Scotland · Applecross, Torridon and West Coast

A 224 km loop from Lochcarron

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Why this ride

Big sky, single-track discipline and one of Britain’s great rider days. The stops in between: Applecross coast and Torridon mountain view. The climb of the day is Bealach na Bà. The passes are the reason to go.

Roadbook

1. Lochcarron fuel gate fuel

   Lochcarron stretches itself along the north shore of the sea loch of the same name, a single long village that seems to have decided one street was enough. The houses face the water, the hills of Wester Ross rise behind them, and when the tide is out the shore smells of weed and salt. It is the main settlement for a wide area of the north-west Highlands, so even though the population is only a couple of thousand at most, it has what remote places lack: a village shop, a few places to eat, a post office and, as a rule, a pump for fuel. Do check the hours, though, because the Highlands do not run to city timetables, and a Sunday can be quiet.

   The road in is the A890 from Strathcarron, which carries you along the loch and then the A896 beyond toward Kishorn and Applecross. This is single-track in places, with passing places that demand a certain etiquette: pull in on the left, or opposite the oncoming vehicle, and wave. Surfaces are patched, the verges can be soft, and sheep, deer and the occasional cow treat the tarmac as their own. The pay-off is the scenery, with water on one side and bare mountain on the other. Come on a clear morning and the light on the loch is memorable, and come on a wet day and the hills wear their cloud like a hat.

   Further on, the famous climb over the Bealach na Bà, the Pass of the Cattle, goes up to Applecross, and is Britain's steepest road climb, with hairpins and gradients that make you concentrate. It rises to about 626 metres, and it is closed in snow, and caravans and large vehicles are advised not to attempt it. Lochcarron is the sensible place to fill up and eat before you commit, since there is nothing at the top but a view and a very good wind.

   Locally, the village is known for Lochcarron of Scotland, the tartan weavers, though their mill is now in the Borders. The loch has seals and, in places, otters, and the castle ruins at Strome, a few kilometres on, stand on a point of land at the narrows. Midges can be fierce between June and August, particularly at dusk and on still days, and a repellent is more use than any amount of courage. Spring and early autumn are gentler, with clear air and fewer visitors on the road.

   Kyle of Lochalsh and Plockton lie a little way south, with more services and the island of Skye just beyond.

2. Bealach na Bà pass

   The Bealach na Bà, the Pass of the Cattle, is a road that makes a mountain feel like an event. It climbs from near sea level at Tornapress on Loch Kishorn to about 626 metres, and then drops to the village of Applecross on the coast, and in between it manages an ascent steeper than almost any other in Britain. The name tells you its origin, because for centuries drovers used the route to bring cattle over the mountains to market, and the road built in the early 1820s followed that old path. It is a single-track road with passing places, with gradients of around one in five on the steep sections and four hairpin bends near the top, and the signs at the bottom politely advise that it is not suitable for learners, large vehicles or caravans.

   The scenery is dramatic. The pass runs through the Applecross peninsula, a wild area of red sandstone mountains, corries and lochs, and from the summit you look out over the Inner Sound to the islands of Raasay and Skye, with the Cuillin ridge on the horizon on a clear day. On a bad day, cloud wraps around the top and the road disappears into a grey wall. The weather here is Atlantic, with rain, wind and sudden sun, and conditions on the pass can be quite different from those at the foot. In winter, snow can close the road for days, and it is best avoided when it is icy.

   Riding it is a mixture of delight and care. The climb is a sequence of tight hairpins, with a surface that is generally good but can be rough and wet, and the road is narrow enough that you must watch for oncoming cars, cyclists and walkers. Use the passing places to let others by, and give a wave. Sheep and deer are often on the road, and the drop on the outer edge in places is considerable. Take the hairpins in a low gear, and brake before the corner, not in it.

   The nearest places for fuel are Lochcarron to the south and Gairloch or Kyle of Lochalsh farther afield, so fill up before you come. Mobile reception is poor, so tell someone your plan.

   The reward at the top is a view, a cup of tea in a lay-by and the quiet that follows when the last car has gone.

