If you’re planning a trip along the North Coast 500, you already know you’re in for something special. Scotland’s most celebrated road trip route winds through some of the most jaw-dropping scenery on the planet — ancient mountains, white-sand beaches, dramatic sea cliffs, and castles that look like they’ve been plucked straight from a fantasy novel. The only question is: how do you make sure you don’t miss a single moment of it?
The answer, quite simply, is The Ultimate North Coast 500 Adventure by Steven Campbell.
Now updated for 2025/2026, this is not your average travel guide. Campbell is a professional outdoor photographer and a true local to the Highlands, and that combination makes all the difference. This isn’t a book written by someone who spent a fortnight on the route and called themselves an expert. This is insider knowledge, hard-won through years of living and working in one of Britain’s most extraordinary landscapes.
What sets this guide apart is its depth. Yes, it covers the essentials, like what to see and where to stay along the route, but it goes further than that. Campbell shares his photographer’s eye for every stunning location, offering tips on how to actually capture the Highlands the way they deserve to be captured. Whether you’re a serious photographer lugging a professional kit or just want your phone snaps to do justice to that sunset over Torridon, there’s something genuinely useful here.
And if you want to take all of that with you on the road itself, there’s a companion app to match. The Ultimate NC500 Adventure app — available on iPhone and iPad for just £3.99 — puts everything you need right in your pocket. The same depth of local knowledge, the same photography guidance, all accessible while you’re out there on the route. Given that Highland mobile signal can be patchy at the best of times, having everything downloaded and ready to go is genuinely useful rather than just a nice-to-have.
The NC500 has exploded in popularity in recent years, and rightly so. But with that popularity comes the risk of rushing through it, ticking boxes rather than truly experiencing the place. This guide, and its app, encourages the opposite approach: slow down, look properly, stay somewhere memorable, and come home with images and memories that’ll last a lifetime.
At £18.99 for the book and £3.99 for the app, it’s also one of the best-value investments you’ll make for your trip. Buy the book before you go, download the app before you leave the last decent Wi-Fi behind, and let someone who genuinely knows this landscape show you how to see it properly.
The Ultimate North Coast 500 Adventure is available from The Great British Bookshop and the Apple App Store.
