A beautiful chaos: Our Camping expedition on Scotland's NC500

​We folded the last of the laundry pile, put the luggage bags away, washed the car, trimmed the hedges, harvested the potatoes, fulfilled the shop orders and started to properly breathe after the a-European adventure we just had. Each breath seemed to lead to a yearning for another adventure. After all, we’ve been really fortunate to have extended dry weather and sunshine since Spring. It seemed like a good time for a wild adventure.
​

​​I thought to myself, should we do Europe again? A quick search on the internet reminded me of the great summer robbery that has begun. The trains, ferries, planes, hotels, campsites, attractions are out in full force to fleece eager families who want to make the best of their summers. I wasn’t willing to be fleeced like that. What can I do then that’s exciting for the whole family and possibly fulfil a bucket list of mine? What can I do for more adventure but less money?

The first step was to eliminate the need to pay for expensive transportation.
Planes were £500 just for a hop over to Paris on the most budget airlines
Ferry tickets went from £124 to £250 for the same Dover to Calais crossing
Trains were £700 from home to Paris excluding booking fees and most trains were already full.

At this point I decided a trip on our Island home would be more sensible than crossing the channel into the continent.

The second step was to eliminate the need to pay for expensive accommodation
Hotels cost between £100-200 a night for the whole family
Holiday rentals that usually cost £250 for 4 nights now cost £600

I was ready to give up at this point. How else am I going to do an adventure without transport or accommodation? Where am I going to sleep? In the wild? In a tent? Wait…I could go CAMPING!
We can take the car and maybe…we could do the NC500 that is on my bucket list! Oh wait…Debra and the kids have never camped and Debra mentioned she didn’t like the idea of paying money to sleep on the ground outside….

I convened an emergency family meeting after consulting the Met Office (that was wildly  optimistically in hindsight for its forecast of fine weather in the Scottish Highlands). Shall we do a budget friendly but massive NC500 adventure by camping all along the route IN 2 DAYS TIME? To my surprise, the vote was unanimously YES.

We got busy packing and got the necessary equipment to make our first camping adventure a pleasant one. It is crazy that if you add the cost of the tent, camping table, stove, gas bottles, sleeping bags, mattresses, boxes to organise our utensils, ground sheet, pillows, food and drink supplies up, they cost less than booking a hotel/holiday rental (4 nights), plane tickets or train tickets. Moreover, everything other than the food and drinks can be reused for another trip in future. 

24 hours before we set off, the insanity of the adventure only dawned upon me when I started planning the route. I knew it was going to hard. 

Day 1

Once I’ve managed to stuff the boot full of our home, bedding and clothes for an intended 11 days, we set off early in the morning towards the Scottish border at 6am. Those who know us know that we are rubbish at functioning in the morning. So yes I made a wrong turn and missed our charging stop and as with all our major trips this summer, the heavens opened and it POURED. Had a slight slide on a tight bend in the rain but some gentle correction and the traction control straightened us up in an instance. Passing numerous horse boxes, combine harvesters, cows and sheep later, we finally arrived at the Scottish border for our first ever camping night as a family.

It was bone dry and there was actually sunshine and warmth! Just 5 miles from the campsite, it was just chucking it down and I was drenched unplugging the car at a charging point. This changeable weather situation will continue to be the theme throughout out adventures. A short shop for small pillows and bargain winter jackets for the exponentially growing kids later, we trudged on. This campsite was pretty nice and had a car charging point, clean showers, considerate campers. The gulls, cows and sheep however, were up at first light (which is about 430am).

​​Day 2

We had a solid 6-7 hours of sleep. I wish we stayed longer at this campsite but we had to continue north towards Inverness to begin the NC500.

Well here is where the wild Scotland really begins. As we headed North, rest stops become a lot more scarce and less fancy. Some charging stops are just by the side of a lay-by with a public toilet. Others were simply by the side of the road. Driving through the wild mountain roads, we were suddenly surrounded by thick fog. We couldn’t see beyond 5 meters. Both front and rear fogs were turned on but visibility was horrendous. A short while later, the pungent smell of soot filled the car’s cabin and visibility improved, we felt like we’ve entered into an evil wasteland. Burnt trees stripped of their leaves were surrounded by other charred and broken tree trunks. It was barren and lifeless. This wildfire devastated 11,827 hectares of moorland at Carrbridge and Dava in the Highlands.

