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Sightsee or simply chill with 12 things to do along the NC500

The Sutherland Adventure Company has a host of thrilling activities.
The Sutherland Adventure Company has a host of thrilling activities.

From salmon fishing to snorkelling and stress-busting to surfing, there is almost too much to do in and around the North Coast 500 route.

Timber pods

The NC500 Pods Brora offer luxury and tranquillity for visitors of the many nearby tourist attractions such as Dunrobin Castle, Clynelish Distillery and the Sutherland and Caithness coastline.

After a busy day of sightseeing, guests can unwind in a sauna with views looking toward the coast before snuggling down in a handmade timber pod.

The NC500 Pods Brora are handmade and are fully insulated with underfloor heating.

Cycling

For visitors wanting to enjoy the scenery from the saddle, 42 Cycling is an Inverness-based tour provider operated by cycling professionals.

It offers the chance to reconnect with nature and breathe in the fresh Highland air as well as stopping for a cake and a coffee.

It offers professional road cycling tours, Highland mountain bike tours, group cycles, event support and corporate hospitality experiences, suitable for single cyclists and large groups.

Enjoying the scenery from the saddle of a bicycle.

Travel in style

If luxury travel is more your thing, Highland Explorer, based in the Tain and Invergordon area, offers executive transport, including for golfers.

It runs small group tours to major attractions, including castles, lochs and battlefields and arranges diverse activities from hikes and off-road biking, trout and salmon fishing, to shooting and water sports.

Going off the beaten track with Highland Explorer, which runs a range of activities.

Luxury wellbeing retreats

Run by Caithness-based wellbeing practice Vitality, the retreats support individuals, groups and organisations to manage stress, build resilience and prevent burnout.

Their day and residential retreats include yoga, meditation, nature walks, mindful crafts, locally-sourced food and total relaxation.

Vitality retreats supports groups as well as individuals to manage stress.

Crofting and camping

Little Croft Highlands Campsite and Airigh is a small, friendly campsite and airigh in Scarfskerry, the UK mainland’s most northerly settlement, between Dunnet Bay and John O’Groats.

There is plenty to see on its family-friendly croft and visitors can meet pygmy goats Bert, Earnie, Rupert and Jasper; enjoy fresh eggs from hens, Firle, Lola, Dawn, Milly, Molly and Mandy; and check out some vintage farm machinery including ‘Shirley Massey’.

Little Croft Highlands Campsite and Airigh is a small, friendly campsite and croft.

Water activities

Based in Ullapool, WhatSUP offers paddle board and wetsuit hire in the north-west of Scotland.

Private and group lessons are also available and can be booked online or at the hut at the Pier in Ullapool, across from the Post Office and the Seaforth Restaurant.

WhatSUP offers paddle board and wetsuit hire as well as lessons.

Thermal Imaging Wildlife Safaris

Based in Dornoch, Sutherland, the safaris offer a chance to observe animals in the wild under the cover of darkness, including deer, foxes, badgers, rabbits, pine martens and hedgehogs.

Organised by Connell Outdoor Pursuits, the events are for those aged nine or over and take place late evening or at night, depending on the time of year.

There is also a range of personalised archery and clay sessions, driven 4×4 scenic tours, custom activity tour packages and local fishing.

Thermal imaging shows wildlife under the cover of darkness.

Strathnaver Museum

The museum, in the coastal village of Bettyhill, near Thurso, has undergone a £1.2 million refurbishment and is set in a regionally important historic building, the former Parish Church of Farr.

The museum explores 8,000 years of human occupation in north-west Sutherland and the collection includes a Bronze Age burial beaker, a 19th Century croft house display, agricultural and fishing exhibits and contemporary art.

Strathnaver Museum has had a £1.2 million refurbishment and is set in the former Parish Church of Farr.

Land and sea

The Sutherland Adventure Company invites visitors to experience the waters, hills, landscapes and culture of Sutherland with paddleboard hire and lessons, bike hire and tours, guided walks and hikes, body board and surfboard hire.

Paddleboard trips include a half-day trip to see Dunrobin Castle near Golspie and there is the chance to snorkel the beautiful coastal waters.

Thrill seekers can take part in the relatively new adventure activity of ‘coasteering’ described as “an amazing way to experience the water and have some fun”.

Paddleboard hire and lessons, bike hire and tours, guided walks and hikes, body board and surfboard hire are available with The Sutherland Adventure Company.

Intensive Healing Retreats

Oldshoremore Retreats is set in a stunning and tranquil area near Kinlochbervie and just off the NC500.

The bespoke individual therapy stay is run by an experienced therapist, who can help guests let go of past traumas and build resilience, including sound healing and daily one-to-one sessions of yoga and therapy.

Oldshoremore Retreats offers bespoke individual therapy in a stunning location.

RIB sea tours

Caithness-based North Coast Watersports is introducing new RIB sea tours around Dunnet Head, the most northerly headland of mainland Scotland as well as other selected locations on request.

The new, fully-equipped RIB seats up to five passengers for wildlife-spotting, photography or fishing tours.

Visitors will get the chance to spot all kinds of creatures, including puffins, seals, dolphins, otters, orcas and other whales.

North Coast Watersports is introducing RIB sea tours around Dunnet Head and other locations.

Tarbat Discovery Centre

This local heritage museum, learning and activity centre is situated on the Tarbat Peninsula in the fishing village of Portmahomack.

The site was excavated in the 1990s by York University and is of national significance, being one of the earliest Christian sites in the UK dating from the 6th Century.

It is the only Pictish monastic site found in Scotland, The Iona of the East.

Nearby are the surviving ‘cross slab’ standing stones of Hilton, Shandwick and Nigg.

For more information, visit www.northcoast500.com or www.venture-north.co.uk

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