Bealach na Bà

Britain’s most dramatic mountain pass, Alpine hairpins climbing from sea loch to a 626-metre summit.

The Bealach na Bà, the Pass of the Cattle, climbs from Loch Kishorn through a series of tight, exposed hairpins to one of the highest road summits in Britain, then drops to the seaside village of Applecross. It is single-track for almost its entire length, with passing places, gradients touching 20% and weather that turns quickly. At the 626-metre summit there is a car park and a short walk out to the viewpoint, which on a clear day looks west across the Inner Sound to Raasay, Skye and the Cuillin; it is the reason most people drive up here, and it is worth the wait for the weather. The pass is the classic way into Applecross on the North Coast 500, and the road is signed as unsuitable for learner drivers and long vehicles, which it means. Avoid it in snow and low cloud, when the climb is closed or pointless, and think twice at the height of summer, when NC500 traffic meets single track. The coast road in from Shieldaig is the calmer alternative and a fine drive in its own right. Take it slowly, give way with good grace, and stop only in the marked passing places.

“

There’s nowhere in Britain quite like it, a single-track ramp to 626 m with hairpins that wouldn’t look out of place in the Alps. It’s first on every list we make.

Why we picked it