Wild Camping North Coast 500 - Bikepacking in Scotland

Bikepacking, wild camping, and cycling the North Coast 500 (NC500) - the famous 830km or 515 mile tourist scenic route along the North coast of Scotland. We cycled the entire NC500 route on bikes with our wild camping gear in 8 days starting and ending in Inverness. We passed through majestic landscapes of Scottish Highlands with many wonderful views of the lochs and mountains in Scotland. We cycled the North Coast 500 in September during the Autumn to avoid the rain and midges.


Timestamps broken down by each day on the NC500

00:00 NC500 route and gear
01:30 Day 1 - Inverness to Lochcarron
04:21 Day 2 - Lochcarron to A896 wild camp
10:42 Day 3 - A896 wild camp to A832 wild camp
16:16 Day 4 - A832 wild camp to A837 wild camp
20:37 Day 5 - A837 wild camp to Loch Eriboll
24:36 Day 6 - Loch Eriboll to Dunnet Bay
28:38 Day 7 - Dunnet Bay to Cairn Liath
32:36 Day 8 - Cairn Liath to Inverness
36:01 Ending thoughts
38:24 Gear review

My bike is nothing special, just a steel gravel adventure Charge Plug 3 with Sora 3500 groupset. My entire setup weighed 18.5kg, of which 11.5kg is the bike. I am also just an average cyclist, with my longest ride before we took on the North Coast 500 bikepacking trip being just a 100km ride on my road bike.

We also chose to ride using flat pedals rather than clipless pedals (although Liam had flats with toe clips) as we are wild camping. We didn't plan ahead exactly where we would be wild camping on the NC500 each night, so we opted to wear shoes that we can walk and hike a bike in comfortably as the wild camps may not be 'just off the road', and could've resulted in a detour from the main North Coast 500 route.
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Our 8 day NC500 itinerary:
Day 1 - Inverness to Lochcarron; via Garve, Achnasheen, A832, A890. 107km with 610m climbed.
Day 2 - Lochcarron to A896 wild camp (South of Kinlochewe); via Tornapress, Bealach na Ba, Applecross, Ardheslaig, Shieldaig, Torridon, Annat. 90km with 1770m climbed.
Day 3 - A896 wild camp to A832 wild camp; via Kinlochewe, Gairloch, Poolewe, Drumchork, Dundonnell. 105km with 1475m climbed.
Day 4 - A832 wild camp to A837 wild camp (West of Loch Assynt); via Corrieshalloch Gorge, A835, Ullapool, Loch Lurgainn, Loch Bad a' Ghaill (passing around Stac Pollaidh), Inverkirkaig, Lochinver. 85km with 1300m climbed.
Day 5 - A837 wild camp to Loch Eriboll (near Eriboll); via Little Assynt, Loch Assynt, Loch na Gainmhich, A894, Unapool, Kylesku, Scourie, Rhiconich, A838, Durness. 102km with 1410m climbed.
Day 6 - Loch Eriboll to Dunnet Bay; via A838, Tongue, A836, Bettyhill, Strathy, Thurso. 106km with 1600m climbed.
Day 7 - Dunnet Bay to somewhere in between Brora and Golspie; via John o' Groats, Wick, A99, Berriedale, Helmsdale, A9, Brora. 130km with 1400m climbed.
Day 8 - Camp to Inverness; via Golspie, Loch Fleet, Tain, A9, Alness, Munlochy, Charleston. 95km with 840m climbed.
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Wild camping gear I used on this trip: (These are affiliate links):
Tent - 3F Lanshan 1 Pro→ https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DD4...
Sleeping bag - AegisMax Wind Hard Tiny Quilt → https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ATsAAG
Sleeping mat - OEX Fulcrum EV → http://bit.ly/2LNW3e8


Bikepacking and cycling gear I used on this trip: (These are affiliate links):
Sushi cycling jersey → https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A9Lqi7
Saddle bag - Roswheel 8L → https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9uVd25
Saddle bag - Roswheel 8L (Amazon) → https://amzn.to/2KNCVSQ
Tyres - Schwalbe One Performance → https://amzn.to/3hGFWA8
Handlebar Tape → https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ag2jCn
Vaude top tube bag → https://amzn.to/3omsmUY
Saddle - Charge Spoon → https://amzn.to/3rPpxOD
Helmet - Lazer Blade → https://amzn.to/2LnSuk4
Handlebar bag - Podsacs → http://bit.ly/PodsacsHandle
Frame bag - Podsacs → http://bit.ly/PodsacsFrame
GPS Watch - Garmin FR945 → https://amzn.to/3j7yIob
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Instagram:   / itsrichardcheng  

Filming gear that I used for this video (These are affiliate links):
GoPro → https://amzn.to/2JEgi2x
Camera → https://amzn.to/2vcrusq
Phone → https://amzn.to/3hwO2e1
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Music:
Heart Beats - Silent Partner
Every Day - Wayne John Bradley (CC BY 3.0)   / every-day-80s-style-original-instrumental-...  
Blessed - Wayne John Bradley (CC BY 3.0)   / blessed  
Home - Neutrin05 (CC BY 3.0)   / neutrin05-home  
Before I Go - RKVC
Stinson - Reed Mathis
Friendly Dance - Nico Staf
Believer - Silent Partner
Don't Turn Back - Silent Partner

This page contains affiliate links which means at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission for purchases made via these links which goes to help me in making more videos and to support this channel

#bikepacking #wildcamping #northcoast500 #NC500 #bikepackingNC500 #ultralight