What comes to mind when you think of Scotland? Spectacular mountains covered in yellow gorse and purple heather? Beautiful lochs embracing small islands and reflecting lofty summits? Or perhaps lush valleys dotted with ruined castles and free-roaming wildlife?

Those images are what came to my mind when my friend Fiona Cheng and I decided to ride to the Scottish Highlands. Exploring remote islands on two wheels and wild camping next to towering mountains, vast lochs and quiet beaches sounded like the kind of motorcycle adventure we were ready for. So, we packed our down sleeping bags, a number of Merino wool T-shirts and leggings to layer up, and some serious GORE-TEX motorbike gear to keep us dry, then headed north.

We packed our moto and camping gear and headed north to the Scottish Highlands.

To get to the Scottish border we rode through the North Pennines, one of the most remote and unspoilt areas of England. There are many great mountain passes leading through the heather moors and peatlands, but we took the most direct route via Hartside Pass and enjoyed the rugged landscape and windy roads. Our first stop was the city of Edinburgh. It’s been years since I was last there and I eagerly wanted to show Fiona around while rediscovering the city myself, but the main reason for the stop was to prepare for the Scottish Highlands. In other words, get hold of some midge (a pesky member of the gnat family) spray and a couple of head nets! We heard so much about midges on our way up there that we took the advice seriously—and as it turned out, rightly so!

Our first destination was the Isle of Skye. It’s a solid four hours ride from Edinburgh to the ferry port of Mallaig. We opted for the longer route with quieter roads to enjoy the ride and soak up the views. We needn’t have bothered. It’s a pretty dull and uneventful ride until you get to the Highlands. After a few hours we stopped for lunch at Loch Lomond where the Lowlands and Highlands meet and sleepy forests surround the southern side and rugged mountains dominate the north. After stopping at one of the villages we took a stroll onto the long and narrow white sandy beach. It was incredibly busy, so after a short break we jumped back on the Tiger 900 Rally Pro. Just as we were about to pull away, we met two eager adventure riders heading to Skyfall Valley—the film location of the James Bond movie.

Riding through Glen Etive, also known as “Sky Valley.”

It wasn’t much of a detour, so we tried to figure out if it was just some hyped tourist spot or as beautiful as we were told. The gamble paid off—big time! Soon, we were deep in the Scottish Highlands along a single-track that led into the valley. There was very little traffic along this 12-mile ride through one of Scotland’s most beautiful roads. Despite being such a short stretch of road, it packed in much wild, untamed scenery. Mountain peaks, moorland, and waterfalls trickling down the mountain cliffs into the river valley giving us a taste of what the Scottish Highlands had on offer. The bar had certainly been set high. At this point it was way too late to try to catch the ferry to Skye, so we spent the night in Fort Williams, the main town in the Highlands, and had dinner with our new riding friends who had steered us down such a wonderful road.

The following morning, we headed to the ferry terminal. To our surprise it was fully booked. However, we were in luck; it turns out that if you are travelling on two wheels there is still a good chance they can squeeze you on. Less than an hour later, we were on Skye. The first discovery we made was that Scotland has some seriously good food vans dotted around in the most random and remote areas. From wood oven pizza, sizzling steak sandwiches to freshly prepared seafood, we were never disappointed. Most places even served homemade soups and eggs—almost always from the local farms. We felt spoiled!

We spend the next few days exploring this island blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. First, the quieter part of the island, all the way to the south, which is dominated by the Cuillin Mountains. Then, along the dramatic coastline in the north, passing large pinnacles of rocks, steep waterfalls that flow to the ocean, grassy valleys, and sandy white beaches. The landscape felt surreal. But as much as we are blown away by the beauty of the Isle, we wanted to explore even more remote parts of Scotland. So, we took another ferry to the Isle of Harris.

Only in Scotland— sharing the beach with cows on Balnakeil Beach.

