NC500 - 4 Days in Dunnet

Billy and I were so lucky to travel around a small section of the North Coast 500 known as the Dunnet region. Right up the top of Scotland and around the midway point of the NC500 (regardless of which direction you started!), is this magical wee area that we spent 4 days exploring, thanks to the amazing team at North Coast 500 and the small businesses that welcomed us too.

We’re going to take you through what we did each day, showcase the fabulous small businesses who hosted us and hopefully inspire you to have your own adventure to this small but mighty area of the NC500.

Now i know we don’t all have the time to read a full in depth blog post (totally worth it if you have the time though!) but at the start of each day I’m going to do a high level overview of where we stayed / what we saw so you can get quick info for your trip to Dunnet!

Let’s dive in, shall we?!

DAY 1: Edinburgh - Dunkeld - Aviemore - Melvich Beach

Where we stayed and ate: Melvich Hotel
Where we visited: Aran Bakery in Dunkeld, the Green Loch in Aviemore and Melvich Beach
Approx drive time: 6-7 hours with stops

The road from Edinburgh to the Dunnet region is approximately 5.5 hours, aka a decent drive! It’s super important to take breaks when road tripping across Scotland, so our first break took us to the wee town of Dunkeld, only an hour out of Edinburgh.

We’re regular visitors to Dunkeld and for good reason, this is a quaint town with a bangin’ bakery by the name of Aran Bakery. Great coffee and a 10/10 almond croissant is an absolute must.
If you’re dying for a bathroom break already, there are public bathrooms at the end of town with a 50p entry price (pay for your pee, trust me, the bathrooms are clean AF)

On the road again, we decided due to beautiful weather to stop at the Green Loch in Aviemore. Only a small car park at the end of a dirt road and a 20 minute easy walk, this loch is absolutely stunning. The photos do not do it’s green-ness justice! We took our shoes off and got knee deep in the water, perfect for a balmy summers day here in Scotland.

A 5.5 hour road trip can quickly turn into a 10 hour one if you’re not strict with your time, so we continued up north until we hit the Melvich Hotel. A magnificent view over Melvich Beach is a sight for sore eyes after many hours driving, and the cozy rooms and comfy beds are welcome to us weary travellers!
We had a cracking steak dinner (with a BIG glass of red wine) followed by donuts that you simply must order, no matter how full you are. Melvich Hotel is renowned for its wood fire oven pizzas, but we’re grabbing some for takeaway tomorrow! If you’re only here for one night though…get the pizza!

We finished our day with a stroll on Melvich Beach to watch the sunset at 10pm (seriously). You can drive down to the car park and it’s only a quick walk to the beach, but if you’ve had a litre of wine, best to throw your walking shoes on and take a stroll.

A wee dram is the perfect way to finish the night off, we had a lovely chat with the hotels owner, Jo who was super accomodating, flexible and very chill. We were worried we may get locked out of the hotel at night as we didn’t have a key for the building, but we’re reassured that Melvich is so safe, most people don’t even lock their cars 😂

DAY 2: Melvich Beach + Portskerra

Where we stayed: Shieling B&B
Where we ate: Melvich Hotel & Coastline Coffee Shop
What we did: Paddleboarding and Coasteering in Portskerra with North Coast Wet n Wild
Approx drive time: 10 minutes

This morning we had a hearty breakfast at Melvich Hotel and checked out, ready for a day of paddleboarding and coasteering.
Again the weather gods have shone down favourably upon us as the weather is GLORIOUS for us today. We head across the road (quite literally) for a coffee at the Coastline Coffee shop (who do an excellent oat milk cappuccino) and head down the road (again, quite literally) to meet George and Caroline from North Coast Wet n Wild.
Today we’re learning how to paddleboard and coasteer, but more importantly, how to get a damn wetsuit on 😂 it’s a day of many firsts for us both.

