THE Best Drive

It was a wild and stormy night, the rain lashed the window panes….no, not the start of a crime thiller, it was real life at about 3am. The rain tipped it down, to quote Kirsty.

By breakfast time it had not improved a great deal, but our very hearty full Scottish breakfast at our B & B certainly fortifed us for the coming drive. But first, it was a quick drive past Eilean Donan for one last photo, then onto Kyle of Loch Alsh for petrol and a look at the old Hotel we got merry at (Merry at?????Is he kidding????Slaughtered is a better description [Kirsty’s intervention there] ) with some oil riggers many years ago before the bridge was built.

Now ready to head into the wilds of north west Scotland, we headed out. Once you leave the lochside you head into forested country but not for too long. We emerged above Strathcarron, with a beautiful view straight down the loch. The hills opposite looked like they had snow, but we think it was just wet bare rock. Once we descended to sea (loch) level we turned off the main road (such as it was) and entered single track territory and went through Lochcarron.

Not far after that we turned left onto the Bealach na Ba road (roughly translated: “if you come this way you are a bloody fool”). It is also known as the Applecross road, because it takes you to, yes, you guessed it, Applecross.

Well this road is the most single of single track roads ever. It climbs steeply through amazing hills, glens and mountains. The earth is positively leaking water in huge amounts so that everywhere you look there are water falls. It is without doubt the VERY best drive we have ever had. Scary, yes, but worth every gasp from Kirsty as we are approached out of the thick cloud by an oncoming car.

We make it over the summit and descend into Applecross. So cute. We found an even cuter shop where we got a coffee (made inside the owners house and brought out to us) and pork pies for lunch. On the way out Kirsty wanted a stop at the local cemetary, as is her want. She just loves the headstones and the stories they tell. I enjoyed my coffee in the car…..not quite true, I did get out and read the blurb which enlightened me to the fact that the site dated back to about 692AD when some Irish monk started spreading Christianity up and down the coast of Scotland. He got his just desserts, courtesy of some Vikings.

I can’t rave enough about this trip, it was magnificent. It is a “must do” for anyone coming to this part of the world. From Applecross we continued on the single track road which hugged the coast with amazing views and we completed a loop that brought us back to the “main” road again. Our final destination, Torridon House was not far away.

Our accommodation for the next 4 nights is wonderful. An old house or hunting lodge updated for modern living. Very luxe, but not over the top snobbish, this is Scotland after all.