NC500
Castles on the NC500
Castles on the NC500: 8 Highland Castles to Visit on Your Road Trip
The far north of Scotland is castle country. The clans that ran this part of the world for the best part of a thousand years (Mackenzies, Sinclairs, Mackays, Sutherlands) all left fortifications behind, and the NC500 passes close to more than a dozen of them. Some are intact and open to the public. Some are clifftop ruins you reach by walking out from a car park. One is the private residence the Queen Mother bought herself in 1952. All of them are worth a stop.
This guide covers the eight castles you can visit on the NC500, in clockwise order from Inverness. We have left off castles that are not publicly accessible (Skibo, near Dornoch, which is now a private golf club; Cawdor, which lies off the signed route) and we have prioritised places that reward the detour rather than just appear on a map. Use this alongside our 25 best stops on the NC500.
1. Inverness Castle
Pink-sandstone, mid-Victorian, sitting above the River Ness in the centre of Inverness. The current building dates from 1836 and stands on the site of a much older castle that was repeatedly fought over and rebuilt during the Jacobite risings. Until recently it served as the local court house. It is now being redeveloped into a major Highland visitor experience, with new exhibitions, a viewing tower and significant landscaping of the grounds.
Best for: orientation. You can see most of Inverness from the castle hill, and the view down the river is the photograph most people leave with. Combine with a walk along the Ness Islands footpath. If you are starting your trip here, see our 2 days in Inverness guide.
2. Strome Castle
A small ruined castle on a low peninsula reaching out into Loch Carron, on the drive between Garve and Lochcarron in Section 1 of the route. It was a Macdonell stronghold from the fifteenth century until the Mackenzies blew it up in 1602 after a long siege, and what is left is essentially the lower courses of the walls. The site is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland and is free to walk around.
Best for: a fifteen-minute stop with one of the finer west-coast views on the trip. The castle sits with the loch stretching west toward Skye and the hills of Applecross rising behind. Easy to combine with lunch in Lochcarron before the climb up Bealach na Bà.
3. Ardvreck Castle
The single most photographed castle on the NC500. A ruined late-fifteenth-century Macleod tower sitting on a small peninsula in Loch Assynt, with the quartzite peak of Quinag rising behind it. The combination of mountain, water and ruined tower is the image you have seen in every Highland coffee-table book.
The castle has a properly dramatic history. The Marquis of Montrose was captured here in 1650 after the Battle of Carbisdale, held for two weeks in the dungeon, and sent south to be executed in Edinburgh. The castle itself was struck by lightning in 1737 and never rebuilt. The ruined remains of nearby Calda House (a Mackenzie mansion that replaced the castle as the local seat) sit a few hundred metres away.
Best for: photography and a short, evocative walk. Park in the lay-by on the A837 and walk out across the grass to the castle, ten minutes each way. No facilities. Free to visit. Take care near the water and in bad weather. Often the highlight of any 7-day NC500 itinerary.
4. Castle Varrich
A small medieval tower on a steep crag above the village of Tongue on the north coast. The castle is sometimes attributed to the Norse and sometimes to the Mackays who later took over Strathnaver; the dating is uncertain. What is certain is the view. The crag looks out across the Kyle of Tongue toward Ben Loyal, which is one of the most striking small mountains in Britain.
A modern internal viewing platform was added a few years ago, which gives you a stairway up to a roof-level view that did not exist before. The walk from the village takes about 25 minutes one way along a well-signed forest path. Reasonable footwear required. Free.
Best for: a proper leg-stretcher on the north coast section of the route. Combine with a stop at the Kyle of Tongue causeway viewpoint, which is covered in our ‘most beautiful NC500 scenery’ guide.
5. Castle of Mey
The most northerly castle on the British mainland, just inland from Dunnet Head near the village of Mey. Built as Barrogill Castle in the sixteenth century, bought as a ruin by the Queen Mother in 1952 and restored as her Highland holiday home. She visited every summer for the rest of her life. The King now uses the castle for a short stay in late summer each year.
Open to the public from May to October. The tour takes you through rooms preserved much as the Queen Mother left them: tartan carpet, family photographs, racing trophies, a sitting room with the books and ashtrays in their original positions. The walled garden is the other reason to visit: a high-walled north-coast garden growing vegetables, herbs and flowers in one of the most exposed climates in Britain. There is a tearoom on site.
Best for: a proper half-day castle visit on the north coast. Worth pairing with Dunnet Head lighthouse and the Duncansby Stacks. We have written a full Castle of Mey guide for the deeper context.
6. Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
Two miles north of Wick, on a narrow peninsula jutting east into the sea. A late-fifteenth-century Sinclair stronghold and one of the most dramatic ruined castles in Scotland. The site is actually two castles in one: the original Girnigoe Castle to the seaward end, and the later Sinclair Castle built closer to the mainland in the early seventeenth century. Both are ruined. The setting is what stops you: cliffs on three sides, the open sea below, and almost no visitors compared to better-known castles further south.
