out at the view until we go to the bottom of the mountain! After our hearts finally stopped racing (Roxy's took a lot longer than Charlie's!) we were rewarded by FINALLY seeing some Highland Cow's (Charlie's favourite!). The next morning we decided to stretch our legs with a walk to Inverness Castle before our 11 hour drive back to Bristol.
Final thoughts
The NC500 is stunning. The scenery is spectacular, the roads are fun drive and the Scottish laws allowing wild camping make it even more special. We woke up and swung the back doors open onto some incredible views.
As we mentioned, there were still Covid restrictions in place when we went, meaning that very few shops, cafe's, pubs, attractions etc. were open, but the scenery is so good that you don't need these things. The lack of people also meant that there weren't many other vehicles on the route (we have heard since then that it has been VERY busy). However, the roads are very well designed, so even though they were often single track roads, there are passing places every 100m or so. Had it been busier whilst we were there, we still don't think there would have been many issues driving the narrow and windy roads. The passing spots are also marked with tall posts, so you can easily see where the next spot is, if you see a car approaching.
We would both highly recommend the route, however, give yourselves more than 5 days to do it. 100 miles of driving per day doesn't seem like a lot, but the roads are not quick and the scenery is too good to simply drive past. When we get the chance we will definitely be doing the route again, but giving ourselves much longer to enjoy it.
As well as celebrating our honeymoon, we wanted to do this trip to test the van and it's functionality. It certainly worked as there were a few things we realised needed changing before setting off on our European tour. These included:
Hooks for coats etc. when coming in from the rain (obviously it rained a lot in Scotland, and this was a big problem)
A rug to help keep our feet off of the cold lino floor
Better storage solutions for our crockery and food shelves. A few things fell out when we went round some hairpin turns!
A more robust, locking, drawer for our camping toilet to fit onto (it fell out a couple of times, thankfully empty!!).
Finally, here are some more photos of the trip. The ducks were a gift from Charlie's family and made a number of appearances throughout the trip, they still sit in the cab to this day!
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