We pushed through and arrived at a very soggy and foggy campsite in Nairn. Uneven ground, noisy neighbours, soggy all around and foggy from the time we arrived to the time we left.

​Day 3
We decided not to stay the full two nights. And as if that wasn’t enough, as we were packing the tent, it poured. I dried it out with a small cloth as much as I could. We headed over to Inverness ran the car’s battery down to almost 5% because charging points were either not accessible, not working or simply didn’t exist. 4 charging points later, we finally found one. The placement of the charger meant the cable was too short if two cars wanted to charge. Worst part was the car next to mine wasn’t charging at all, the tourists literally parked up, plugged in an went for a hike (Pretending to charge so they don’t have to pay for parking). I was fuming mad by then. Debra took the kids for an Ice Cream while I tried to calm myself down in the car after adjusting it a million times to get the charger to fit. It was 540 miles before we even began the 500 miles around the North Coast. I had to tell myself that this is an adventure and there will be complications.

A little pep talk later we pressed on another 105 miles to our next campsite in Wick. We were rewarded with beautiful views of the east coast of the Scottish highlands, tasted Haggis and got soaked in the rain. We drove through the clouds up the mountains before arriving at a very nice campsite with “toilets are so posh that there’s music” according to Matt. But disaster struck as we opened the tent after erecting it, all the rain on the tent we didn’t wipe off had pooled inside the tent. Debra spent the next half hour wiping the interior of the tent dry while I stood outside wringing the cloth every few minutes. A late dinner and a very powerful hot shower later, we all tucked into our comfy beds.
​

Day 4​

We had one of the best nights of sleep despite being woken up by a train going past at 6 in the morning. Breakfast wasn’t as easy as grabbing milk from the fridge, using the bread toaster or starting the electric kettle. But somehow, cooking food and putting a kettle on the old fashioned way makes everything taste and feel better.

The kids played chess and Monopoly Deal. I was utterly destroyed by Matt at Chess. After Matt had lessons at Chess club for the past term, he beat me 3 times in a row. I am glad he is so brilliant at it now but can’t deny I was kind of sore losing 3 times in a row.

After a slow and cool morning, it became blazing hot. We dressed light and brought our water/wind proof layers along. At the same time we left the towels, wet footwear and camping chairs to dry in the glorious sun. The windows of the tent were also partially open for ventilation as it was getting a little hot.

We set off through the town towards the rugged coastline of Wick after a simple lunch at a local cafe. Met a local on the street and had the most wonderful conversation. It was the usual introductions and he told us about all the wonderful places we will see along the hiking route and asked the kids if they liked Scotland. We shared that we lived in the Midlands and was born in Singapore. We’ve never lived in China or India and spoke English as our first language. He found it very amusing and shared his personal stories about growing up in North Africa and Germany where his dad was stationed as a soldier. He only returned to Scotland later in adulthood. He commented, “Oh! We are the same then! We don’t belong here or anywhere else”. It was a very poignant and profound thought. We are indeed similar. We will never have the shared living experiences people born and raised locally have. But the gentleman chose to live where he felt most at home and we share that human need for connection to a land, people and culture where we thrive best. That makes the place home. Britain is our home. He told us to enjoy the sunshine because “it is not usually like that in Scotland”. We had a good laugh and said our goodbyes.

What we saw after that was simply stunning. The pictures on this trip do not justify what our eyes saw. The natural beauty is absolutely awe-inspiring.

​But the wildness of the Scottish highlands is also absolutely testing. Just as we reached the point where we needed to turn back, it suddenly turned dark and we helplessly watched the line of clouds and rain move towards us. We hid in a little military guard post for awhile but the rain did not relent. A very soggy 45 minute walk back to the campsite ensued. We stopped by a Lidl and tasted Iru-Bru for the first time. The cough mixture tasting Scottish soft drink did nothing to raise our spirits. We returned to puddles on the camping chair, soaked shoes, and dripping towels. The biggest shock was when we entered the tent and found that the rain had gone through the fly net, slid off the waterproof windows and soaked all the bags of clean clothing in our tent. The living area was flooded once again. 

