Scotland’s North Coast is wild and beautiful. White-sand beaches and turquoise seas around pleasant little villages like Durness, while some impressive Highland mountains rear up behind, becoming more common as you travel west and the landscape transitions from flat and agricultural to heathery and montane.

This coast was long a region of crofters and the history of their simple lives is retold in interesting places such as Mary Ann's Cottage and the Strathnaver Museum.

But in general the area’s main attraction is the outdoors, with some lovely coastal walks on offer – such as to the Stacks of Duncansby – and the chance to watch basking seals and busy seabird nesting sites from many points along the coast.

This part of the Northern Highlands is covered by a couple of legs of the North Coast 500 In-A-Week itinerary:

• Day 5: Lochinver–Tongue
• Day 6: Tongue–Wick