NC 500 let's goooooo!

Hello hello people of the world. Here's the itinerary.

Day 1

- Take a train from London to Edinburgh - we took the London Northeastern Railway Azuma (4.5 hours)

- Climb up Arthur's seat for a view of the city. (2 hour round trip for an average person)

- Go to Carlton Hill for some history and a closer look at the city from above. (might take about 45 mins end to end. There's a pretty candlelight spot on top for something special)

- Drive up to Inverness 

Stay at: Rossal House Apartments. It was the most spacious living space of our entire trip with a living area and two rooms, and super affordable compared to other places. https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/rossal-house.html

Jain Food options: Sen Viet, Roti 

Day 2

- Our original ambitious plan for this day was to visit Corrieshalloch gorge, hike up Stac Pollaidh, and walk the trail to Bone Caves. It was raining and cold, so we visited Urquhart Castle instead. Do the audio tour there and walk the ruins. It's slightly cheaper to buy tickets online (1.5 pounds pp)

- We went to Bone Caves next. It's about 4km, but took us almost 2 hours since we started at 5:46pm and there was no daylight + lots of rocks, puddles, and a stream right next to us for most part. Expect lots of deer sounds and sightings!

Stay at: NC 500 Pods, Achmelvich. A little tight for 4 people, but the heated floors and how stocked it was with utensils was perfect for us. They also have games and a campfire pit. https://www.northcoast500.com/listing/nc500-pods-achmelvich/

Jain Food options: we picked up croissants and tea from an Aldis alongwith other grocery to make a hummus sandwich for everyone at night (hummus brand Sabra)

Day 3

- First stop was Loch na Gainmhich falls. We kept losing people to the mud and rain even though it was a 15 min walk so it was just me at the end. Basically prepare for wet weather, carry extra socks, or be prepared to be cold the rest of the day. I saw a guy with an umbrella and flip flops. Genius.

- We went to Smoo Caves next. It was the most low effort high reward thing we had done so far. Due to the weather, we couldn't do the boat tour which we were really looking forward to. But man, what a beautiful waterfall inside the cave. And it's fronted by a mini beach and a cute bridge in the photo below that takes you there. 

Stay at: Strathy Bay Pods. It was GORGEOUS. Aesthetic. Spacious enough. And had the best view to wake up to. The lady who runs it is super sweet. We stargazed at night. Loved loved loved this place. https://www.strathybaypods.co.uk/

Jain Food options: Smoo cave hotel (they gave grilled cheese) and the regular chhole and lasagna was amazing, have a friend make you pasta for dinner with pesto sauce from the brand seggiano wild fennel

Day 4: 

Original plan was to also cycle at Loch Ness around the lake but we reached too late.

- We drove to John O Groats. It's a really nice viewpoint. We enjoyed the swing, gift shops, and distillery there. Touched what we thought was Arctic water. We got some fun facts about how high and fast the waves can be. You could also go to the lighthouse a little far away, we had no time.

- Had lunch at a huge Tesco we saw on our way and got a large grocery store shopping experience

- We did the Caithness Seacoast tour: https://www.caithness-seacoast.co.uk/ which we all agree were the best 38 pounds per person we spent on this trip. We saw things that we've never seen before - natural arches in the water, caves, stalagmite on top of caves, sea stacks, learned about the harbour, local history and a couple of castles on the banks, and saw some seals and birds. It was 90 mins, and it just ended up being 4 of us so was a private tour. 

- Drive to Fort Augustus. 

Stay options: Caledonian Canal Center, Loch Chambers: https://www.visitinvernesslochness.com/listings/lock-chambers-caledonian-canal-centre

Jain food options: avocado toast and crumpets from Tesco, made a hummus sandwich at night again

Day 5: 

- Walked upto the Loch Ness Viewpoint. Saw the monster but couldn't capture it on camera!! 

- Drive up to Edinburgh

- Do the walking tour. The one we did was really cool. It spoke about the literally dirty history of Edinburgh where people would throw sewage from the windows in the 1600s, to how witch hunting was a thing, the cruelty of hanging people right next to a church, and bringing life back to the city with private gardens. 

- We had planned to visit the castle, but I ended up selling 3 of the 4 tickets instead because I was so tired and didn't feel up for it (was so proud of myself for selling them). My friend did visit though, and he said it was underwhelming. I think we were all just tired. 

- The 3 of us just walked around and enjoyed the city. Bought shortbread, got some hot chocolate, and sat at Princes Garden. 

And it was time to go home.

In our trip we saw

Rainbows, rain, snow, sunlight, mist

Barrels of hay

Green grass 

Ocean beyond

Random stone structures

Black birds in the sky

Misty clouds 

Green grass so deep you sink

Hints of golden brown everywhere

Stones stones stones 

Building things up

Did I mention sheep?

Cliffs and drops and single lane roads 

Seals running in the water

Hidden caves 

Castles and ruins

Arches  

And felt so much peace, comfort, fun, and love. 

The end <3