3. Applecross lunch coast food

   Applecross is a village at the end of a very long road, and that is its whole charm. It lies on the western shore of the peninsula, looking across the Inner Sound to Raasay and the mountains of Skye, with a row of white cottages along the bay and the hills crowding behind. The Gaelic name, A' Chomraich, means the sanctuary, and it recalls the monastery founded here in 673 by the Irish monk Maelrubha, who came from Bangor in Ireland and spent decades spreading Christianity through the northwest Highlands. A small graveyard and a church stand where the early community lived, and the place retains a quiet sense of age.

   Lunch is the reason for the stop, and the food here has a reputation that travels. The inn on the shore is known across Scotland for seafood, and langoustines, scallops, crab and fish landed at nearby harbours reach the table within hours. Tables fill quickly in summer, so booking is wise, and the portions are generous. If you prefer something simpler, the village has a small shop and a café, and a walled garden nearby has a tearoom in season. Check opening times, because winter hours are shorter and the area is remote.

   The ride to Applecross is either over the Bealach na Bà or by the coast road around the north of the peninsula from Shieldaig, a longer and gentler route that follows the shore through scattered crofts and views of the sea. The coast road is single-track with passing places, with moderate bends and long views, and it is a fine ride when the weather is kind. Take care with sheep, which wander freely, and with oncoming traffic on blind rises. Midges, the small biting flies of the Highlands, can be a plague on still, damp evenings from late spring to early autumn, so carry repellent and keep moving.

   Fuel is a problem. There is none in Applecross itself, and the nearest large settlement in the data is far away, so fill up at Lochcarron or Shieldaig before you head over, and treat the tank as a precious resource. Mobile coverage is patchy, and the weather can turn quickly.

   After lunch, walk down to the shore. The beach is pebbly and the water is cold, but the view of Skye across the sound is magnificent, and on clear evenings the sunset lights the sea in gold and pink.

4. Torridon mountain view photo

   The mountains of Torridon are among the oldest in Britain, and they look it. The great ridges of Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin rise straight from the glens in terraces of red sandstone, capped in places with white quartzite, and the rock is about a billion years old, laid down as sediment long before there were plants on land. The Torridonian sandstone sits on even older gneiss, and the whole landscape has been scoured by glaciers into steep corries and sharp ridges. From the road along Glen Torridon, the cliffs seem to lean over you.

   The area is protected, and much of it belongs to the National Trust for Scotland. Beinn Eighe was the first national nature reserve in Britain, declared in 1951, to protect remnants of the old Caledonian pine forest that once covered the Highlands, and you can still see ancient Scots pines on the slopes near Loch Maree. Red deer roam the hills, golden eagles hunt along the ridges, and pine martens live in the woods, though a rider is more likely to see deer at the roadside than anything else. The air smells of peat, heather and wet rock.

   The road through Glen Torridon is a joy. It is a single-track road in places and wider in others, with long, open bends that follow the glen floor, and the surface is generally decent, with some rough patches and frost damage. Traffic is light, apart from the occasional camper van, and passing places are frequent. The view at every turn is of mountains, and the light changes constantly as cloud shadows sweep across the cliffs. In autumn the bracken turns orange and the hills glow, and in winter snow turns the peaks white and the road can be treacherous.

   Weather is the great variable. Torridon is among the wettest parts of Scotland, and rain can come in at any time of year, often sideways. A waterproof suit is not optional. Midges are fierce from June to September in still air, so a head net can be a mercy at a lay-by. On a clear day, however, the visibility is superb, and the colours of the rock and the heather are rich.

   The village of Shieldaig on the coast has a shop and a small hotel, and Kinlochewe has a few services, but fuel is best bought at Lochcarron, Gairloch or Kyle of Lochalsh before you come this way. The visitor centre in Torridon explains the geology and wildlife, and it is worth a stop if the weather is bad.

   Stop on a verge, switch off the engine and look up. The scale of these hills is humbling.

5. Back to Lochcarron finish

   Back at Lochcarron. That is the ride.

Where this sits

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