I went on the UK road trip that felt more like New Zealand – with white sand beaches, rugged mountains & magical islands

ALWAYS dreamt of doing a roadworthy travel astir New Zealand but can’t look the 24-hour formation oregon warrant the £1,500 airfare?

The Scottish Highlands mightiness conscionable beryllium the answer.

Yes, really.

Having explored both, I tin accidental they are unbelievably alike.

Both connection rugged mountains, charming villages and winding single-track roads that proceed for miles.
Although, the bluish seashore of Scotland is besides location to 1 of the apical 50 beaches successful the world, hundreds of fairytale castles and, the icing connected the cake, Britain’s eventual roadworthy travel — the North Coast 500.

I boarded the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Glasgow to footwear disconnected my escapade successful style, curling up successful my bunk bed filled with childlike wonder.

It was a rocky nighttime with small sleep, but a novelty to beryllium capable to permission connected a Friday evening and aftermath up connected Saturday successful a caller country.

On accomplishment to Glasgow, Frida — a 2022 Mercedes Sprinter and my location for the adjacent 10 days — awaited me.

Decked retired with dimmable lights, heating and adjacent an airfryer, it was much luxurious than galore Airbnbs I’ve stayed in, which meant I could question successful implicit comfort.

We’d hardly made a dent successful our travel erstwhile my fellow asked: “Are we successful Greece?”, stepping connected to the glistening achromatic soil astatine Achmelvich adjacent Lochinver.

The h2o was the astir astonishing bluish successful the sunshine, reminding america of the bays on the Abel Tasman successful New Zealand oregon the azure shores of Platis Gialos successful Mykonos.

It’s nary astonishment this spot was listed arsenic 1 of the world’s apical 50 beaches past year. Although ticker retired for the wind.

With truthful overmuch to explore, it whitethorn beryllium tempting to skip the tiny and quiescent colony of John O’Groats, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Instead of garish souvenirs and coachloads of tourists, the colony has a enactment of charming rainbow houses, sportfishing boats and a cute trade shop.

Pop by the John O’Groats Brewery to illustration the section beer, oregon caput to the neighbouring 8 Doors Distillery for a whisky — though not earlier you marque the 20-minute thrust on the roadworthy to Dunnet Head, the existent astir northerly constituent of the land of Great Britain.

Behind the instrumentality of a 20ft campervan, I’d decided to debar the celebrated Bealach na Ba — a curvy upland roadworthy celebrated for its hairpin bends and often dubbed 1 of the astir unsafe successful the satellite ­— alternatively opting to task southwest to the Isle of Skye.

It was present that I was genuinely blown away. The Fairy Glen — a magical country hidden successful the hills supra the colony of Uig — felt dreamlike.

Created by 100,000-year-old landslides, its otherworldly grassy domes and moss-covered crooked trees made maine consciousness similar I was walking done a real-life fairytale. Similarly ethereal were the Old Man of Storr and the Fairy Pools.

Despite the erstwhile simply being a large stone astatine the apical of a hill, it’s the island’s astir visited attraction ­— but don’t fto that enactment you off.

'REAL-LIFE FAIRYTALE'

I was travelling astatine the extremity of September and visiting conscionable earlier sunset meant I astir had the spot to myself, watching the clouds loom overhead and a candy floss-like mist descend implicit the hillside.

Even with the fog, the presumption from the apical was mesmerising. You tin spot crossed the Sound of Raasay, which reminded maine of Lake Wakatipu successful Queenstown, New Zealand.

Before making the instrumentality travel to Glasgow, there’s conscionable capable clip for a pit halt astatine the Glenfinnan Viaduct — besides known arsenic the Harry Potter bridge.

The Hogwarts Express crosses implicit it successful 4 of the films, but successful reality, it’s the Jacobite Steam Train that wows visitors, though the effect is precise overmuch the same.

I was surrounded by “oohs” arsenic it chugged by, sending plumes of steam into the sky. This Harry Potter ending lone added to the magic of my NC500 adventure.

Why alert to New Zealand erstwhile the Highlands are connected our doorstep?