The NC500's fame filled its single-tracks with motorhomes. Scotland has plenty more where it came from. Four alternatives that trade crowds for space.
Blairgowrie to Grantown over Britain's two highest public passes: Glenshee's Cairnwell and the Lecht. Castles, Balmoral, ski-road hairpins and a fraction of the west coast's traffic. The full route is ready to drive.
Tarbet to Fort William the long way: Loch Fyne, Inveraray, Kilmartin Glen's standing stones and the Atlantic at every second bend. Sea food that embarrasses most restaurants, and lay-bys with nobody in them.
Scotland's forgotten south-west corner: the Queen's Way through Galloway Forest (a Dark Sky Park), Portpatrick's harbour, and the Mull of Galloway lighthouse at Scotland's southern tip. Emptier in August than the NC500 is in November.
Five dead-end glens fanning north from Kirriemuir, each a beautiful out-and-back: Clova for the classic, Esk for the wild finish at Invermark. Dead ends filter out everyone who is merely passing through.
Go shoulder-season: May and late September give you the NC500 with its lochs and passes, minus most of the traffic. Book beds anyway.
The Snow Roads are a featured route in Scenic Way, and you can build the others in minutes with waypoints. First 2 journeys free.
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