At a glance
- Cost
- £40 for a 7-day membership, per vehicle. No discounts, concessions, shorter or longer options.
- Overnight window
- 10pm to 8am
- Booking
- No booking – first come, first served. A 'traffic light' on the council website shows which sites may be busy.
- Return rule
- No return to the same car park within 72 hours
- Who can stay
- Self-contained vehicles. Outdoor tables, chairs and awnings are not permitted.
- Daytime
- Daytime charges still apply – leave before daytime rates begin
- Extras
- Free daily showers/changing at High Life Highland leisure centres (2 adults + unlimited children) during normal opening hours
Not clear from the source
- The pages Wader read don't say how the scheme is enforced at each car park, beyond advising you to contact the council if you get a parking charge notice.
- Facilities (toilets, waste disposal) are shown on the council's interactive map rather than listed per site, so Wader hasn't listed them here.
How the Highland scheme works
Highland doesn't sell a ticket per night. Instead you buy a membership linked to your vehicle: £40 for seven days, bought online (you log in to the council site and use its 'apply for a permit' link). You choose a start date, get a confirmation email (the council says to keep it safe, as it may be needed to access the scheme's benefits), and during those seven days you can stay overnight at any of the designated car parks. One membership covers the vehicle, not each person in it.
There are no shorter or longer options and no concessionary rates, but you can buy multiple memberships across the year. If plans change, you can cancel for a full refund before your start date, or change the date by cancelling and re-applying.
The 12 designated car parks
- Torvean Car Park – Inverness
- Nairn Harbour – Nairn
- Dunnet Head Car Park – Caithness
- Dunnet Seadrift Car Park – Caithness
- Noss Head Car Park – Caithness
- Reiss Beach Car Park – Caithness
- Riverside Car Park – Wick
- Durness Village (Tourist Info Car Park) – Sutherland
- Golspie Shore Street Car Park – Sutherland
- Ullapool Latheron Car Park – Wester Ross
- Gairloch Harbour Car Park – Wester Ross
- Little Gruinard Beach Car Park – Wester Ross
If you're doing a North Coast 500-style loop, that list covers Inverness, the far north-east, the north coast at Durness and a stretch of Wester Ross.
The rules
- Overnight parking is 10pm to 8am.
- No return to the same car park within 72 hours.
- All activity stays inside the vehicle, and outdoor tables, chairs and awnings aren't allowed.
- Use allocated bays where provided.
- Dispose of wastewater at official sites only.
- Daytime charges still apply – you must move on before daytime rates start.
- You don't need to use the ticket machines while your membership is valid.
What else you get
The council lists free daily access to showers and changing facilities at any High Life Highland leisure centre (for two adults and unlimited children, during normal opening hours).
Is it worth £40?
That's your call, but do the maths: it's a flat seven-day price, so it works out cheapest if you'll use several of the designated sites in that week.