Harris is blessed with some of the most beautiful white sand beaches Scotland has to offer. We headed to the secluded beach of Luskentyre and pitched our tent in the dunes. The views over the beach and surrounding mountains were stunning. The next day we continued riding along the coast and were rewarded with phenomenal views of Seilebost Beach and the spectacular coastline. But as we reached the east coast the roads got narrower and turned into winding single-track. We rode through the rocky mountains which reflect their beauty in the surrounding lochs. This is exactly the remote Scotland road trip we had in mind when we set off. Riding north we crossed to the Isle of Lewis where the dramatic landscape continues past wild mountains, thatched black houses, mysterious standing stones, and countless more white sand beaches along a jagged coastline.

There were many more islands waiting to be explored, but our next goal was to the notorious North Coast 500. On our way, we met many other bikers who had one consistent message: ride it counterclockwise! The reason was simple: to save the best until last. That suited us well as we’d picked up a slow puncture that we managed to get fixed in Inverness after ferrying back to the mainland. From there we’d started the NC 500. My first impression was that it was kind of disappointing. We were putting in loads of miles to reach John O’Groats, the most northerly point in Scotland, but the roads were nowhere near as scenic as anticipated. It barely compared to the picturesque rides of the islands. It felt like we were putting in the miles just for the sake of it. Our spirits were lifted once we finally reached the landmark in John O’Groats. This moment called for a celebratory photograph along with fish and chips.

Finally reached John O’ Groats, having left Land’s End four months earlier.

To our delight, the landscape got more scenic the farther we got to the west coast. Finally, as we rode south adjacent to the coastline, I finally understood why everyone raved about the NC 500. Suddenly we were surrounded by imposing mountains, hidden hill lochs, Highland glens, and beautiful deserted beaches providing perfect wild camping spots along the coastline. After a long day of riding and taking in the stunning scenery we set up camp on the beach just outside Applecross.

Our camping spot in the Applecross Peninsula.

The midges were unbearable that night, so we skipped dinner to seek shelter in our tent. But later, were awoken by loud splashing sounds. We couldn’t figure out what kind of wildlife could possibly have made all that noise. The next morning the mystery was solved when we discovered we were surrounded by dozens of deer. It was simply magical!

The weather turned, and the mountains foggy. Despite the poor visibility, we packed early to ride one of the highest mountain passes and the steepest mountain ascent in Britain: Bealach na Ba. If you like tight hairpins and switchbacks with gradients approaching 20% then you’re in for a hell of a ride… unless it falls on a rainy and foggy day, as it did for us. Luckily the single-track was empty, as we could barely see five meters ahead. As for the magnificent views we’d been promised at the summit, we didn’t see a single thing. I guess that’s the risk when coming to Scotland. The weather can change in an instant and you need to be prepared for high winds and a ton of rain.

The weather can change in an instant and you need to be prepared for high winds and a ton of rain.

Fiona and I had been so lucky to enjoy the islands and west coast in glorious weather, that we couldn’t be upset. After descending Bealach na Ba, the visibility instantly improved as we looped back to Inverness, completing the NC 500 route. It’s honestly one of the most scenic routes we’ve ridden on two wheels and the Applecross Peninsula and Bealach na Ba Mountain pass are the cherry on top, even if I cannot share that enthusiasm for the east coast.

We ended our trip through Scotland with a mandatory stop at Loch Ness and took a detour through the stunning Cairngorm Mountains, located in Britain’s largest National Park. In contrast to the many single tracks we’d been riding, we were finally able to pick up some speed as we leaned into the corners, passing magnificent corries, beautiful valleys, and dense pinewoods. In only a few hours we made it back to Edinburgh, marking the end of our road trip and motorcycle camping adventure through Scotland. It truly was every bit as spectacular as we had dreamt it would be. The remoteness and wilderness are peaceful and the winding roads through the dramatic scenery were a biker’s dream. We left Scotland with fond memories, big smiles and much appreciation for its beauty!

The remoteness and wilderness are peaceful and the winding roads through the dramatic scenery were a biker’s dream.

Sandra Steliga and Fiona Cheng quit their jobs in 2018 to ride two-up around the world. They made it from Canada to Colombia when they had to pause their world travels due to COVID. Since they’ve been exploring Europe on their Tiger 900 Rally Pro and have most recently ridden from Land’s End to John O’Groats. You can follow their adventures on their travel blog AdvTravelBug.com or YouTube channel ADV Travelbug.