Those Wintry conditions happened last night on my drive home from a wedding on Bealach na Bà which is a pass through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula in the Scottish Highlands.
Part of the way up I was suddenly engulfed by thick low cloud with no way of seeing the road in front of me and no option to turn around. I usually enjoy driving this single track road which has some of the most fabulous views I have seen. It is the 3rd highest road in Scotland and is the greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK . I usually find the hairpin bends and drama of the road just part of its attraction. But last night it was simply scary.
I ended up crawling up very slowly to the viewpoint at the very top where there’s a large car park and breathing a big sigh of relief when I got there without encountering any oncoming cars. Parking up, I resigned myself to spending a stormy night in one of the most exposed spots possible. I made sure the van was pointing towards the wind so it wasn’t battering the sides too badly, popped the kettle on and nestled down into my bed for the night. Throughout the night the elements threw everything at me in my van; thunder, lighting, gale force winds and torrential rain.
Applecross really should be on your list of must see places in Scotland. Generally speaking in the summer months the road is perfectly fine and is very much part of the trip as a whole. The Applecross Inn is a fabulous inn well worth a visit for dinner with some beautiful seafood dishes and a one of the best fish and chips I’ve tasted. Just across from the Inn is Applecross Ices , homemade and very unique flavours of ice cream, served out of a converted airstream. I’ll leave you with a couple of images from my trip.
