Scotland road trip tips?

[Conquistador]

Well it was a successful trip with perfect weather for the entirety. From Edinburgh we drove up the east coast to Aviemore for a walk around and some impromptu trainspotting as the Royal Scotsman service pulled in and the Strathspey steam train departed, then it was a drive up to John o'Groats. It was then a short drive further west to the most northerly point of the mainland, Dunnet Head, where the sun was setting. From the overnight stop in Thurso we drove further west to Durness in the morning then meandered down to a surprisingly busy Ullapool for a pub lunch, the roads littered with motorhomes and touring motorcycles.

Southeast to Loch Ness and Urquart Castle was the next stop, then to that evening's stop of Fort William next to Ben Nevis. Glenfinnan Viaduct and Loch Shiel was first in the morning for yet more unplanned trainspotting as the Jacobite steam train passed through at 10:30am. After a walk around the viaduct we travelled along the A861 (a single-width but very quiet road with fantastic scenery) to the Corran ferry at the top of Loch Linnhe for a short crossing over to join the A82. An unmarked road on the right a few miles past Glencoe takes you 12 miles down a single-width road to Loch Etive, as shown in Sean's Youtube video above where he drives back up to the A82. Halfway down this road is the aforementioned shot location of Skyfall and, rather poetically, the Glen Etive estate was owned by Ian Flemming's family before Scottish Heritage took ownership of it and a few campers were dotted around, taking advantage of the unspoilt land. The water was glassy calm and there was silence in the valley (panorama picture below) until a Typhoon blasted through heading southwest at probably a good 350-400 knots which was a treat for all the senses. We could have basked in the sun all afternoon but finally got to the overnight stop at Tyndrum, site of 2014 annual meet.

A good Scottish breakfast was enjoyed at The Real Food Cafe before the final leg to York for a walk around the the Shambles and dinner in the centre. The next morning saw a visit to the Railway Museum before an unhurried drive back home to Essex.

I'll certainly be doing the journey again. We didn't set out to do the NC500 but one naturally drives most of the NC500 by driving these roads anyway.