Great Drives Open the map app

Bealach na Bà (Applecross Pass)

Applecross road · Tornapress (Kishorn) → Applecross · Scotland

Length
11 miles
Drive time
35 min
Type
Technical road
Region
Scotland

Before you go: ⚠ Single-track with passing places; hairpins to 626 m; closes in winter snow; unsuitable for caravans

Britain's greatest mountain road: an alpine-style single-track climb to 626 m with genuine switchbacks and a view over the Inner Sound to Skye that stops people mid-sentence. The famous warning sign at the bottom means it — check conditions first.

The climb starts at the warning sign in Tornapress, and the sign means it. The first miles are ordinary single-track through Kishorn pines; then the gradient bites — 20% in places — and the hairpins stack against the hillside. They tighten as they go, so a long wheelbase wants the outside line and a slow, committed steering input rather than a second bite at the apex. After rain, gravel washes onto the inside of the upper bends; sheep use the same tarmac. The surface is generally decent tarmac, not broken, but it is still a mountain lane with passing places. You cannot see through every crest. The summit is 626 m, Britain's highest road of this character, and the view is west over the Inner Sound to Skye, not a postcard you can take from the driver's seat.

Go early. The summit car park is a small pull-off at the top, and in July it is full by ten with walkers and people turning round. Dawn or a midweek morning in May or September is the drive; August afternoons are a convoy. The pass closes in winter snow and in gales — check before you leave Lochcarron, not at the barrier. Unsuitable for caravans, and a trailer is a poor idea. Fuel at Lochcarron Garage before you start; there is nothing on the climb. Applecross has a community pump and the Inn at the far end, which wants a booking in summer.

Park at the summit lay-by for the Skye panorama everyone photographs — walk a few metres off the tarmac rather than stopping on a hairpin. Do not block passing places. The Bealach is the inland wall of a loop: come back on the Applecross coast road to Shieldaig and Torridon, which is the right answer when the pass is shut as well as when it is open.

This is the road the warning boards were written for, and the one Highland clubs point at when someone asks for a genuine alpine climb in Britain. Treat the descent the same way you treated the climb; the hairpins are no wider going down.

Highlights of the Bealach na Bà (Applecross Pass)

Where to stop on the Bealach na Bà (Applecross Pass)

Drive the Bealach na Bà (Applecross Pass)

Open Bealach na Bà (Applecross Pass) 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: Venture Bound

More driving roads in Scotland