We’ve grown to hate this symbol by now.  It must be the go to symbol when meteorologist have no clue. It is a symbol of madness. You’ll truly be able to experience a few seasons in a day in Scotland. No wonder the Romans gave up and left. They must have felt the same frustrations we did.

Thankfully unlike the Romans, we had access to a launderette with washing machines and dryers at the campsite. All the clothing went for a wash. We needed a wash too. A simple dinner made under a sheltered picnic area later, the kids hit the sack while I tried to fill in the gaps of my charging plan on the even wilder west coast of the highlands.

Day 5

Easily the most idyllic day of the whole trip. We had sunshine most of the day so the kids ran around the campsite and found some friends from Glasgow, Leicester and Essex to play football, rugby and tag with. It was so nice to see that the kids all genuinely enjoyed playing together. A lot of laughter and no fuss. That meant I had time to sit down, sip a cup of tea and read a book. Debra managed to have some shuteye and it was a joyful day of camping.

​We made a quick dash to Tesco before Debra whipped up the best camping meal we had all week. Mash, gravy, veggies, and BBQ maple pork loin. Just as we packed most of the things ready to hit the roads again, it turned cold that evening and rained on and off through the night. We are hardened campers by now and slightly more experienced to realise we shouldn’t leave our stuff outside to “dry”.

Day 6
​
We planned to leave early so we could arrive early at our next campsite in Tongue. Yes, Tongue is a place on the northern coast in Scotland. As usual, the weather had other ideas and we had to sit out a morning shower. After drying the tent as much as we could, we left for John O’ groats. I must say that I was quite proud at that point that we’ve managed to drive all the way from home to John O’ Groats. Not forgetting that we drove from home to France, Belgium, Holland and Germany just the week before.

If you are driving an electric car to Scotland, you’ll find chargers at some of the most beautiful places. But the overall charging experience can be quite shocking if you try using an app or just your bank card. Phone networks are sketchy and many of the attached card machines don’t work very well. My best advice is, order an RFID card from Electroverse. It works with Chargeplace Scotland’s chargers that make up the vast majority of fast DC chargers in the Highlands. Always plan extra stops. We once couldn’t find a charger that was supposed to be there and ran into a fast charger that wasn’t on the map.

As we made our way towards the west coast of the Highlands, I tried my best to fulfil requests for meals. One of the requests were to enjoy delicious local seafood. I managed to find The Store Cafe, Bistro and Bar in Bettyhill. Here the family enjoyed Mackerel pâté, calamari, pickled herring, and smoked salmon with salad as well as gluten-free bread on the side. I stayed away from danger and enjoyed my massive venison burger.
​​

​Shortly after we were done eating, a couple entered the cafe with their massive pet dog and the kids went forward and asked to pet it. I was shocked beyond words. For children who used to run away at the sight of an animal, they have grown beyond my imagination. And yes, I’ve been battling requests for a dog at home. I’d love one too but I still have not gotten over the fact that I’ll lose them in 10-15 years time. The guinea pigs we had left a huge hole in our hearts when they passed on.
​
We were back on the road again after lunch and arrived at the campsite in Tongue. It looked nothing like what we saw in the pictures. The moment the doors open, the dreadful midges began their assault for fresh blood. More than that, we felt really uncomfortable at the place. We decided to drive a little further down the NC500  and look for another campsite further down the South Western Coast. It turned out to be a choice I now regret.

Gwyn got car sick on one of the roughest and windiest mountain roads. Had to slow down and we arrived at the next camp close to dusk. Unfortunately, dusk is the time when massive swarms of the infamous Scottish midges are most active, hungry and brutal. From the moment we exited the car, they swarmed our face and dug into our eye lids, ears, neck and anywhere that’s exposed. They will even fly into any gaps in your clothing and feed inside your clothing. I cannot express the alarming distress one feels when they begin to swarm around your face. We kept the kids in the car and set up the tent in record time before putting a kettle on inside the tent for some fast instant food. Some midges managed to enter the living area of our tent but we managed to keep the sleeping areas midge-free. It was also a very difficult night because the neighbours were busy smoking, smoking weed, getting drunk and being rowdy until past midnight.

