Bealach na Bà

Coordinates: 57°25′58″N 5°45′9″W / 57.43278°N 5.75250°W / 57.43278; -5.75250

The Bealach na Bà was the only road linking Applecross with the rest of the country until the late 20th century.

Bealach na Bà is a winding, single track road through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. The historic mountain pass is engineered similarly to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends that switch back and forth up the hillside and gradients that approach 20%. It boasts the steepest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 626 metres (2,054 ft), and is the third highest road in Scotland.

The name is Scottish Gaelic for Pass of the Cattle, as it was historically used as a drovers' road. Bealach na Ba is pronounced Bee-al-uch nu Ba(h).

The Bealach, as it is known for short, is unsuitable for learner drivers, large vehicles and motorhomes. Please use caution while travelling up and down the Bealach. The route is often impassible in winter.

Media

The road featured in several episodes of the television series Hamish Macbeth (much of which was filmed in nearby Plockton), which pictures it having a roadsign that indicates: "Narrow road - no more than three sheep abreast". The road was also featured in the 1953 film Laxdale Hall.

Cycling

In recent years a pair of cyclosportive cycling events has been staged in the surrounding region, and over the pass. The 70 km Bealach Beag event is in May, and the 144 km Bealach Mór is each September.

The pass was inspiration for the Ginger Wildheart song 'The Road To Applecross' that featured as a bonus track on his 2013 fan-funded album 'Albion'.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bealach na Bà.

References

  1. ↑ "Albion (#Albion) is ready to download or stream!". PledgeMusic. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
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