Following the great Route 66 adventure, Lord Collier’s next road trip of 2026 takes a very different turn—across the Atlantic and north into the wild and beautiful heart of Scotland.
In September, I set out for the North Coast 500, a journey of roughly 516 miles that begins and ends in Inverness and traces one of the most spectacular routes in Britain. From the mountains and sea lochs of Wester Ross to the remote coastline of Sutherland and the rugged northern coastline, the road carries me through a landscape that seems to change around every bend.
If Route 66 is a journey through the mythology and history of America, the NC500 offers something more intimate. Here, the landscape is inseparable from the history of the people who have lived upon it. Ancient castles rise from the hills, ruins cling to the coastline, and small villages sit quietly between mountains and sea. Everywhere I look, there is another reminder that Scotland’s past is never very far away.
This journey is also personal. Scotland gives me the opportunity to visit relatives and reconnect with family, adding a dimension to the road trip that no map can capture. The miles between destinations become more than distances to be covered; they become a way of discovering places that have a connection to my own family story.
And then there are the castles. Scotland seems determined to provide one at every turn—great stone fortresses, romantic ruins, grand estates, and ancient strongholds overlooking lochs and coastlines. Some are carefully preserved, others weathered by centuries of Highland winds, but each has a story to tell.
The NC500 is not simply a road to be followed. It is a journey to be experienced slowly. The narrow roads climb into the mountains before falling towards the sea. Beaches appear unexpectedly between cliffs. Deer move across distant hills, while sheep wander along roads with considerably less concern for schedules than their human visitors. And then there are those moments when the road opens onto a view so vast that it demands a pause.
After the scale and mythology of Route 66, Scotland offers a different kind of adventure—quieter, more intimate, and deeply rooted in landscape, history, and family.
Two road trips. Two countries. Two very different roads. Let’s see what happens
LC
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