I’m writing this post almost two weeks after our trip and the bites still look ghastly and feel insanely itchy.

Desperately trying to get through the fly net to us.

Day 7

We had two options:

1. Continue the journey camping completely unprepared and endure the savage blood thirsty skin slashing creatures (midges have scissors like shears for a mouth to lacerate your skin to form a pool of blood to drink from).
2.  Do a long driving day and finish up the final bits of the NC500 before finding refuge at a hotel nearer to civilisation. Skip the other campsites we’ve planned for the journey south.

According to Matt in his journal, “Ytd was midges galore so today, we are going to a hotel. (We’re weak)”. Just like the Romans many years ago, we made our exit from the highlands with our tails between our legs. It was a harsh introduction to the wilder side of the British isles. We packed up our entire camp including the tent into the car in a record 35 minutes while helplessly having our blood robbed of us.
​
While nature was quite unfriendly towards us, we met some nice people with amazing talents at the Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe. The welcome was warm and the food was delicious. The incredibly talented family displayed their art and photography on the floor above the cafe. They even helped direct us as we had to reverse out of the charging lot onto a busy road. It was a much needed visit after what we’d experienced.

​​If you thought things were smooth sailing from there, it wasn’t. We drove to our planned charging stop and the chargers were broken. We went further to the reserve charging spot and it was also broken and blocked by a French car that parked across both chargers. We were now stranded. We were stuck with a fellow electric car owner who drove all the way up from Land’s end to John O’ Groats and now completing the NC500. Luckily, the French family returned and moved their ridiculously parked car. The fellow electric car owner and I both called Chargeplace Scotland and asked them to help. They were absolutely unhelpful and told us to drive 50 miles away to the next charging point when both of us were close to empty on charge. ZERO help rendered. Not even an offer to reboot the charger remotely. We tried our RFID cards, phone apps, debit cards of different banks but nothing worked.

Just as I released the brakes and started my risky journey to return to our last slow charging point (a couple of miles more than I have range for), the fellow electric car owner ran after our car and told me to stop! He said the charger suddenly worked and his car was charging. Phew! It was a close call. We stood around and had a conversation while his car charged and when it was done, my car charged up fine too.

As if Scotland really pitied our harrowing experiences for the past week, we were gifted some of the most epic views along the way and at Glen Docherty Viewpoint. We’ll try to put up videos of some of stunning drives we had on socials, so follow us for more!
​

 
​We closed the loop of the NC500 journey and drove down to Glenrothes. Sadly, our tent bedding was more comfortable than the hotel beds and the fighting couple next door disturbed our sleep.

Day 8
​
We decided that we had had enough. We are proud that we’ve conquered the NC500 but we were ready for some home comforts after a pretty rough week. The 350 mile journey back home was an arduous one. After breakfast at the hotel where tourists were piling their plates and jostling over food as if they haven’t eaten for ages, I battled my exhaustion and kept driving south. We were once again plagued by non-functioning chargers as we headed home. The only difference was that we weren’t in a wild place with no alternatives. It was nice to be back in England. As night fell, it became increasingly hard to stay awake but some energy drinks and snacks always do the trick. We had to drive past midnight before crossing the county lines back where home is.
It was a great feeling of accomplishment when we finally parked up on our driveway.

I knew it was going to be challenging just not THAT challenging. It is crazy to look at what it turned out to be:

1 tent
2 countries
4 people
4 campsites
6 nights in a tent
7 days in the highlands
38 charging stops
1546 miles (2488km)
Zero tailpipe emissions

Driving via the west from the Midlands
Through the Scottish Borders,
Onto Inverness
500 miles around the highlands via John O’ Groats back to Inverness
Back down to England via Glenrothes & Edinburgh
Finally home down the east to the Midlands

It says 1430 miles without the detours, getting lost and searching for new charging points.

We managed to overcome long distances with a small battery, sketchy charging infrastructure, camping in the scottish highlands as a family with children, the trying weather and prepared food at camp that still catered to our food allergies and intolerances. This trip was far from an easy luxury trip. We faced a lot of challenges but through the chaos, we’ve made fond memories together. It wasn’t easy but it feels like an accomplishment. It feels like we can overcome big challenges together. It feels like we can one day do The overland together.