George meets us at Portskerra Harbour, the sun shining down on us, deceiving of the water below that’s definitely looking a little more rough than we’d like. But we’re assured we’re in good hands and all will be well. We’re lucky enough to have George to ourselves today, but NC Wet n Wild host groups up to 12 and offer a wide range of activities (including rock climbing, wild swimming and archery too!) after a squeeze and pull into the wetsuits, we grab our paddleboards and take to the water!
Thinking we’d be a little more graceful, our egos are quickly shattered when we fart about trying to get onto said paddleboard, but we eventually make it up and start scooting around the bay.
It’s a gloriously sunny day and the water is (relatively) calm, I manage to get stood up a couple of times, and Billy did too! (he fell in a lot more than me though, i’m taking that as 1 point to Gabby) After about an hour in the water, we hop out and meet Caroline, the owner of NC Wet n Wild who graciously brought us bacon rolls and soft drink to cure our midday hunger.
Caroline is usually in the water with the crew, but she’s hurt her back trying to take some snaps whilst coasteering, at first I couldn’t understand why, and to be honest I didnt even know what coasteering was. But fast forward a few hours later and I can totally understand 😂 for those of you who don’t know, coasteering is a mixture of wild sea swimming, rock scrambling, climbing and cliff jumping. We didn’t fully realise the extent of this before we signed up, but we’re both adventurous and were ready to give it a crack.

We absolutely were not ready for how challenging this would be.
There i was with my handheld waterproof camera thinking i’d be totally fine, cue the first swim from the slip to a set of rocks and i’m already exhausted, my ego is already bruised and I start questioning my capabilities.
But as the day went on, George continued to safely navigate us through some INCREDIBLE scenery that’s only visible by coasteering through the landscape. The challenge was intense but absolutely worth it for the feeling of gratification post scramble / swim. This activity may not be for everyone, but if you’re ready to take on a challenge then i absolutely recommend it! We never felt unsafe during our day and trusted George completely! I’ve only got a wee scratch and a bruise, but they’re basically badges of honour for a job well done.

We said farewell to George and made the arduous 10 minute journey back to Melvich to grab a takeaway pizza from the hotel. We took our tuckered out selves back down to the sand dunes to watch the sun go down, before stopping in at the Shieling B&B for a deep rest. This sweet air bnb has a hot tub (that we were too tired to jump in) a beautiful view of the sea, a gorgeous dog named Marley and cozy beds for a well deserved rest.

DAY 3: DUNNET BAY + THURSO

Where we stayed: Shieling B&B
Where we ate: Shieling B&B, Northern Sands Hotel
What we did: Surfing lesson with North Coast Watersports & Jewellery making lesson with Lindsey Gallacher
Approx drive time: 3-4 hours added up

We’ve awoken a bit sore and sorry for ourselves, having used muscles we didn’t even know we had. But the bod feels good having had a big move after many hours of driving, and we’re off to a surfing lesson today to lessen the pain (or add to it?)
After a delightful home cooked meal by our bnb host for breakfast, we head along the cost to Dunnet Beach to meet Iona from North Coast Watersports. When I say that Iona is the epitome of a badass surfer gal, I really mean it. She’s so chilled out and makes us feel at ease about surfing straight away. For those of you who don’t know, Billy is from Greece and I’m from Australia and neither of us have EVER surfed because we’ve always been a bit nervous about it.

However after an informative demonstration (and getting wetsuits on, AGAIN, honestly a sport in itself), we take to the water ambitious to catch our first waves.
Now I wanna clarify a few things, first up I know you’d never associate Scotland with surfing given how dang cold it gets. But i’m so surprised at how little I feel the water when I enter the ocean, i’m almost WANTING to get a bit cold as it’s toasty in Scotland today!

The second fear is that the waves are huge and scary and it’s a really inaccessible sport for most, but again i’m pleasantly surprised at how fun it is to even just lay on your belly and ride a small wave, it’s unlike anything else i’ve experienced before! It didn’t take us long to get so hooked and Billy even managed to stand up a few times - I’m such a proud girlfriend! 2 hours in the water goes by so fast and we’re wishing it went for longer, we’ve definitely found a new hobby after this epic surfing lesson.

We decided to head back to the bnb to wash the sand, seaweed and seawater off before heading to Thurso to meet Lindsey for a jewellery making lesson. Her gallery is so full of light and magic, it’s hard not to be inspired when walking into her space. Hand made jewellery, paintings, sculptures and more are spread around her space, before leading into the workshop where we’re about to work some silver into a ring.

From the get go, Lindsey speaks with so much knowledge and expertise for her craft and had us creating our own silver rings in no time! She managed to squeeze a usual full day workshop into a short few hours with us as we were a bit tight on time, but I was amazed at what we were able to accomplish with some sanding, soldering and polishing in just a few hours. I treated myself to a set of stone earrings handmade by Lindsey too and we left her shop feeling chuffed, showing off our sparkling silver rings.

