NC500 Part 1: Edinburgh to Inverness

Ok are you ready for some road trip fun? Im super excited to share with you the first leg of our NC500 trip where we drove from Edinburgh to Inverness. If you haven’t heard about the NC500, flip back to my last post where i’ve given you a helpful overview. Then buckle up and get ready for sheep, spectacular scenery, and the open, open road!

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Leaving Edinburgh, we took the A9 towards Inverness. No, the shot above isn’t of that road, that road isn’t super interesting so we are going to fast forward there. We stopped along the way at a little town called Pitlochry, which is pretty as can be and has quite a few places that you can stop at for lunch.

 

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Or perhaps a huge donut milkshake – i’m not judging

We also poked our heads into the numerous charity shops and scored a couple of paperbacks to read along the way. The countryside was green and beautiful, and we went through dark and deep forests – at time’s mildly concerned about Birnam Wood…

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English students/teachers should be aware of the significance of that one for a certain King Macbeth. Luckily, these woods weren’t moving.

We followed the A9 pretty much all the way to Inverness and our accommodation. We stayed in an airbnb here and were so sad that it was for only one night! Let me know if you want a recommendation though, it was an incredible old house with a very friendly host.

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When we neared Inverness, the road opened and the landscape grew more wild and rugged and… inhabited by majestic sheep.

Inverness itself is a big town with lots to do both there and in the immediate surroundings. As I said, we were only staying overnight so, as the daylight hours were ridiculously long (sunset around 9.30 anyone?), we decided to take a drive to Loch Ness. Only roughly an hour away, the road is narrow but beautiful, particularly in the golden and sunset hours. There seemed to be only one road in to Fort Augustus from our side of the loch so we weren’t too worried about getting lost – although we did somehow manage to return on a different road to the one we came in on. As long as you follow the road signs to Inverness or Fort Augustus, you should be fine.

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Loch Ness is beautiful and peaceful at dusk. The tour buses have gone and it seems as though it’s just you and Nessie – wherever she may be. The water is dark, almost black, and very still, save for the light ruffling of breezes. We stretched our legs by walking a little way around the shore of the loch and tried to do a bit of monster spotting, before stopping for dinner.

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Maybe I saw something… maybe I didn’t…

There are only a few options for dinner, so don’t expect oodles of choice. If you have special dietary requirements, you should probably bring your own food. After dinner the sun was really starting to set so we walked up the series of locks that control the flow of water down into the big loch. Confusing I know, but it will make sense when you see it.

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Or just look at the pretty sunset

The drive back was a little nerve wracking as it was dark and of course there are no street lights out on the back roads. There are also a number of stretches that are single lane roads, but you will see the headlights of any oncoming traffic long before you need to pull into a passing place. The drive back to Inverness was where we saw some of the most stunning sunsets across smaller lochs. It really gave us a taste for what the rest of Scotland would be like and we were very excited for the next leg of our journey. So are you planning on doing the NC500? Or just reminiscing? If you’re planning, let me know if there are any other details I can help you with by leaving a comment below!

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Here’s one last sunset shot to see you out.

And a little taste of what’s to come: NC500 Leg 2 was the day we drank fancy whisky, ate dirty sandwiches, and got more of an adventure than we bargained for…

What Katie did in Scotland: NC500

Been watching Outlander? Fan of Braveheart? Want to see the iconic bridge that the Hogwarts Express crosses? If so, I think you’re going to love this series of posts! Since visiting briefly ten years ago, Scotland has had a special place in my heart and i’ve been wheeling and dealing to get myself back there. There’s something about the frosty climate that breeds a stoic and welcoming people who have a rich and varied cultural history. There’s a bit more than bagpipes and blood sausage to this country. In this next series of posts, i’m going to share the details of the holiday I just spent in Scotland, specifically something called the NC500 and I hope you enjoy it!

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If you’re from Australia, you will know that the road trip is at the very least, a rite of passage and at the most, a national sport. With the vast distances and incredible landscape between cities, hopping in the car and getting on the road is one of the best ways to see the country. So when we were looking into exploring the Scottish Highlands, we immediately began looking into driving routes.

