We are so happy to have moved to Scotland , and are now part of the Advantures family.
We know that a lot of you are wanting to carry out the pilgrimage to the North Coast 500 - but we wanted in some of our posts, to share what else there is on offer, and show you that there is so much more.
Don't get me wrong there are some spectacular locations and amazing beaches to see. But great marketing and FOMO ( fear of missing out ) might mean that you just do that.
So what can we tell you about it!
Initially, let's share some of our recommended places to see and what you could experience whilst visiting this part of Scotland.
The Whisky Trail
If you are a lover of Scotch you may already know all about this, but if you dont then here goes. The Malt Whisky Trail is the ultimate Scotch experience. A partnership of nine whisky destinations, all of them based in the heart of malt whisky country in Speyside. With trips from 2 days to a whole week, why not hire Cooper or Sheila to work your way around some of the finest distilleries we have to offer, you can find out more here
The Dramathon
Taking Scotch to the next level you can add this to your visit where you get to run the distilleries.
And finally if 9 distilleries isnt enough why not try for all 51 with the Spirit of Speyside annual festival https://www.spiritofspeyside.com/
The Speyside Way
If you like to walk then this is a great route . The whole route runs through a fine progression of scenery, from the coastline of Spey Bay, up through the birchwoods and pastures of the lower Spey with views of the moors slowly replaced by the mountains. Along the way walkers pass through a series of attractive villages and some of the many whisky distilleries for which Speyside is so famous. (Walkhighlands)
Why not book one of our Campers , and use it as your base camp whilst you take up this challenge in sections
Aviemore and the Cairngorms
We may be biased but with views like that, what is there to say? With a whole host of things to do and see, this would b a great base for you to explore the area.
With all year-round activities you would not be disappointed, from kayaking, skiing, walking, dog sledding, you are spoilt for choice.
Isle of Skye
We probably need a whole series of blog posts just about this on its own.
Some NC500-ers try to fit this in and maybe don't give it enough time to really experience it. If you are only doing 7 nights , it may feel rushed if you do
Highlights for us would be :
Eilean Donan Castle
Fairy Pools
Plockton
Dunvegan Castle
Staffin Dinosaur Prints
Lealt Falls
Grantown on Spey , Hogmannay is our Speciality
We may be biased but on our door step is the lovely town of Grantown, in the heart of the Cairngorms this would be a perfect place to set up base if you wanted to explore this part of the country , with great food, lovely scenery. And plenty around and about whats not to like
For example the woods at Anagach
I suppose what we are trying to say is dont restrict yourselves to what is popular ! There is so much more to offer. When booking your Advanture let us know what interests you have and we can work with you to "tailor make" your trip so you get the most out of it . Next time we will tell you all about the North East 250 ... a lesser known route but just as spectacular.
Happy Advanturing!!