A small visitor car park sits about ten minutes walk from the castle. The path is reasonable but uneven, with sections close to cliff edges. Children should be supervised. The castle is owned by the Clan Sinclair Trust and is free to visit, with active conservation work in progress.
Best for: dramatic photography, particularly in low afternoon light, and almost guaranteed solitude. One of the most underrated stops on the entire NC500 route map.
7. Helmsdale and Bucholie ruins (driving south)
Two smaller stops worth knowing about. Helmsdale Castle, on the hillside above the village of Helmsdale, is heavily ruined: the most famous local detail is that Isobel Sinclair allegedly poisoned her stepson and the rightful heir here in 1567 with a poisoned ale meant for someone else, then drank the leftover ale herself by mistake. The ruins are limited but the site itself is worth a ten-minute pause. Bucholie Castle, between John o' Groats and Wick, is another clifftop Sinclair ruin: smaller than Sinclair Girnigoe but with the same vertiginous setting. Park carefully on the A99 and walk out across the field.
Best for: easy short stops to break up the east-coast drive home. Neither needs much more than fifteen minutes.
8. Dunrobin Castle
The headline castle of the NC500, and the largest house in the Highlands. Just north of Golspie, Dunrobin has been the seat of the Earls of Sutherland for almost 700 years. The earliest part of the current building dates to the 1300s. The current French chateau-style exterior, with its 189 rooms and improbable turrets, was largely the work of Sir Charles Barry in the 1840s (the same architect who designed the Houses of Parliament). The result is more Loire Valley than Sutherland coastline.
Open to the public from April to October. The interior is open through a self-guided tour: state rooms, drawing rooms, dining hall, kitchen, schoolroom, gun room. Twice-daily falconry displays run in the formal gardens during the season, with golden eagles, eagle owls and falcons flying within feet of the audience. The on-site museum holds an extraordinary collection of Pictish stones, hunting trophies and family artefacts.
Set aside half a day. Tickets are available on the door but worth booking ahead in summer. The cafe on site is decent. For broader context on what else to see in this section of the route, see our [LINK: 25 best stops on the NC500.
Planning a castle-led NC500 trip
Most of the castles above sit roughly one per section of the route. Realistically, you cannot do justice to all eight in seven days without short-changing the rest of the trip. Our recommendation: pick three or four and treat them as proper visits rather than ticking them off in passing.
If you are time-constrained and want the strongest three, pick Ardvreck, Castle of Mey and Dunrobin. The first two are short, free, and atmospheric. Dunrobin needs a half-day. Between them they cover the west, north and east coast sections of the loop.
If you want a longer castle-heavy trip, extend to ten days using our 10-day NC500 itinerary, which gives you the slack to add Castle Sinclair Girnigoe and Castle Varrich without losing other highlights.
Where to stay near each castle
· Inverness Castle: stay in Inverness itself for night one or seven of the trip.
· Strome Castle: stay in Lochcarron or push on to Applecross for the night.
· Ardvreck Castle: stay in Lochinver or Drumbeg for the closest options.
· Castle Varrich: Tongue village has the Tongue Hotel and Ben Loyal Hotel.
· Castle of Mey: stay in Thurso or Dunnet Bay.
· Castle Sinclair Girnigoe: stay in Wick or Thurso.
· Dunrobin Castle: stay in Brora, Golspie or Dornoch.
Our NC500 accommodation guide has section-by-section recommendations across all the main bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many castles are on the NC500?
More than a dozen castles, ruins and fortifications lie on or close to the signed route. The eight covered in this guide are the strongest for visitors in terms of access, condition or setting. Several others (Skibo, Brahan, Carbisdale) are private and not generally open to the public.
Which is the best castle to visit on the NC500?
Dunrobin Castle is the largest and best preserved, and the only one with a full half-day visit experience. For atmosphere and photography, Ardvreck Castle on Loch Assynt is hard to beat. For history and a quieter visit, Castle of Mey rewards the time.
Is Dunrobin Castle worth visiting?
Yes, particularly if you have any interest in Scottish history or formal gardens. The falconry displays in summer are excellent. Set aside three to four hours including the gardens.
Are NC500 castles free to visit?
Most are. Ardvreck, Strome, Castle Varrich, Castle Sinclair Girnigoe and the Helmsdale and Bucholie ruins are all free. Dunrobin Castle and Castle of Mey charge admission for full visits.
Can you stay in a castle on the NC500?
Tulloch Castle Hotel near Dingwall is the easiest castle-as-hotel stay on the route. Carbisdale Castle (former YHA hostel near Bonar Bridge) is currently closed to the public. Several castle estates have self-catering cottages, accessible via our [LINK: NC500 accommodation guide → /guides/nc500-accommodation].
Is Eilean Donan Castle on the NC500?
No. Eilean Donan sits on the road from Inverness to Skye, off the signed NC500 route. It is reachable as a side-trip from Inverness or as part of a Skye add-on at the start or end of your loop.
