~ The Applecross Peninsula ~

~ 'Sand' on the west coast of the peninsula ~

The circular road route around the Applecross peninsula is unmissable in good weather. Beallach na Ba (The Pass of the Cattle), is the steep, narrow and twisting road that rises from Loch Kishorn. The pass climbs to a summit of 2100 feet direct from sea level, and the views from it are unforgettable. There is a small plateau at the top of the pass, rockstrewn and barren, where many people stop to look at the stunning views accross to the Isle of Skye.

~ The pass of the cattle ~

The name Applecross is a corruption, an Anglicising of the Gaelic, the original name being A'Chromraidh. The settlement goes back to St Maol Rubha who was a celebrated missionary of the early Christian church in the north. Born in 641 in Ireland, he came to Scotland in 671 and established his church at Applecross, maintaining it as Abbot for 51 years. In 722, he became mortally ill, while preaching near Inverness. He asked that his body be taken back to Applecross for burial, and after his death, four red-haired men carried him apparently without effort from Inverness to Applecross, only resting once on the way. The area around Applecross was declared a Christian sanctuary. Any fugitive reaching there was safe from secular justice. It was also protected from the incessant warfare which took over the Highlands.

~ Applecross bay ~

Applecross village today is still tiny and quiet, with a pretty setting in a deep bay of red sand - the red colour is the result of the red sandstone mountains of Torridon nearby

~ a dwelling near Ardheslaig ~

Having passed several crofting hamlets, the coast road winds its way slowly back towards Loch Torridon and Shieldaig village.

~ Loch Torridon from the peninsula ~

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