• Rebecca Mattocks
  • The Off Grid Odyssey
  • Dominic Mattocks
  • Rebecca Mattocks
  • The Off Grid Odyssey
  • Dominic Mattocks
  • Oliver Kingsley

NC500!

Finally making around the NC500 to explore and enjoy the Christmas season in our north!! Læs mere
  • Start på rejsen
    19. december 2025

    Crossing the border!

    21. december 2025, England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We are in a 2 van convoy so we have walkie talkies and are trying to stay together!
    Today we finally made it to the Scottish border NC500 here we come! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

  • Edinburgh

    21. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We spent a night exploring the fabulous capital city of Edinburgh. Heading to see the castle at night and accidentally falling over a Christmas market! Happy bunnies!

  • The Black Isle

    23. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    We then travelled onto the Black Isle and up to Chanonry Pount to see if we could see the dolphins! Alas non were around but we had a fab walk with the dogs to the end!

  • Skelbo Castle!

    24. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    We spent a few hours here exploring and chatting to the locals as well as having breakfast. Lovely ruins with amazing views and seals (when they are not off chasing herons) still no wildlife for us!

  • Ousdale Broch

    24. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    We walked about 30 mins to visit this ancient building that was used as a barn. Most of the stone has been robbed to build a nearby village and the village was also all ruins! This would have been a huge building in its time. Probably the biggest man made object people would have seen at the time. We also experienced some very interesting weather on the way down.Læs mere

  • The Whaligoe Steps

    24. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Currently standing at 337 steps, (it used to be 365!) this one is not for the faint hearted. The steps were built to bring the fish up from the harbour as well as to get down to get the whales ready to haul up. (They didn’t hunt them. They just used 100% of the dead ones that washed into the harbour. They built a crane to haul the whales up the cliff. We met Davie, the man whose job it is to maintain the steps and he showed us some lovely old photos.Læs mere

  • Christmas Day at Dunnet Head

    26. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    What an amazing place to spend Christmas Day. We were alone, just below the Dunnet Head view point and it couldn’t have been nicer. The weather was beautiful and we had a great walk across the head with its stunning views across the ocean and the land.Læs mere

  • John O’Groats

    26. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    As is a must on any NC500 trip we popped into to see the signpost at JohnO’Groats. Everything else was closed as it was Boxing Day but it was still great to visit this iconic place.

  • Puffin Cove

    26. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    This was a hard hike down a very steep slope but what a reward. No Puffins at this time of the year but experiencing this remote spot that very few people have been to was very special. A magical cove, caves and waterfall awaited us at the bottom.Læs mere

  • Tongue and Castle Varrich

    27. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    We stayed the night just outside Tongue (Tunga) ready for a walk up to Castle Varrich in the morning. The walk was gentle and the views from the castle were spectacular. Very little is known about this castle but it is still very pretty and in a gorgeous location.Læs mere

  • Smoo Cave

    27. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    This cave is stunning. Cut through the limestone rock over thousands of years this cave with its own internal waterfall is well worth as visit. It’s large, loud and wet but such a thrill.

  • Highland Night Skies

    27. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    It is so dark up here that the night skies are the best we have ever seen. The weather was fantastic too. The nights were cold but the stars were literally out of this world.

  • Kylesku Bridge

    28. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Another popular spot on the NC500 is the Kylesku Bridge. Opened in 1984 it brought an end to the centuries old ferry across the loch at Kylesku.

  • Allt nan Uamh Waterfall and Bone Caves

    28. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    A long and arduous hike took us to the Bone Caves and it was worth every minute. The caves have been lived in by animals and humans and bones have been discovered from both before and after the last ice age when the glacier went past. We also found a natural river source which was an interesting thing to see.Læs mere

  • Corrieshalloch Gorge

    29. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    We visited this as one of our favourites. When we got to the gorge the bridge was closed for repairs. We then drove around to the other side of the gorge and walked down from the road. A spectacular visit every time.Læs mere

  • Victoria Falls

    29. december 2025, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Named after the late queen after she visited in 1877. This falls is quite spectacular. With its wide, flat feed at the top to its large drop and spectacular views over the countryside it’s a hard one to beat.Læs mere