Northern lights in North Coast 500 tonight

Balnakeil Bay at the westernmost point of the north coast faces directly north over open Atlantic water. The beach itself is flat and unlit, with no dwellings to the north. On a clear night, this is one of the best positions in mainland Scotland. The small settlement of Durness has minimal lighting and the road ends at Balnakeil - nothing further west.

The coastal stretch between Durness and Tongue has a succession of small beaches facing north with Bortle 2 sky. Smoo Cave bay is accessible via a short path and offers a north-facing coastal position with the cave as foreground. The A838 along this section has multiple lay-bys giving safe roadside viewing.

A remote headland jutting north into the Pentland Firth, with the Scottish mainland's north coast falling away on three sides. The headland has a small lighthouse and no other habitation. It is one of the closest mainland positions to Orkney and sits at approximately 58.6°N geographic latitude. Dark in all directions - one of the best dark sky headlands on the mainland.

The causeway across the Kyle of Tongue gives a wide open north-facing view over the estuary and out to sea. Ben Loyal rises to the south as a dramatic foreground. The village of Tongue is small with minimal lighting. The north-facing beach at the mouth of the Kyle, accessed from the village, is a particularly good position.