Applecross

Scotland > Highland Counties > Ross and Cromarty > Applecross

It wasn't until the 1960s that a passable road was built over Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) between Kishorn and Applecross. Before then, this was one of the remotest inhabited parts of Scotland sitting on the west coast of Rosshire overlooking the Isles of Raasay and Skye.

Today there is a coastal road from Shieldaig by which you can avoid the 2,000 foot climb up the Bealach, but that takes some of the adventure away! From the highest point looking out over the sea, the view can be quite outstanding. The passing places on this road are small and the road itself narrow - this is, after all, the old drove road where cattle and sheep were driven on their way to the markets.

The Applecross peninsula is surrounded by water on 3 of its 4 sides. To the south are Lochs Carron and Kishorn, to the west the Inner Sound of the Hebrides and to the north Loch Torridon.

This peninsula may have been geographically remote but it has been inhabited for many centuries and perhaps for millennia. Saint Maelrubha landed here from Ireland in AD 673 and founded a monastery. He is buried in a little church at the north end of the village.