Travelling through the seasons

A path leads past a cottage with a red door beside Loch Torridon, with mountains and low clouds reflected in the water.

The North Coast 500 in Spring

March and April offer longer days, open landscapes and the freedom to walk without 'becoming dinner'. The Highland midge generally arrives later in May, so Spring gives you the North Highlands before its smallest and most persistent resident joins the party.

Dunnet Head lighthouse stands silhouetted against orange clouds as the midsummer sun sets over the sea.

Visiting the North Coast 500 in Summer

Around midsummer, darkness never properly arrives in the far north. While most visitors retreat to their accommodation, the beaches empty, the roads quieten and several precious hours remain. Summer rewards those prepared to ignore conventional holiday hours.

A ruined stone cottage stands beside a winding Highland burn, surrounded by russet bracken and golden grasses beneath grey clouds.

Travelling the North Coast 500 in Autumn

Across the northern peatlands, sphagnum, bracken, heather and dwarf trees change at different speeds, turning the landscape from green through gold, copper and rust. Add low sunlight and rainbows, and Autumn transforms the NC500 from the ground upwards.

A road curves beside Loch Glencoul beneath snow-dusted slopes, with low sunlight breaking through clouds.

The North Coast 500 in Winter

Around the winter solstice, the sun rises at about nine and disappears shortly after half past three. Attractions close, roads empty and the Highlands become a landscape of frost, rainbows and extraordinary low light. Winter takes preparation, but it gives something remarkable in return.