Bealach Na ba- Loch carron to Applecross- Again in a rental,

[cammy33]

Had the plesure of driving this amazing road today, and was totally blown away I cant believe the hieght gained in such a short distance it was awsom. The trip was slightly spoiled by the works at the hairpins there were guys loading portacabins onto trucks god knows how they got two 18 tone ridgids round the 1st hairpin, had a short stop at the Applecross Inn then back over, the brakes on the works hired Mondeo were struggling when I reached the bottom, continued to my last job in Skye then back to Inverness. I can only say that anybody that gets a chance then go for the drive. I am hoping to return as the visibility was low today it must be even more inpresive when its clear.

[Great Pretender]

Have they sorted the road surface then?

Last time I drove it (late '09) the tarmac was abysmal.

[icepop]

Spent many a happy time at Applecross, whether as part of a motorbike holiday, or as a stop on an annual round Scotland coast trip in either the Escort RS/Scooby/Caterham. The campsite at A/Cross is great, with what used to be called the flower tunnel and now the covered restuarant, and the pub is very welcoming too. Recommend it to everyone who is in that part of Scotland. The Bealach is ledgendary, last time we were there, some old guys pulled up in a Jensen and started wacking golf balls off the top, over the adjoining moors, some sort of golfing ritual perhaps. Two trips over the Bealach stand out, once when on my CBR 1000F, picked up a stranded motorcyclists pillion and took her back over the pass, boyfriend followed on shortly thanks to a kind motorist. Turned out her dad owned the campsite where I was staying so got a free coffee and meal, result. Second one was when powering up the Bealach from Loch Carron side, in the Caterham 1700 SS, got to the middle haipin, and there must have been 20 tourists, all lined up behind the Armco, from with their cameras, apparently they'd heard me at the bottom of the pass, gotta love that side exhaust, they all got a great action shot of the 7 powering around the corner. Not even the midges could dull those memories.

[cammy33]

The road surface is not to bad, but I was in a hire car from work, only bottomed out once!