The last stop for the night is back to Dunnet to the Northern Sands Hotel for a WELL deserved meal. Fish and chips and a Rock Rose gin are on the menu tonight and we’re delighted by the size of the meal! Honestly, food in the highlands hits different, the portions are enormous 😂 The staff and ambience at the hotel are so lovely and we had a fantastic meal after such a jam packed day today. Back to the Shieling B&B for one last cozy night before our final day on the NC500.

DAY 4: DUNNET BAY DISTILLERY - JOHN o’ GROATS - DUNCASBY STACKS

Where we stayed: Flotnar Hùs
Where we ate: Shieling B&B, our bedroom floor
What we did: Dunnet Bay Distillery Tour (Rock Rose Gin), Wildlife Ferry Tour
Approx drive time: 3-4 hours added up

Time for us to bid Melvich Beach farewell (very sadly!) and head back down to Dunnet Bay to check out the Rock Rose gin distillery. We’d noticed these quirky bottles popping up all over Dunnet for the last few days and had no clue that the distillery was quite literally next to the Northern Sands Hotel. The distillery itself is only small, but absolutely stunning! We went into the shop first and almost missed the start of our tour, not realising the tasting room was hidden behind a wooden door of an old cattle shed. The inside of the tasting room is aesthetic to say the least, it’s been renovated by Claire and Martin (mostly Claire 😂) and boasts beautiful white wooden walls, hand painted stones with the botanicals included in the gin and a large wooden table for our tasting later in the morning.

It’s only 11am and I’m handed a gin and tonic by our fabulous host, and are told about the history of the distillery and how Martin and Claire came to create this fabulous gin not even 10 years ago. The majority of the botanicals are grown on site and harvested by their on site gardener, and all of the distilling, bottling, wax sealing and deliveries are done by hand at this very distillery. They produce over 140,000 bottles a year which is absolutely mind blowing for a space this size. Absolute kudos to the amazing team here, you can feel the family vibes at this distillery, as love, care and time have been put into making it flow so effortlessly for both staff and guests!

After our tasting of Rock Rose Summer gin, Pink Tom gin and something called Holy Grass (a coffee vodka) our whistles have been sufficiently wet and decide to take a peruse around the beautiful gardens on site. Billy and I bought a bottle of Citrus Coast gin, an AMAAZZINGG candle and some cooshie doo’s (an alternative to tonic!). We left the distillery so surprised by how lovely an experience it was and will happily be revisiting again soon!

Next up we made it to John O’ Groats for a wildlife ferry tour. The water is super choppy today and the wind isn’t playing ball, but we coasted around the Isle of Stroma which has been abandoned since 1962, it’s quite an eerie isle with many croft houses missing doors, windows and some ceilings. But we’re lucky enough to spot puffins, other sea birds and seals as we travel around this unique location. What really surprised us were the nooks, caves and peculiar texture of the rocks! It’s such a strange sight after seeing really rugged, sharp points on coastal edges. Stroma has quite square cut caves and it’s just so unlike what we’ve seen on a lot of coast line in Scotland!x

I’m not going to lie, by this time I’m absolutely spent. We’ve had a HUGE few days and a nap is in order! So we head over to our final stay of the trip, Flotnar Hùs which is quite literally just out of the town of Keiss. This is an amazing 2 story, newly built bnb (with a hot tub we used!) we were lucky enough to stay in room 3 with a stunning sea view (a reocurring theme for us it seems!) and take a quick nap before heading to Duncasby Stacks.
What I love about this site is that it’s an easy walk to see something spectacular! So often in Scotland you have to walk miles to see something amazing, but this easy (yet windy!) walk is doable for almost everyone. The stacks are magnificent anytime of day, but particularly beautiful during golden hour. Take a little snack (or gin 😉) with you to watch the sun set and the waves crash over the stacks, it really is a beautiful place to spend a late afternoon.

After a floor party of meats and cheeses we acquired from Tesco in Wick, we’re absolutely shattered but can’t say no to a glorious hot tub overlooking a sunset at 10.30pm. So we clink our glasses of gin together and reminise over 3 jam packed days of North Coast 500 fun!

A huge thank you to all of the amazing hotels, bnb’s and businesses that hosted us for our trip around Dunnet / Melvich and a massive thank you to the North Coast 500 for allowing us to capture this small, but mighty, part of Scotlands most epic road trip.

We hope you enjoyed coming along with us for this journey and can’t wait to take you on the next one!
Til then!

Gabby