Hi there, welcome back to the Scotland series. I hope these have been of some help so far and thanks for returning!
The most I can hope from these blogs is to help you have the most fantastic experience in Scotland and on the NC500 route. These blogs try to give you the much needed information for your trip without too many of my feelings and thoughts on each experience. Should you be needing more of a push to try these itineraries, the links to each day’s blogs will be linked below.
This is the itinerary for Day 6 of our NC500 road trip.
Smoo cave must be seen to be believed. With its green algae painted walls and beautiful waterfall this is a highlight on everyone’s NC500 itinerary. Entrance to the cave is free and is reached via some steps that lead you down the cliff face from the free car park. There are also some not too shabby free toilets in the car park which I have come to love in Scotland. There are so many facilities everywhere you go! There is also a little honesty box that the neighbouring house has set up. I bought a knitted green hat for £4 and there were other items that were of equally good value.
I liked getting here early to beat the crowds and have the cave almost to ourselves. Even though it was early enough and the cave was quiet, the car park was full. Much like other sites in Scotland, parking space was taken up by the odd RV and it was quite small anyway. To save you time and frustration, start your day early! Close by is a food van that sells Cheese toasties, unlucky for us, we didn’t see it on our visit, but I have heard wonderful things and I spoke to the guys over on their Instagram page and they seemed real friendly.
From here we originally planned to head to the Sango Sands viewpoint which is only a 4 minute drive away. Sango Sands is a big complex with facilities for Rvs and campers and is well known on this route. The viewpoint is reached through the complex and gives you a view down to the water and its neighbouring coast. As you may have come to expect after reading these blogs, there was only a brief description alongside a postcode for this stop and we found ourselves pulling up at another beach entirely. Durness beach is very close to Sango Sands, from the hill above the beach you can actually see the viewpoint to the west. This is going to divide opinion on which view is best. But in my very honest opinion. I did like seeing the view from Durness. You are above the beach and see its white sands in full. If you are at the Sango Sands view point, you are looking at it side on and personally I don’t think it is as beautiful or captivating. There is also the chance to traverse the sandy slope here and go wild swimming in the turquoise waters. Can’t go wrong with that can you? There is a small, well maintained car park that you do need to pay for. This will be the deciding factor for you on how long the day will be as to how you spend your time at this beach. Pack a wetsuit and jump in.
When you decide to warm your bones by moving on, head to Kylesku bridge. There are car parks at either end of the bridge however I had given directions to just one as it gives a better view of this concrete monolith and also has a food truck offering a posh fish menu. The views here are amazing and you will be here longer than you anticipate. There are benches but no toilets.
From here keep journeying south to one of Scotland’s hidden gems. You can view Wailing Widow Falls from the riverbed it cascades into and from Loch Gainmhich that feeds it from above. Please take extreme care when walking along the river bank to the waterfall. I have covered our experience in my ‘Highlight’ blog from this day and linked it below. The riverbank walk itself is extremely difficult for those not used to very muddy and unstable paths. The walk above next to the loch is much easier but you need to be very careful at the edge of the loch when looking down to the waterfall. The whole area surrounding the loch and waterfall is very boggy and unsteady. Walking boots are absolutely necessary and it would be wise to take extreme caution. There are two laybys for these walks, the first for the waterfall is more like a grassy layby that has been formed overtime by visitors. The ‘What 3 words’ app is very useful for these two visits.
From here make the very short drive to Ardvreck Castle where there is ample layby parking on either side of the road. It is quite boggy here in places but the easiest of all walks today. On one side of the road is the Castle and on the other is Ardvreck waterfall which is a small yet powerful beauty. It is quite clear in certain places of Scotland that some visits are not advertised by the Scottish tourist board and because of this certain walks have not been made safe for visitors. It is also apparent when wire fences have been trampled over in order to reach a river as is the case in Ardvreck. It definitely makes you feel as though Scotland is a new world only just coming to light.
Staying in Lochbroom or Ullapool will suit tomorrow’s itinerary best.
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