Applecross is a small community on the far western shores of Scotland. It’s “claim to fame” is the road in and out.
This road to Applecross takes you through some of the most desolate parts of Scotland, on one of those single-track roads I wrote of before. That would be a challenge on its own, but this road is riddled with steep inclines and multiple switch-backs (a.k.a hair-pin bends), making the road quite a challenge to do.

There were warning signs at the beginning of the drive alerting drivers to what to expect and actually recommending against attempting the drive if you are a learner-driver or have a fear of heights.
My sister had informed us of this road and my not-always-sound sense of adventure screamed “I NEED TO DO THAT”.

And so it was we did “the road to Applecross”.

Steep, narrow and desolate

The road is everything that you can imagine reading the previous paragraph. Desolate. Steep. Switchbacks. VERY Narrow roads (with oncoming traffic) yet hauntingly beautiful.
I should mention here that our rental car has a manual transmission and has the steering wheel on the “wrong side”. So I was kinda glad I we endeavored on this adventure more than a week after arriving in Scotland, so I had “somewhat” gotten used to driving on the left and changing gears using my left hand.

Spectacular views

We had picked a day without rain (the thought of driving this road in the rain was just not even a consideration).
The weather actually turned out to be better than we had hoped for. Sunny and clear.
As a result, the views were spectacular. We could see all the way to the Isle of Skye, Scotland’s largest island. We could clearly see the Cuillin mountains, the main mountain range on Skye, which are normally shrouded in low-hanging mist.

After an exhilarating drive we eventually reached the town of Applecross only to find most of it closed. We really felt like having a nice coffee or tea, but the local Inn and Cafe were both closed (and, yes, that was all there was. Did I mention this place was remote?)

So, after walking around, lusting after a hot drink, we decided to continue on. We had the choice of returning the way we came, or to continue via the coast, a longer, but easier drive. Linda made the suggestion to do the coast road arguing it may be our one-and-only opportunity to see that section. I am so happy she made that suggestion as more spectacular views and scenery were to be seen.

Beautiful farms (complete with the famous Highland Cows), remote communities that make you wonder “why here” and generally beautiful vistas of islands and seashore.

We eventually made it back to our AirBnB just outside of Plockton, where we finally had that, well deserved, cup of tea, and a “wee dram”.