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The most publicised driving route around the highlands is called the North Coast 500 (NC500) which most people follow in a clockwise direction, beginning in Inverness. We decided to go anti-clockwise because we’re such rebels *cough*not*cough*. No, we actually wanted to end up on the Isle of Arran so it made more sense for us to go this way. For those of you playing along at home, you can see an interactive map here which will help you visualise this whole thing.

Here are the things you need to know before setting off:

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1. The quality of the roads on the NC500 is excellent, but the further north you get, the more single lane roads you will be on. Don’t worry though, the locals know what they’re doing and there are many, many passing places that you can pull into so that oncoming traffic (or those behind you) can pass. You can get away with renting a medium sized car. We got a Ford Kuga which was perfect and had no trouble with some of the steeper roads.


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2. You should see some highland coos, one of the greatest creatures ever created.

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3. You will see lots of sheep, sometimes on the road, sometimes not, sometimes staring off into the distance like a heroic explorer. I’m not sure if this is your thing, but this was one of my favourite things about driving through Scotland!

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4. Unless you’re going to pitch a tent or you’re driving a caravan (and sometimes even then) book your accommodation before you go, otherwise you might end up having to stay in a bothy like the one above! We mostly stayed in airbnbs which were a lot of fun. There are also some excellent hotels that you can stay at if your budget is a bit more generous.

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5. Take your time and keep your camera ready – can you spot the photographer here? It is possible to do the route in a week or so, but why rush it? I could have spent at least an extra day in every place we stayed. Also, you will need time for all the photos you will need to take. I say ‘need’ because the landscape is so unbelievably beautiful you will want to catch every second of it so that you can relive it when you’re stuck at work and everything sucks. P.s. super thanks to my husband who took a lot of the photos i’m going to share with you in this series.

Now that i’ve whetted you’re appetite, are you reading to come along on the NC500? What iconic road trips have you taken or are you planning on taking? Let me know in the comments!

What Katie Did in Japan – Lolita Costume

WARNING! This post contains much more kawaii photos than these cute bunny shoes that I bought on Takeshita St in Harajuku before I went for my Lolita experience. If you can’t handle this, stop reading now.

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The last time I went to Japan was way back in 2007 – not long after Gwen Stefani’s ‘Rich Girl’ came out and Harajuku Girls became a HUGE thing. Did anyone else have one of the Harajuku Lovers perfumes? Go around singing “if I was a rich girl – na na na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaa” (if you are in your late twenties/early thirties and didn’t just sing that in your head I know you’re lying). If you need a little refreshing of your memory, you can listen to the song again over here. The point is, the whole crazy costuming that was popular with young Japanese people had just broken onto the world stage in a huge way. I remember going to the bridge in front of the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku where they were all supposed to hang out for photos and being so disappointed that there were only a hand full of people there. Boo.

What Katie Ate in Japan – An Ode to Japanese Convenience Stores

Let me start this post by saying that I’ve always been a huge fan of Japanese food. One of the most exciting aspects of planning this leg of our trip has been the anticipation of juicy gyoza, fresh sashimi and diabetes-inducing crepes. As money was tight, we tended to eat one meal out each day then forage for other sustenance from the incredibly well stocked convenience stores. This is one wonderful difference between Japan and Australia. In Australia, if you’re going to rely on convenience stores, be prepared to navigate the super unhealthy shelves of donuts, microwave meals, chips and slurpies. Not so in Tokyo! I know how this makes me sound, but I had so much fun looking at the huge array of ready or almost ready made meals that decked the shelves of stores such as Lawsons and Family Mart.

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Also, I feel the need to confess that we basically lived on peach iced tea. These one litre cartons from Lipton were everywhere and came in smaller sizes too. They were so nice because they didn’t seem to have that weird taste that the Australian ones get from replacing sugar with stevia. I’m still not on board the ‘cut all sugar out of your diet because it is the latest way we want to look healthy’ train. We downed cartons of this stuff like it was water. Which might have contributed to the fact that i’m writing this post in my pyjamas because they are the only comfortable stretchy items in my suitcase and everything else is too tight. Hmm.