Why Scourie Should Be on Your NC500 Itinerary

Most people drive through Scourie without stopping. It doesn't have a famous viewpoint with a car park or a café with a queue out the door, and that's exactly why it's worth pulling over.

Scourie is a small crofting village on the north-west coast of Sutherland, sitting roughly halfway along the most remote stretch of the NC500, between Ullapool and Durness. We live and work here, so this isn't a travel writer's take — it's what we'd actually tell you if you asked us at the counter.

Scourie Beach

Walk down to Scourie Beach on a clear day and you'll understand why people come back. The bay faces west into the Atlantic, the sand is pale and often empty, and the water is that particular shade of blue that makes you want to swim in it even when you know it’ll be freezing. It's a few minutes’ walk from the campsite and there's no car park charge. Just the beach.

Handa Island

A short boat trip from Tarbet, just north of Scourie, Handa is a nature reserve managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. In spring and early summer, it's home to over 200,000 seabirds — puffins, razorbills, guillemots — nesting on the cliffs. The crossing takes about ten minutes. No need to book in advance outside peak season; just turn up at the slipway.

It's also where Adam dives for our scallops, so there's a direct line between that island and your plate if you stop in at Crofter's Kitchen afterwards.

Scourie village

The village has a well-stocked Spar store (better than you'd expect this far north), and a petrol station. There's also a beautiful camping and caravan site for those doing the route over a few days. It's a quiet place, which is the point.

Badcall Bay

A couple of miles south of Scourie, Badcall Bay is a scattering of small islands sitting in calm water just off the road. Paul, our neighbour, fishes for lobsters out here — the same ones that end up on our menu. It's not signposted as a viewpoint but it's one of the more quietly spectacular things you'll see on the whole route. Pull over on the verge and have a look.

Eating in Scourie

We're biased, obviously. Crofter's Kitchen is a container restaurant above Scourie Beach, open Monday to Saturday from noon. Our menu is built around what's landed locally that week — scallops from Handa Island, lobster and langoustines from Badcall Bay, venison from crofters in Inchnadamph. Grant cooks it simply, because the ingredients don't need much doing to them.

We won Scotland's Best Street Food at the Scotsman Scran Awards in 2025 and were shortlisted at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards in 2026. We're TripAdvisor #1 in Scourie, which we mention not to brag but because people sometimes drive past assuming there's nothing here worth stopping for.

Getting here

Scourie sits on the main NC500 route. Follow the maps to Scourie Beach, and Crofter's Kitchen is on the left. The drive from Ullapool takes around 1 hour; from Durness, just under 45 minutes. It's a natural lunch stop if you're doing the north-west leg.

We're open year-round Monday to Saturday, noon until 7pm. No booking required.