# Single-track roads in Scotland: passing places and NC500 etiquette

> Single-track driving works on shared courtesy: where to pull in, who yields, why passing places are not parking, and what the law says about overnighting.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/eu-scotland-single-track/

*By CampingSpirit Editors, 2026-09-24*

Much of the Scottish Highlands and islands is reached by roads wide enough for one vehicle, with small widenings called passing places every few hundred metres. Driving a motorhome on them is manageable, even pleasant, once the system is understood. It relies on drivers reading the road ahead and cooperating, rather than on a priority rule printed on a sign.

The North Coast 500, a signed route of 516 miles (830 km) launched in 2015 around the north coast, has made these roads busier and sharpened the tension between visitors and residents. A good part of the advice below is therefore about manners as much as law, and about the rules that concern overnight stops, which differ from those that many travellers assume.

## How passing places work

The Highway Code, in Rule 155, says that when you meet oncoming traffic, or a vehicle wants to overtake you, you pull into a passing place on your left, or wait opposite a passing place on your right. The same rule asks you to give way to traffic coming uphill whenever you can; if the other vehicle is nearer to a place, courtesy says let it have it, and reversing may be needed. Rule 156 says do not park in passing places. A motorhome that stops in one to take photographs or make lunch blocks the system for everyone behind it, so a separate lay-by or viewpoint is the correct place.

## Practical technique

On the left-hand side of the road, with the driver sitting on the right, judging the width is harder than it sounds. Keep the speed low enough to stop within the distance you can see, because bends, crests and sheep conceal oncoming traffic. Look well ahead for passing places, note where they are before you need them, and when a vehicle is approaching from behind, pull in and let it pass; Highland residents drive these roads daily and appreciate it. A raised hand of thanks is customary. Wing mirrors extend the vehicle’s width, so fold or watch them on narrow sections, and check overhanging branches and the height of rock cuttings for tall vans.

A motorhome moves more slowly than local traffic on most of these roads, and a queue forms behind it within minutes. The courteous response is not to speed up but to pull in at the next passing place, even if nothing is coming the other way, and let the queue pass. The same applies to cyclists, walkers and horse riders, whom the Highway Code asks drivers to pass slowly. Drivers who tailgate or convoy on the NC500 add to the resentment of residents, whose daily journeys to work, school and the shop run on the same roads, and for whom delay is not a holiday matter.

## Size and suitability

Many Highland single-track roads can be driven in a motorhome of moderate length, but length and width matter at junctions, in villages and on bridges, and some minor roads, for instance to remote coastal settlements, are not suitable for larger vehicles. The Bealach na Bà on the Applecross peninsula is considered unsuitable for learner drivers and very large vehicles and is often impassable in winter, and the main A roads on the NC500 provide a wider alternative. For fuel, water and groceries, plan on larger villages: in the north-west petrol stations can be far apart and are not always open late, so fill up before the tank is half empty.

## Sleeping in a motorhome

Scotland’s statutory access rights are among the most generous in Europe, but the Scottish Outdoor Access Code states plainly that they do not include motor vehicles. Wild camping under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 means lightweight camping in a tent, in small numbers and for no more than two or three nights in one place, and the Code asks campers to avoid enclosed fields with crops or animals. Parking a motorhome to sleep is a different matter, governed by the landowner’s permission and local parking rules. In practice, many travellers stay on campsites, in council or community overnight spots, or on private land with the owner’s consent.

## Pressure points and local rules

In the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, seasonal camping management byelaws restrict camping outside designated sites between 1 March and 30 September. The park’s website says that a permit is needed to stay overnight in a motorhome at only three locations, Firkin Point, Inveruglas and the Three Lochs Forest Drive, during that period, with a maximum of three consecutive nights, while lay-bys are for short rests only. Fees and arrangements change, so check the park’s pages. On the NC500, councils and communities have reacted to littering and dangerous driving, and there have been calls in 2026 for a working group to address them. Use dump stations rather than roadside verges, and never empty a chemical toilet in the countryside.

## Ferries, midges and the last checks

Ferries to islands such as the Outer Hebrides are priced by vehicle length, and booking ahead in summer is sensible; the operator’s website lists the length bands. Midges are most active from late spring to early autumn, especially in still, damp air at dawn and dusk, and a net, repellent and a breeze-facing pitch help far more than courage. Before leaving a town, check the weather, the tank levels and the toilet. If a road looks too narrow, trust that impression and turn around at the next wide place rather than commit to a mile of reversing.

## Sources

- [The Highway Code: general rules, techniques and advice, rules 103 to 158 (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/general-rules-techniques-and-advice-for-all-drivers-and-riders-103-to-158)
- [Camping (Scottish Outdoor Access Code / NatureScot)](https://Outdooraccess-scotland.scot/practical-guide-all/camping)
- [Motorhome and campervan overnight stays (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority)](https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/things-to-do/camping16/camping-motorhome-qas/)
- [North Coast 500 (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Coast_500)