Applecross Coast Road
Shieldaig road · Applecross → Torridon · Scotland
- Length
- 25 miles
- Drive time
- 1 h
- Type
- Coastal road
- Region
- Scotland
Before you go: Single-track much of the way — passing-place discipline required
The gentler way off the Applecross peninsula when the Bealach is closed (or terrifying): a glorious single-track shore road round the north side facing Raasay and Torridon's mountains.
When the Bealach is closed, or when you have already done it, this is the way off the peninsula: single-track shore road from Applecross round to Shieldaig and Torridon, facing Raasay and then the Torridon mountains across the water. Passing-place discipline is the entire technique. The surface is ordinary Highland single-track — adequate, occasionally broken at the edges — and the views are the point, not the geometry. You will meet motorhomes. Pull in early; the person with the sea on their left often has fewer options.
It is slower than the eleven miles of the Bealach and takes about an hour. That is correct. Fuel at the Applecross community filling station if it is open, or at Lochcarron before you committed to the peninsula. Nanny's and the Applecross Inn are the food; book the Inn. The Loch Torridon viewpoint pull-offs are the photograph — mountains rising straight out of the water — not a summit cairn.
Drive it as a loop with the Bealach: up the pass, lunch in Applecross, back along the coast. If the pass is shut, this road is still open more often than the hairpins, and it is the right consolation rather than a second-best.
Do not treat it as a recovery cruise with your eyes on the Cuillin. The next passing place is the job, and the verge is peat. Sand beaches and small settlements appear and disappear; none of them are a reason to stop on a blind bend. The community pump in Applecross is small and not 24-hour — if it is closed, you are in Lochcarron's catchment whether you like it or not. Torridon village is the first easy turning point if the light has gone.
Highlights of the Applecross Coast Road
- Torridon views across the water
- Sandy coves
- Pairs with the Bealach as a loop
Where to stop on the Applecross Coast Road
- Applecross Inn food — Famous seafood right on the shore — booking wise in summer
- Applecross Community Filling Station fuel — Community-run 24hr card pump on Shore Street — last fuel until Lochcarron or Kinlochewe
- Loch Torridon viewpoint viewpoint — Lay-by on the twisting stretch before Shieldaig — wide views over outer Loch Torridon
- Nanny's café — Home baking and local seafood in white-washed Shieldaig — seasonal, closed in winter
Drive the Applecross Coast Road
Open Applecross Coast Road on the map → ⬇ Download GPX
GPX works with Garmin, TomTom, Beeline and most bike sat-navs. Free, no sign-up — these are indicative waypoints, so follow the road signs, not the arrow.
Plot it, add it to a club run with a meeting point and pit stops, then share the whole trip as one link. Free, no account, works offline.
Route research: Club road index
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